The story so far Chapter 14, a misc. games fanfic

"Oh...geez, I have missed alot." Arashi said as he looked around. "Where's the fridge?" Arashi asked.

Leah nodded to her brother to get Arashi set up. He unbuckled and went back to show him where the food was.

"No fridge," He said apologetically, "the food is in this locker here." He grabbed an MRE (meals ready to eat) and threw it over to Arashi. "It's not very good, but that's the military for you. A fridge is a great idea though. I'll have to install one when I get a chance."

He took an MRE for himself and sat down across from Arashi.

"We haven't actually talked much." He said tearing the package open, "Where you from?"

"Right," Adray replied and hung up. He turned his car and started heading for Midgar. Hopefully he'd catch up to her soon.

Silyl, controlling a small bird at the moment, spied a ship heading toward Wutai. He released his hold over it and returned to his body smoothly.

"They're heading toward Wutai now," he told Vigdis with a cold smile. "Make sure we have our welcoming committee in place."

Aeron stood outside the church and glared at the building. The last time he was here was after the silver haired men were defeated and he and the other children were healed. It hadn't really healed him though, not completely. He always had trouble with his eye afterward and, not even two years later, he had a relapse.

He clenched his hands into tight fists as he remembered his so called friends avoiding him because he reminded them of how close they had been to dying. He even wore an eyepatch at first so it wouldn't bother them so much. But it didn't change anything. To them, he symbolized death and now that was his job.

"And I'm good at it." He said aloud in a low, dark voice. He stepped into the shadows and waited for Amara to arrive.

Amara jogged at a steady pace now she knew what direction the church was in. She slowed down when she heard a car coming up behind her and she looked back.

"Commander Lasbard?" She said to herself after she stopped then waved him over. "Hey, is everything alright?"

"There you are," he said as he stopped his car. He got out and checked his fleuret at his side.

"I was told that you were heading to Midgar and I wanted to make sure that you were all right. I understand how close you are to Alistair and as his friend I want to protect those close to him."

He deliberately left out Cross' place in all this, figuring that his superior wouldn't wanted to be implicated.

"Oh, that's very thoughtful of you." Amara said with a smile, "I'm fine though, as you can see and I'm sure you have more important things to be doing, right?" She stood there awkwardly for a moment then lifted her hand in a small wave. "Thanks for checking though. Bye."

She flashed a quick grin before turning to continue walking.

Uri settled down into his seat and let out a contented sigh.

This isn't so bad. He thought as he smacked his chops.

"I wouldn't mind riding like this all the time." He mentioned to Alistair who looked very comfortable himself.

Adray gaped stupidly as Amara walked away. She made no effort to hide that she was trying to get rid of him.

"Well that was unusual," he thought, straightening himself and getting back in his car. Well so be it. If she wanted to run off on her own then he really couldn't stop her. Besides, he had things to do as well. He checked his phone and wondered if Elisia would be calling him tonight...

"Truer words were never said," Alistair replied, flashing a smile. He looked at Uri, then at Liam and Samora, and felt very content.

"You know, I'm glad you decided to join," he said a little awkwardly.

Midgar was oddly darker than Edge. Amara didn't know how that could be possible since they were side by side.

Huh, She thought as she studied the ruins of the once thriving metropolis, maybe I should have asked Adray for a ride at least. This place is kinda creepy.

She shook off the thought and continued on keeping a hand on her sword just in case something decided to spring out at her, though she hadn't heard of any monsters being in the area for a long time. Still, no point in taking chances.

"All things considered, so am I." Uri said bobbing his head then chuckled, "We've come a long way in a very short period of time, wouldn't you say?"

"Yes, I would. It's strange to look back and see how far we've come," Alistair agreed. His thoughts drifted to Amara and he felt an invisible hand squeeze his heart.

"I hope Amara's okay," he said softly.

Uri made no reply, it wasn't necessary. He hadn't stopped thinking of Amara since they parted. Uri set his head down on his paws and sighed.

Adray had better be taking care of her or he'll have me to answer to.

Samora watched Alistair and Uri and smiled sadly to herself.

I wonder if Aeron is thinking about me too? She thought tightening her grip on her phone. She wanted to call him or send a message, but decided to wait until she was alone. Liam still was acting distant to her and she didn't want to antagonize him any more.

"You want to get something to eat withe me?" She asked him hoping he would lighten up a bit.

Adray parked back at headquarters and sent a message to Samora's phone.

/Tell Uri and Alistair I'm sorry. Amara wouldn't have me with her./

Liam gave her a sideways glance and shrugged.

"I'm not really hungry," he mumbled. He wondered how much shunning would be too much since he still needed her to get to Aeron.

"Oh...alright then." She started getting up when her phone vibrated. She looked at the message and frowned. "Uh...sorry guys, Lasbard says that Amara wouldn't let him go with her."

"What?" Uri said his head shooting up. "I told him to tell her he was under orders!"

Samora shrugged helplessly not knowing what to say. Uri shook his head in annoyance at Amara and jumped out of his seat so he could walk out his frustration.

"Sure" He grumbled under his breath as he walked out into the corridor, "I get you don't want someone you barely know following you on a personal pilgramage to discover your lost past, but for crying out loud! It wasn't just for you!"

Samora watched him go and flinched as she heard him growl.

/K, I told them./ She sent back as a reply.

Mei was busy looking over the communications from RETABLIR's secondary outpost on the western continent when she got buzzed by the director.

"Yes sir?" She asked in her practiced office voice.

"Mei, could you get the science department on a secure line for me?" He said.

"Of course sir." She said obligingly making the connection for him.

"And has Commander Lasbard reported back yet?"

"No sir, not yet."

"Very well then, have him come in when he gets back. Thank you Mei."

"Yes Director Cross." Mei sat back in her seat a moment wondering after her boss a moment. He had been acting strange since Greyrose and his friends arrived.

Oh well, She thought returning to the communications, it's not my business.

/Thank you./ Adray replied. The elevator pinged open and he strolled over to Cross' office after receiving word from Mei that the director wanted him.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" he asked.

Alistair stared after Uri, then shook his head.

"Oh, Amara..." he thought.

"Maybe I will get that snack," Liam said to no one in particular, not wishing to get involved with another one of these awkward situations. He stood and walked toward the kitchen, wondering what he would find and if Samora would follow.

"Were you able to track down Ms. Eilian?" Cross asked Adray.

Samora walked after Liam feeling the atmosphere tense again. She checked over the food and sighed happily.

"I think I'll have the chicken cordon bleu." She said to the chef, "What about you Liam?"

The church shone like a beacon against the dreary backdrop of the ruins of the slums. Amara stood at the threshold, hesitating stepping inside. She wanted to know where she came from, but after the flashback that morning she was nervious about what would happen.

"Here goes." She said after taking a deep breath then stepped inside the building.

"Yes," Adray answered hesitantly. He shifted awkwardly, then cleared his throat.

"I found her but she insisted, rather vehemently, in going on alone. I didn't see any point in exhausting energy were I wasn't needed so I returned."

He hoped that Cross would be understanding and not chew him out for making the wrong decision.

Cross frowned at Adray, but he understood that the girl didn't want him there with her.

"So were you able to relay my message then?" He asked, "Did she give you any indication when she would return to the city?"

Amara walked slowly down the isle towards the glistening pool at the end. She stopped short of the water and stooped down to study the yellow flowers that were growing along the edge of the pool. She could feel the life flowing through them and it brought a smile to her face. She felt calmer now, relaxed.

As she stared at the flowers, the air grew still and seemed to brighten until she was bathed in light. She blinked and when she opened her eyes she was in a white open room, a girl stood staring back at her. Her hair was black and her eyes were golden. Amara's mouth dropped open and she slowly stood up.

"Hello." She said, her voice echoing in the room and sounding almost alien to her.

"Do you remember?" She asked in a sad voice.

"Oh shoot..." Adray thought, the girl's abrupt manner so unexpected that it left him at a loss for thought at the time.

"I tried but she was evasive to say the least and was in too much of a hurry for me to get anything concrete out of her."

Well, it was true enough in any case. Hopefully Cross would simply leave it at that.

"I think I'll just have a ham sandwich," he replied, more to the chef than Samora. He was still wondering exactly how nice he needed to be to Samora to ensure that he still had that connection to Aeron.

"Where did Uri get off to?" he asked, directing the question to Samora but looking off to the side so as not to properly address her.

Cross visibly tensed but he said nothing, just gave Adray a curt nod in response.

"I see." He said finally. He tried to act as if he shrugged off the matter and moved on to the next topic. "Have the soldiers arrived at Junon yet? I think it would be best if they were there ahead of the envoy to ensure things went smoothly don't you?"

Samora shrugged as she took her plate and walked over to an empty table.

"I don't know," She said taking a seat, "It looked like he was heading to the observation deck though. He really didn't look too happy." Now she was talking more to herself than to Liam, "I wonder what the deal is with Amara?"

"I can't remermber." Amara answered the little girl. She blinked again and was suddenly standing in what looked like a school room. Children were laughing and she saw her younger self sitting at a table coloring with another girl. She gasped when she recognized the girl as the one who was injured, walking through the aquaduct with her.

They looked happy, carefree. There were several other children in the room equally happy and they all seemed to be friends.

"All right children." Said a vaguely familiar voice. Amara turned to see who had spoken and watched as the woman with large glasses walked into the room and addressed the children. "Put away your toys for now, it's time to begin today's lesson."

Amara looked back at herself as she pulled out her workbook and pencil and set it down before her. She slowly raised her eyes and met Amara's gaze.

"This was our home." She heard her say even though her mouth did not move.

Aeron watched Amara wander around inside the building. She looked crazy, talking to thin air and glancing about like she was unable to focus, almost as if she were drugged. He stayed outside in the shadows watching her strange encounter with the lifestream.

Adray thought that Cross was giving him a hunt to get lost and nodded slowly.

"Yes, of course, sir. I'll go check into that right now," he said with his head bowed. He quickly turned and left the office, headed for RETABLIR's hangar to make sure that the soldiers' transport had already left. He was slowly feeling like Cross was losing confidence in him after all he had put into the organization. Maybe talking to Elisia about it later would help.

"Who knows," Liam said with a roll of his eyes as he sat down with his own food. "Those guys always seem to have some kind of emotional catastrophe going on."

"Yeah no kidding." She said taking a bite of her food. "It's just that Uri and Alistair really care about her and she's really sweet and nice and everything, but she acts like she doesn't trust anybody. Even Uri and he's suppose to be her best friend right?" She scraped her fork across her chicken as she thought about it. "I mean, I've been through some pretty crappy stuff. My dad was killed and I've had to work every day since to help my mother..." Her voice trailed off as she thought about the day her father was killed, then shook off the memory and went on, "I know people are terrible, but I can't really say I have a problem trusting them. I mean, I trust you guys anyway."

She gave Liam a small smile then frowned and shook her head.

"So what must she have gone through to make her like that?"

Amara's eyes teared up at the words. She wasn't able to recall any of it still, but there was a familiarity to it. The room, the children, the woman. She had a very caring smile and it warmed her heart to see it.

"Is she our mother?" Amara found herself asking. When she turned back to the little girl the room had shifted again. Now she was in a large gated flower garden outside the building the school room was in. No, not gated. She took a closer look and saw that the parameter of the facility was surrounded by high security fencing. What is this place?

"This is home." Said the little girl walking up to Amara. "This is all I've ever known. All we've ever known." She gestured out to the children playing out in the yard, the same ones from the class room and she spied herself in the midst of them.

"What about our parents?" Amara asked her frowning, "Why was I left alone? What happened to everyone?"

"I can't tell you." She said shaking her head sadly. "You have to go now. The bad people are coming."

Amara was about to object when she felt as if she was being thrown through the air as the lifestream suddenly released her mind. She shook her head as she stumbled around on the wooden floor beneath her feet and gazed around completely disoriented then saw she was again in the church in the slums.

As Aeron watched he became more and more discontent. Whatever was going on here, he couldn't allow it to threaten the mission. He reached out with his mind to the shadows surrounding him and directed them to the young woman inside.

Uri was gazing out the expansive windows on the observation deck when a sickening feeling hit him like a bolt of lightning.

"Something's wrong." He said aloud and rushed back to where Alistair was. "Call Amara now! Something's wrong, she's in trouble I know it, just call her!"

Liam shrugged. He couldn't really blame Amara since he wasn't able to trust people either. At the moment though he was more focused on what Samora had said about her father. He had forgotten that she lost someone close to her too.

"I'm not sure," he said finally. "It had to be something traumatic."

Alistair blinked in surprise at Uri, but decided not to waste time asking stupid questions. He quickly stood and dialed her number.

"Come on, Amara," he thought as it rang. "Answer!"

She was still disoriented when her phone started ringing and it took a moment to realize what it was.

"Alistair?" She answered, "No everything is fine..." Her voice drifted off as she felt the hairs on her neck stand on end. Her eyes shifted around the room and she unsheathed her sword. "Hang on." She lowered the phone to her side and slowly crept away from the pool. "Is someone there?"

She heard something rustle in the shadows at the entrance of the church and thought she saw something move. Faster than she could blink, the shadows became wraiths and swarmed towards her. She dodged to the side as their ghostly hands moved to grab her and she slashed at them. Her sword passed through the shadows and it looked as though they laughed at her for trying to hurt them.

She gritted her teeth and continued to spin and twist and jump out of their reach, every once in a while would slash at them only to have the same effect as before. Soon it appeared they were growing irate at her and more and more swarmed toward her. It got harder and harder to keep out of their reach and soon they were tearing at her, leaving deep gashes in her skin. One was able to slice at her hand causing her to drop her sword.

She let out a yelp as they closed in around her, shadowy hands encircling her in an attempt to smother her.

"Fire!" She shouted casting a fiery explosion around her. The wraiths dissolved into ashes, but more rushed at her and she fell back into the pool as they collided with her. Water splashed up as her body broke the surface and a blinding holy light followed the droplets. She was enveloped by the light like a protective blanket and her wounds instantly healed.

Aeron's connection with the shadows wasn't severed with the holy explosion and he felt the worst of the blast through them. He cried out in pain as it shook him and felt as if his eye was being torn from its socket. He grabbed at it as black liquid oozed and dripped between his fingers and fell to the ground.

He stumbled away from the church as fast as he could, his eye still weeping the remnants of geostigma.

"What's going on?" Uri said his eyes widening as he listened to Amara's struggle. He held his breath when he heard the line go silent.

*Cough* "I'm ok!" Amara said gasping for air on the other side. "Just had a little...*cough* problem. I'll call you guys later."

Alistair gripped the phone with shaking hands and yelled, "Amara, wait!"

But she had already hung up the phone. He looked down at Uri helplessly and sighed.

"What could have happened?" he asked.

Uri shook his head in disbelief at what he heard. He felt like he was going to collapse from the anxiety.

"I have no idea." He said wanting to order the captain to turn them around, but kept himself still. "Can...do you think you can call the commander to get her?"

Amara slowly pulled herself out of the pool and fell on her back into the flowers. Her breath was starting to come easier now, but she was still on edge from the attack.

What was that? She thought remembering the cold claws tearing at her. She forced herself to relax and focused instead on the beads of water that were sliding down the sides of her face. Her expirience still nagged at the corner of her mind, she was missing something, aside from the obvious gap in her memory, something she had seen in the trance.

Her mind drifted to the children in the class room, her friends. Their laughter rang in her ears like a distant chorus and she smiled absentmindly. Her eyes suddenly widened and she shot up as realization set in. The children had two things in common.

They had my tattoo...and my eyes. Their eyes were golden too.

Alistair felt his mouth go dry and couldn't answer for a moment, but merely nodded.

"Yes," he managed to finally say and pulled out his phone to call Adray.

"Radio them and tell them to move it double time. Director Cross wants those soldiers to be at Junon and have the area secured before the airship arrives," Adray told the captain at the hangar. The captain nodded and began barking orders to his men. Adray began to walk back toward his car when his phone rang.

"Alistair?" he asked, then quickly stopped as his friend's words began to pour out.

"I'll get there as soon as possible," Adray said gravely and jumped in his car. He gave a quick call to Mei to inform Cross of the recent events and sped off toward Midgar. Hopefully the girl would be all right by the time he arrived.

Uri stared at Alistair expectantly as he told Adray about what happened with Amara.

Good. He's going. He thought relaxing minutely. That girl is going to give me a heart attack.

Aeron staggered into his car, his head still wracked with pain. He looked down at his hand and frowned as he studied the black ooze coating his fingers. He took out a first aid kit and cleaned off his hand and wrapped a bandage cloth around his eye before calling Vigdis to inform her what happened.

Vigdis listened as Aeron reported what happened with Amara.

"This is a fascinating case." She said tapping her fingers on the desk. "Very well. Leave her for now and take up your last assignment. Track down where Opar and her group have gone, we'll need to know the location of that prototype if we are going to successfully strike down RETABLIR."

She hung up with him and went to find Silyl.

Silyl placed Prelati's spellbook on the table in his room and seated himself. After flipping through the pages, he found a section on places of ancient power.

"That church in Midgar...what are its secrets?" he wondered. He suddenly heard a knock, and crossed the room to throw the door open.

"What?" he bellowed, annoyed at the disturbance. He saw Vigdis and calmed down.

"Oh, Vigdis. What is it?" he asked.

"There's the church," Adray said to himself as he parked his car. He pulled out his fleuret and cautiously approached the building.

"Ms. Eilian? Are you there?" he called as he opened the door to the sanctuary and slowly began to walk down the aisle.

"Silyl, I just recieved a report from Aeron." Vigdis relayed the information she had been given. "You are aware of the significance of the church I presume? The planet obviously wants to protect this girl. The question is, will it be as protective towards the others as well?"

Amara heard a car and quickly stood to her feet, grabbing her sword as she rose. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it was Adray and ran up to meet him. She figured that Alistair and Uri must have asked him to check on her.

"I'm here!" She called, then realized she was soaking wet from the pool and started wringing out her hair. "'I'm glad to see you. Sorry about how I acted before."

She was more than ready to leave this place, knowing that she learned all she could from it for now.

"Troubling news," Silyl said, seating himself at his desk. He rested his head on his hands and closed his eyes meditatively.

"Vigdis," he said after a moment, "I am growing more and more concerned with this new group. Their connection to the planet is startling, to say the least."

Adray was puzzled at her sudden change in behavior, but quickly figured that she must have found out what she wanted to already and had nothing to hide anymore.

"Are you all right?" he asked, his eyes scanning the room. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"Come on, let's get back to my car and I'll get you a towel to dry off with," he said, and waited for her to exit the church before giving it one last look over. He shook his head and walked back to his car, wondering what on earth he had missed.

"Yes, it is becoming troublesome." She agreed, then sat at the edge of Silyl's desk. "At this point, I believe we should carry on as we've planned. Aeron is going after Ms. Opar and her group so he will soon be in place to act there when the oportunity presents itself. The soldiers in Wutai will be mobilizing within the next thirty-six hours according to the latest report. This girl is the only remaining loose end."

Amara graciously took the towel from Adray and thanked him.

"Can I ask you something?" She said stepping into the car after she had mopped most of the water up. "Are shadow monsters common around here?"

"And unfortunately she's the greatest liability," Silyl replied, rubbing his face with an aggravated sigh. "However, there's nothing we can do at the moment. We need to return our focus elsewhere. I need you to supervise the Wutai project. I'll keep on the Junon mission, as well as the RETABLIR coup. If all goes well, we'll have the planet at our feet in no time."

Adray regarded her curiously as he shook his head.

"I've never heard of shadow monsters in these parts," he answered. "Does this have something to do with why you came here? I assume it wasn't just to take a swim."

"It would be my pleasure." Vigdis said with a smirk. "What of our third member? I haven't gotten any news thus far, have you?"

"No, no, no." Amara replied shaking her head, "That had nothing to do with me coming here, but it had something to do with you getting called to get me. I was attacked by them while I was inside. A lot of them. The water actually saved me, otherwise..."

Her voice trailed off and a sudden chill shook her. She was happy to be out of Midgar into the brighter city of Edge.

"Are we going to RETABLIR now?"

Adray studied the girl beside him discreetly. Something was definitely unusual about her, and her story was far out there. He supposed that Cross might know something about her and that's why he was so determined to have her join.

"Yes, we are," Adray finally answered, not realizing that he had been driving automatically in that direction. "The director wished to see you."

Amara frowned at Adray's answer.

"Yeah, I had a feeling he would." She looked out the window at the scenery as it passed by. How did I know that? He was trying to get me to join RETABLIR before, but...it feels like there is something else.

Silyl waved a hand dismissively.

"Busy with duties in FESTANCA. It's important to have someone high up in their ranks to feed us information."

"Sir? I've brought Ms. Elian," Adray said as he and Amara reached Cross' office. Adray looked at his watch and hoped that this wouldn't last long, or he would be allowed to leave. The sun was already setting and he still hadn't called Elisia yet to see if they were going to meet.

"I wish we had other clothes to give you," he said apologetically to Amara as he waited for Cross to give them permission to enter.

"Don't worry about it." Amara said to Adray sweetly. He was really nice man and she could appriciate why him and Alistair were such good friends.

"You can go in." Mei said smiling brightly at the two as she got up from her work area. "I'm done for today. Have a good evening Commander, Ms. Eilian."

"Night." Amara told her as she left.

When they walked into the office Cross was already standing, waiting for them.

"Amara, it's good to see you again." He studied her appearance for a moment but didn't say anything it.

"Good to see you too...Victor." She replied still feeling odd at calling him by his first name.

"If you have a minute, I'd like to speak with you." He gave her a charming smile before turning to Adray and dismissing him. "I trust you have plans, Adray. Have a good evening."

Adray bowed his head and took a step back.

"Thank you, sir," he said unemotionally, feeling yet again that Cross was deriding him. He turned and left the room, forgetting to say goodbye to Amara. As soon as the elevator opened and he crossed the lobby, he pulled out his phone and called Elia.

"Hello, Elisia," he said, his voice coming out more gruff due to feeling awkward. "Do you have plans for tonight?"

As soon as Adray stepped out,Cross returned his charming smile to Amara who couldn't help but smile back.

"I'm guessing you wanted to talk me into joining RETABLIR again." She said shifting awkwardly under his gaze.

"Am I that transparent?" He commented slowly returning to his desk. "The fact is, I do think that you would make a great asset to the company."

"Well, thank you for saying so." Amara replied sincerely, "There's still some things I need to figure out first though...but after I get all of that settled, I would love to join."

"Would you mind me asking what it is you need to 'figure out'?" Cross' expression was open, caring. He sat back against his desk and gave Amara his full attention. "Perhaps I could help."

"Well...umm..." Amara hesitated a moment feeling her stomach flip at his question. Why am I worried? It certainly couldn't hurt telling him. "I'm trying to find my past. I can't remember anything before ten years ago." She shrugged as the words fell out of her mouth. It was getting easier to talk about every time she mentioned it.

"You can't remember anything?" He repeated putting emphasis on "anything". "Is that why you went to the church? Were you able to uncover any memories while you were there?"

"Sort of." Amara said fidgeting with her hair. Cross noticed the action and frowned. "It was just clips of a couple things...it seemed familiar, but I don't actually remember it. It's frustrating."

"I see." Cross nodded as she spoke and he seemed to lighten a bit, "Well, just let me know if there is anything I can do to help."

"I will." Amara said happily. She was about to turn to leave when the picture on the wall caught her eye again. The woman with the hat and large glasses. Her sweet smile stood out more than anything. "That woman..."

"Amara?"

"...I know her..." She slowly walked to the photo and had another intense memory flash in her mind.

"The tests were inconclusive." The woman was speaking to someone, they were standing out of Amara's line of sight. She was peeking at them through a partially opened door. "As far as we can tell, there is no difference."

"So it's a failure then." Came a deep, smooth, familiar voice. "I have no choice then. We need to terminate the project."

"What?" She looked absolutely shocked. "They're just children!"

"They're a failed experiment and a danger to this planet. I won't allow a possible threat to surface because we were too soft to pull the plug."

"You're not worried about the planet!" She cried in disgust.

"I don't want to do this, but it must be done. You have until midnight. If you haven't taken care of it, then I'll send people who can, do I make myself clear?"

"You can't do this! Victor!"

He stepped out of the office and looked down at the little girl eavesdropping at the door and their eyes met. It was Director Cross.

Amara gasped and spun around grasping her sword, but he was already there. He caught her hand and brought his other hand up to her throat.

"You're not suppose to be alive." He said coldly. He breathed the word "Sleep" and she suddenly felt the spell envelope her and she slowly sunk to the ground. "You were always different from the others, but she kept just how different you were from me. I'm sorry."

Amara felt herself slipping into sleep and she couldn't stop it from happening.

Someone...help me!

Alistair shifted uncomfortably in his seat on the airship. He hadn't heard back from Amara or Adray and his nerves were hanging by a thread. Suddenly his phone rang and he almost jumped from how spring-loaded his nerves were.

"Hello? Adray, thank goodness. Where's Amara? How is she?" he asked.

"She's fine. A little wet and shaken but she's fine. I left her at headquarters with Cross. There's nothing to worry about," Adray replied. Alistair sighed with relief and rubbed his face.

"Thank you, Adray. I really appreciate this."

Alistair hung up his phone and turned to Uri.

"Amara's fine. She's with Cross now at RETABLIR."

Uri bobbed his head in response, but he had a nagging feeling at the back of his mind.

"Attention passengers," Came the captain's voice over the intercom, "We'll be arriving at Junon in fifteen minutes."

Uri settled down in his seat next to Alistair again and rested his head like before, except this time his body remained tense.

She's fine. He tried telling himself. I'm still just worried about earlier. She'll be all right.

After she finished eating, Samora excused herself from the table and snuck off to a place she could send Aeron a message.

/Just wanted to say hi./ She quickly wrote. /How are you doing?/

Aeron checked the message from Samora and closed his eyes tightly. A throbbing pain settled behind his eye and would not go away.

/I'm fine./ He wrote back. /I miss you. When can I see you again?/

Leah checked the gauges and called back to her brother.

"We're making good time." She said, "We'll be at Wutai in about two hours."

Alistair was happy that they'd land soon and be able to get to work, which would distract his mind from worrying about Amara.

"She's with Cross," he thought. "She's safe. She's okay now."

He sneaked a glance at Uri and could tell that the wolf-lion was uneasy as well. He sunk back into his seat and sighed.

"Why do we feel this way?" he wondered.

"Hey, there," Elia said a smile before she planted a chaste kiss on Adray's lips. "How are you doing?"

Adray sighed as he and Elia sat down at the table in the small cafe.

"I've been better," he said told her. She frowned and placed a hand over one of his.

"Tell me what's wrong?" she asked quietly. Adray looked down at their hands for a moment before looking back up at her with a faint smile.

"Okay."

Once they landed, their things were taken to the hotel they would be staying
at and a soldier showed them to the reactor. Uri stepped into the elevator
feeling overcome with anxiety. Samora saw how tense he was and laid a hand
gently on his shoulder.

"It's alright." She told him.

He didn't really believe her, but he gave her a friendly smile for trying to
make him feel better. As the elevator doors slid open there was a collective
gasp among the four as they saw the observation tunnel leading to the reactor.
The clear thick glass made it possible to see the sea life swarming around
them. Fish, anemones, coral reefs, it was all breathtakingly beautiful.

"This is amazing." Samora said walking out and peering through the glass at a
shark gliding by.

"Yeah it is." Uri said thinking how much Amara would have loved to see it.

Everything was dark when Amara started coming to and she heard distant voices humming around her. She took little comfort in that she was still alive and her mind raced to try and put the pieces together. Cross had known who she was. She was an experiment? A failed experiment he had said. He wanted to kill her ten years ago, but why?

"Are you awake now?" Asked a small voice.

I...I can't move. Amara answered.

"They cast a paralyze spell on you." The voice told her. "Can you open your eyes?"

It took all her will power to pry her eyes open and it took a minute for her vision to clear. She was in a medical laboratory, people in lab coats were looking at monotors and microscopes around her and she could just barely hear what they were mumbling.

Where am I? What's going on?

"Wow," Liam said, pressing his hands to go the glass and peering at the water. Alistair walked up behind him and crossed his arms.

"The planet really is beautiful," he told the younger boy. "And that's what makes it worth fighting for."

Liam looked up at him curious eyes for moment, then nodded.

"Yeah, you're right," he said. These really were good people. That would make what he needed to do harder.

"I just feel so disillusioned," Adray told Elia. "Like all that I've worked for means nothing. And now that I feel that way, I feel that I have no more purpose or drive in life."

Elia smiled sadly at him and cupped his face with her hand.

"RETABLIR doesn't see you for who you are. They're obviously the ones that have lost their way. Your true loyalty needs to be to yourself, Adray. You've sacrificed for so long. You need to find some happiness for yourself."

"I think..." he said slowly and cast his eyes down, "that I have found it."

He looked up at her, his face etched with guilt for pressing this on her. But she smiled and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

"Me too."

Arashi yawned. "Finally." he said with a smile at Leah.

Ben nodded at Arashi's response, but didn't say anything more about it. He wanted to change the subject so when he heard Leah call back their ETA, he decided to ask Arashi,

"Hey I was wondering," He spoke in a low tone, "do you actually like my sister?

Alistair led the group along the hallway until they reached a group of soliders.

"Are we going to see the prototype now?" he asked. The soldier nodded.

"Yes, sir. Right this way."

Alistair motioned to the others to follow.

"Let's see what we got ourselves into," he said smile.

Adray and Elia walked through a large garden toward the outskirts of Edge. Adray felt so content that it was hard to believe he was awake.

"Elisia," Adray said, stopping suddenly. "I don't know why you chose me, but I'm so glad you did. You've become so much to me and...I'm just grateful for all you've done for me."

Elia smiled laid a hand on his chest.

"You're an amazing man, Adray. And you've become something very special to me too."

Adray pulled her into a hug, and Elia's eyes widened.

"No one's ever hugged me before..."

Adray let go and she quickly smoothed her shock away. She grinned and removed his hat before snaking an arm around his neck.

"I'm such a lucky girl," she purred before pulling him into a passionate kiss.

"-" (I don't remember exactly what went here, but I gather from the following posts that there was a lot of tech talk about the reactor and the prototype being hooked up and PRESUL having to go out to oversee the connection)

Liam gaped at the man and took a step forward.

"We have to swim down there?" he said shrilly. This was definitely not what he had in mind.

"It'll be all right," Alistair said reassuringly. At the moment though he was probably as anxious as Liam. He turned to Uri and Samora.

"Are you guys ready then?"

Elia dialed Silyl and waited till he answered.

"Elia? What do you have to report?" he asked. A wicked smirk crossed Elia's face.

"I think we're ready."

Uri blinked at Alistair and reluctantly nodded.

This is hardly what I signed on for. He thought to himself as he checked his gear to make sure he had everything he needed. He really didn't have any experience with underwater materia, but he'd been taught about it. He hoped that would be enough to give him an edge while they were outside.

Samora shrugged and made sure she had everything she needed.

Oh, my phone. She took it out and placed it to the side along with her necklace. Don't want that getting wet.

"Ok." She said once she was finished. "I think I'm all set."

One of the scientists saw that Amara was awake and went over to her side to check her vitals.

"Let the director know she's awake." He said to another scientist before speaking to Amara. "He'll explain everything to you."

Alistair made sure he was ready, then nodded to the others.

"Good luck, everyone," he said, smiling. His nerves were on edge as he forced his body through the access hatch and into the water.

Liam waited for Uri and Samora to go, then quickly snatched Samora's phone and shoved it into a crack at the bottom of the one wall.

"Perfect. Only one more thing left to do."

He nodded to himself, then quickly ran to the access hatch and jumped in.

It was a strange sensation being in the water and not needing air. However the materia worked, it was working great! Samora and Uri swam towards the docking port the engineers would use to connect the prototype with the conduit.

The engineers were already there preparing the docking port when they came up. They each waved to the other and signalled where the four were needed so they could stay out of the way and be the most help. Uri and Samora complied and took their respective positions and waited as the submarine descended to the ocean floor, lowering the massive prototype with it.

Not long after the scientist had sent for him, Director Cross entered the lab. Had Amara been able to move, she would have broken the man's neck when he was close enough. As it was, she wasn't even able to manage a glare at him with the paralyze spell on her.

"Have you taken a sample yet?" He asked the scientist first, who nodded but gave him a look that seemed to mean he hadn't gotten any results yet. Cross merely nodded then turned to Amara. "I'm not sure what you remember, but I know you don't know everything."

He took a seat next to her, his face was grave and distant.

"Eighteen years ago," He started to tell her, "when geostigma had erupted and started spreading, I decided to start a program with the purpose of cleansing the lifestream of the alien matter. Since the Cetra were known as the planet's caretakers, it was believed they would have been the ones to successfully do this with little to no damage being done to the environment. The problem we faced was their recent extinction. The solution seemed simple. Recreate the Cetra."

Amara swallowed hard and her eyes widened as she listened.

"Professor Hojo had two Cetra's in his possession at one time." Cross continued. "We took several samples of the DNA he collected from them and used his process of gene therapy to accomplish this." He met her gaze then, his eyes devoid of the charming light that had greeted her when they first met. "Amara, you're the product of that experiment."

Alistair watched with anticipation as the prototype lowered into position.

"This could be the start of the planet's restoration," he thought. "And we get to be a part of it."

He looked over at Samora and Uri, and then at Liam, who seemed to have arrived a little late.

"I wish Amara could have been here," he thought with an ache in his heart.

Uri swished back and forth as the eddies from the submarine washed over him. Now that he had gotten used to the environment, he was actually enjoying himself and excited to be there even though he had to chase off the occasional shark that decided to investigate.

After the sub lowered the prototype onto the docking clamps, it departed and the mini subs and engineers went to work installing it. Everything seemed to be going well, and after awhile Uri wasn't sure why they really needed them here. He allowed himself to get involved with a little game of tag with a couple of clown fish when a looming shadow slowly drifted overhead. At first Uri thought it was the submarine again, but the arrival of the shadow was followed by a terrifying, low pitched gutteral noise that sent chills down his spine.

He recoiled and took up a fighting stance.

We're in trouble.

Arashi smiled a bit at the question and then nodded slightly. "Yeah...I do. Kinda from the first time I saw her and when I heard her voice...I automatically felt the urge...to protect her no matter what." He then smiled his normal goofy smile. "But before I really say the L word, I gotta find out her personality, y'know?" he said with a laugh. He then looked up at Leah and
smiled. After all, this is the first time since my parents died that I actually feel genuine love towards anything.

Ben blinked at Arashi and his mouth dropped open.

"I guess. Wow." He said completely shocked. He hadn't known he was so serious about her and suddenly felt very protective. He studied Arashi a moment before Leah called back that they had arrived at their destination. He politely excused himself and went forward to take up his position as co-pilot.

"What were you two talking about?" Leah asked arching an eyebrow at her brother.

"Just...guy stuff." Ben replied awkwardly.

Cross studied Amara a moment letting the information sink in before he continued.

"You have no real parents, you were conceived in a test tube, Amara. We started with twenty-five specimens, only ten of which made it through incubation. Two died from complications during disconnection from the envitro chambers, leaving eight of you for study and observation."

Amara's eyes started burning and she shut them tightly, her breathing became ragged and every muscle in her body tensed.

"After a few months of tests, we realized that though you exhibited certain Cetra qualities and abilities, you couldn't be classified as such. You were different, a new race. The eyes and strange design on your necks was a genetic anomaly you all shared."

Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP! Amara wanted to shout, but he continued speaking. Tears started forcing their way through her clenched eyes and trickled down her temple.

"We were still hopeful that you would be able to cleanse the lifestream." He said softer now, "The tests came back negative. The experiment was a failure. If it weren't for the incredible abilities you possessed I might have considered allowing you to grow up like normal children, but I couldn't allow another Sephiroth or Genesis to arise, so I did what I had to do."

He wiped the tears away from her face and she cringed inwardly at the touch. She opened her eyes and narrowed them at him.

"You weren't suppose to be alive." He told her sitting back in his chair. "But a certain opportunity presents itself with your existence. I don't think the kind doctor was forthcoming in the information she gave me, and I intend to find out what it was. I'm truly sorry Amara."

He got up and spoke to a scientist before leaving. Amara struggled against the spell trying to break free, but the scientists injected her with a syringe and she slowly sunk back into unconsciousness.

Arashi laughed at Ben's response and leaned back in his chair and looked at the dinner in a box. Ugh, this looks disgusting.

Alistair snapped his head around at the noise and froze when he saw the position that Uri was in.

"Oh dear..."

He frantically motioned to Liam and Samora at the creature that Uri was now facing. He saw Liam's face drop, but the boy quickly swam up to him with a nod.

"We're coming Uri!" he thought.

The monster rushed smoothly through the water and snapped at Uri. He was able to dodge out of the way just in time. The engineers saw the monster, but continued on undeterred fully confident that their "bodyguards" would take care of them. Uri hoped that their trust wasn't misplaced.

He swam as fast as he could away from the workers trying to distract the monster.

Hah, I'm bait! He might have thought that was humorous at a very different time.

Samora wasn't a very powerful swimmer, but with the sudden rush of adrenaline she was able to catch up to the monster and pierced it's back with her tantos as it was about to make another charge at Uri. It arched it's back and flung it's head to and fro trying to pick her off. She held on for dear life as it sped this way and that in an attempt to throw her off.

Alistair growled as he realized that he was at a disadvantage fighting under the water. Magic would be hard to perform, and punches would be very ineffectual.

"I should still be able to use some blizzard spells," he reasoned. That would have to do.

Meanwhile, Liam used his lithe little legs to propel himself at the beast. He pulled out his sylph blades and waited till it sped at him, still trying to shake Samora off.

"Take this!" he thought, and swiped upward at its neck with both blades. It gave a horrible bellow and knocked its body into him, throwing him aside with the force of a railway engine. He felt his mind blinking out of focus and tried desperately to stay awake as he felt his body sinking lower into the depths of the ocean.

Samora watched as Liam floated downward and pulled upward with all her might. She wrapped her legs tightly around its back and starting stabbing it over and over.

Uri turned swiftly and angled down to Liam. He swam as fast as he could and caught his shirt in his mouth and pulled him upward.

Come on, kid. Wake up. He thought desperatly.

"Come on, sweetheart, wake up."

Liam opened his eyes and saw a beautiful woman with long, wavy brown hair framing her face leaning over him.

"Mom?" he asked, his voice drifting into the black void around him. She smiled and reached her hand out to him. It was only then that he realized he had been drifting slowly downward and away from her. His arm felt heavy, but he managed to lift it enough for her to grab on to. She pulled and he suddenly felt the dizzying sensation of being pulled upward very quickly.

"Blizzard 2!"

Alistair shot a powerful blizzard spell at the monster's eyes, hoping to find a weak spot. The creature roared and swiped at him, but Alistair had propelled himself backward in anticipation of the attack. He looked over to where Uri was pulling Liam and felt his insides clench.

"I can't lose anyone here. Come on, Liam!"

Liam's eyes snapped open at the memory of the recent events hit him so suddenly that he clenched his head painfully. It was then that he realized he was being pulled up.

"Uri?" he wondered when he turned around and looked up. He smiled gratefully at the wolf-lion and indicated that he was ok. He wasn't though, really. He's seen his mom. But...she was...

While the monster swiped at Alistair, Samora took the opportunity to release it and swim away. As she was distancing herself from it, it spun around and slashed at her with its tail cutting her back open. Unable to cry out in pain, she gritted her teeth and spun back around as the monster was coming in for another attack.

"Divided Heavens!" She unleashed her limit break on the beast. It wailed a long dreadful cry then openned its maw and chomped down on her, taking her whole into its massive mouth.

Uri, having released Liam, gaped at the scene and sped forward. He sunk his teeth into the monster's jagged flesh and tore at it viciously.

"Samora!" both Alistair and Liam gasped in horror. Liam signaled at Alistair to hold its attention. Alistair fired more blizzard spells at it while Liam swam as quickly as he could underneath it. The creature, wriggling to shake Uri off, gave a fearsome bellow at Alistair and swam toward him.

"This'll hurt like hell!" Liam thought. He held up his Sylph Blades and braced his arms. The creature swam over him and right into his blades, slicing its underside right down the middle. Liam was thrown to the side by the tremendous wake and took a moment to reorient himself to see if his attack had done any good.

As Liam's blades cut through its belly, the monster spasmed and gurgled. It let out a final roar before slowly sinking down to the ocean floor. As it sunk down, small blades were working inside its neck to slice an opening big enough for Samora to work herself out of. Uri saw the stream of blood coming from the throat and released his grip to swim down and help Samora dig her way free.

In a mess of blood and scaly flesh, together they were able to tear and slice her out. She quickly swam away and was relieved to see that the engineer crew had finished with the installation. They signalled the all clear for them to go back inside the reactor chamber. Samora didn't need to be told twice. She waved to Alistair and Liam and swam back with Uri.

"Oh god!" She gasped once she was out of the water. Blood trailed down the cut on her back and she stumbled to her knees. Uri was right there checking her condition but she dismissed him when Liam entered the reactor room. She crawled over to him and threw her arms around him in a tight hug.

"I was so worried! Are you alright?" She managed to ask before she fell unconscious from shock.

Director Cross stared at his phone a frown creating deep etches in his face. After an hour, he finally picked up the phone and dialed Adray.

"Adray?" He said, his voice hoarsh. "I'm sorry to call you on your off time, but..." His voice trailed off as he worked up the nerve to tell him the lie. "There has been an accident. Ms. Eilian took a flight out to Junon to be with her friends and the airship had a mechanical error. It crashed near the mountain range. There were no survivors."

He paused, feeling his stomach churn with disgust for himself, but he continued on.

"I'm sorry to ask you this, but I know you're personal friends with Alistair. Could you call him and give him the news? Thank you, Adray. I appriciate it."

He hung the phone up and slumped back in his chair.

It's what must be done. He told himself. Words he had to convince himself with before when he ordered the children be eliminated and before that when he was in SOLDIER infantry. They were just as empty now as they were then, but it was the descision he had made.

Once Leah landed their ship, they were led to the quarters they would be staying at and were given orders to report to the CO in charge of the restoration crew in the morning. Ben excused himself from the two so he could get to bed and Leah heaved a heavy sigh as she slung her gear on top of her bunk.

"Sorry this isn't exactly first class," Leah said to Arashi, "but we shouldn't need to be here too long."