"Children, are you happy here?"

"Yes, Mother!"

"Can we never leave?"

"Of course."

"You promise to always stay here?"

"You won't leave us ever again?"

"Yes, I promise."

~(-)~

"… Reks?" Cloud couldn't believe it: A man who was clearly dead standing here, talking… It had to be impossible. "A-Am I starting to hallucinate, too?" He clutched his head. "This isn't real, this isn't real, this isn't real."

"Hello, Cloud," Reks answered with a smile on his face. "Sorry, I can't catch up right now. My brothers need me."

For a moment, Reks could see Vaan's eyes flash back to normal.

"R-Reks? Is that really you?" he asked as the tears began to well up in his eyes.

Reks nodded. "Yeah, it's me. Have you been eating well?"

Vaan began to sniffle as he tried to force back the tears. The wing began to molt as it retreated back into his body. "O-Of course! Bartz knows all of your recipes by heart!" He scratched his nose. "I do too, but I can't cook…" he added with a nervous chuckle. "But… How? Aren't you… You know…"

Reks just smiled. Vaan began to laugh and cry at the same time.

"Tch, this one is dangerous," Vaan heard a voice echo in his head. Soon, he doubled over in pain as his body grew excessively hot and his head felt like it was going to explode. "Vaan, dear, you need to kill him… He is no brother of yours."

Vaan could only scream in pain as he felt Jenova's claws raking across his brain and stabbing his mind, struggling to regain control after Vaan momentarily broke free. "STOP! STOOOOP!"

"Mother only does this because Mother loves you."

The sweat began to pour down his face as he clung desperately to his sanity. "It hurts! Please… Stop!"

"Don't let her control you, Vaan!" Reks pleaded. "You're stronger than her!"

"Stay out of this, boy!" she hissed at Reks, though only Vaan could hear it in his head. Vaan could feel the motherly touch of Jenova on his face. He looked up to see the illusion of the gray woman stroking his head. "Don't you want to be free? Free to travel the world, just like you've always dreamed?"

Between pants of pain, Vaan answered, "Y-Yes…"

"If you let them live, you'll never have that chance… You'll be forever chained to your Goddess, forced to serve her for the rest of your life…" She moved Vaan's face so that his indigo eyes were looking directly in her sunken-red ones. "But, if you kill her, you're free. Free to do what you want with your life. Aren't you willing to do anything for your dream? You became a thief to achieve your dream. If you need to steal her life, so be it. What's one life compared to your dream?"

The wing, having almost fully receded, then exploded back to full size in a flash of black feathers as his eyes returned to their cat-like pupils. "Nothing," he answered. "My dream…" he started, whipping out his spear and charged toward Reks. "I'll make it come true!"

"Tch," Reks spat, dodging to the side to avoid Vaan's attack, then punching his exposed face. "Of course it can't be that easy." As Vaan was knocked away, he turned to Cosmos. "Cosmos! You need to get out of here! Take the others with you, but leave my brothers and Squall!"

Cosmos nodded in acknowledgement. "Very well." She began to encompass them all in her holy glow.

"What?" Tidus blurted out in his shock. "We can't just leave him here to handle them all alone! We couldn't handle them three-on-three! You need our help!"

Vaan began to return to his feet and spat out the blood that gathered in his mouth. "If you haven't noticed, the three of you aren't exactly in fighting shape. Plus, there's also the chance that the same thing will happen to you if you stay." Vaan pulled out his Greatsword and charged again.

"What about you?" Terra asked.

Reks smirked. "It's kinda hard to inject cells into something that doesn't technically have a body." When Vaan closed in, Reks gracefully dodged by flipping forward over Vaan's attack. In the distance, Bartz, Squall, and Zidane began to regain consciousness after their plan to infiltrate Cosmos's Sanctuary was a success. "Hurry!"

Terra struggled to break free of Cosmos's spell. "Wait! No!" But, she was too tired, having no magic left to fight. "VAAN!"

Soon, everyone had disappeared in her light, despite the many protests of her champions. They had fled to a secret Gate to the southeast on a secluded island. She was instructed by Cid to flee there if she had no choice but to run. This moment seemed appropriate. Before she fully faded away, she said to Reks, "Good luck. May the light shine upon you," and disappeared.

Vaan spat. "Damnit, they got away again."

~(-)~

When Cloud, Terra, and Tidus could see again, they noticed that… they were still in the Sanctuary. Well, it looked like the Sanctuary, but Reks and the others weren't with them. Did they really teleport?

"Uuuuuuuh… Did I miss something?" Tidus asked. "We're still in the Sanctuary."

"No… Or, at least, not the one you think we are in." Cosmos made her way back toward her throne, but collapsed on her way.

"Cosmos!" Cloud rushed to her aid. "Are you alright?"

Cosmos began breathing heavily as she placed her hand to her chest to relax herself. "I'm alright. Just… a bit drained."

Terra rushed over to Cosmos, caught in a whirlwind of emotions that manifested mostly in anger. "Send me back! Send me back right now!"

"I cannot," Cosmos answered, though still out of breath.

"Then, I'll go back myself!" She turned to Tidus. "Let me borrow your magic!"

Tidus jumped back in fear. "Um… Uh… Terra, I don't really have anything left to give… You took more than you should have with that attack of yours…"

"I'll only take what I need."

"Terra, I'm made of this stuff, remember?" A small pyrefly escaped his body, but, with a quick bit of concentration, he quickly roped it back in. "I can barely keep myself together! I really don't have anything left to give."

"Besides," Cosmos interjected. "If you do manage get there, what then? You still have no magic to fight with."

"But-"

Cosmos raised a hand to silence her. "Terra, I understand. Truly. However, you are in no condition to fight. You will only endanger yourself and Reks. We must leave it up to him."

Cloud was off somewhere in his own mind. He more or less missed the entire conversation. He was more concerned about how someone who should be dead suddenly appeared. He hoped that he wasn't hallucinating. He hoped that Jenova wasn't beginning to invade his own mind. "It's not possible! How- How is Reks alive?" he thought out loud.

Cosmos shook her head between pants. "He isn't. Reks is very much dead."

"So, wait, wait, wait," Tidus interrupted. "You saw him? I mean, we all saw him? I wasn't hallucinating when I saw a supposedly-dead guy?"

"Correct."

"Okaaaaay… So, answer me this: HOW? It shouldn't be possible, right? I mean…. RIGHT?" Tidus was on the verge of a panic attack, suddenly freaking out at the thought of thousands of dead people walking the earth. He knew bad things usually happened if dead people continued to walk the earth Unsent, Sin being the major one.

"Tidus, calm yourself," Cosmos ordered. "Reks knows he is not supposed to attune his Frequency to the living plane."

Everyone just gave her blank looks as what she just said went completely over their heads.

"Uuuuuuh, what?" It was the only thing that came to Tidus's mind to say.

Cosmos sighed. "I'm afraid I've said more than I should have already."

Cosmos used what was left of her energy to manipulate the waters in this other Sanctuary to create the viewing globe. The picture showed the inside of the original Sanctuary and the five, clashing fiercely as weapons clanged and magic clashed...

~(-)~

Vaan regrouped with the rest of Jenova's "children." "Sorry I'm late, Bros."

Bartz ran his hand through his brother's hair. "Ah, don't sweat it. Sorry about earlier. Mother said it had to be done for the plan."

Vaan smiled. "It's okay. If he didn't show up," he said, pointing to Reks, "it would have worked, too."

Squall snorted. "So much for your 'brother' being dead."

Reks shook his head. "Oh, no, I assure you I am quite dead." He pointed to the wings on his back. "They're proof. I'm a Reaper."

Zidane threw his head back and laughed. "Reaper? They're old skeletons wrapped in tattered robes carrying around scythes. You just grew a pair of wings."

"You shouldn't believe everything you see on television."

Bartz shrugged. "Whatever. I say we kill him again just to be sure." He whipped out Cecil's Paladin lance and lobbed a crescent-shaped slash of Holy energy at him.

Reks jumped forward and over the Luminous Shard. "Try your luck. COURAGE OF HASHMAL!" An Esper crystal materialized in front of him. With his greatsword out in front of him, he charged forward, spinning, breaking the crystal, and gathering earth and dirt, attempted to drill them into a wall. The four dodged easily by flying into the air. Reks' attack ended, screeching to a halt and scraping along the ground.

Squall spat. "It seems your 'brother' has some moves."

"I'm flattered," Reks answered. "GRACE OF VIRGO!" he called, dismissing the Greatsword, and quickly smashing an Esper crystal between his palms. Taking a fighting stance, he challenged them. "COME!"

"You're awfully cocky for someone without a weapon!" Zidane shouted, throwing his combined daggers downward at him.

"Not cocky," he started, disappearing in a flash, then reappearing behind Zidane, elbowing him hard in the back. "I am granted the gifts of the Zodiac." Zidane was sent flying as Reks gave chase, punching him downwards into the floor.

"ZIDANE!" Vaan called out. "HOW DARE YOU HURT MY BROTHER!" he screamed, charging. When he got close to Reks, he summoned a red crest and then plowed through it, cloaking himself in flames.

"BEAUTY OF SHEMHAZAI!" Reks pulled out his Bow as an Esper crystal materialized between himself and Vaan, stocked an arrow, and took aim at Vaan's face. Vaan could only look on in horror as the arrow blasted through the Esper crystal, shattering it, as the glowing arrow flew at him, point-blank. He could only twist his body enough to avoid the fatal blow to his head, but he was still caught in the abdomen. The spiritual energies burned his body as it blasted through his torso, propelling him backwards. Before the others could counter, Reks stocked another arrow and fired. The arrow split into a thousand as they rained upon Bartz and Squall. Squall quickly created a ring of gunpowder around himself and Bartz, firing it to block the arrows.

"That defense will be tough to get through," Reks thought. Bartz summoned five Holy pearls and shot them forward at Reks while Squall charged his blade full of energy, turning it blue, and rocketing at Reks. "GRACE OF VIRGO!" Reks called, dismissing his bow and smashing the corresponding Esper crystal between his palms, opting for his barehanded style once again. He stepped just to the side of Squall's charge as he gathered Holy energy in his hand. He blasted a beam of Holy energy at Squall's exposed side, blasting him into one of the pillars that littered the Sanctuary. The hairs on the back of Reks's neck stood on end as he could have sworn he heard something snap. He prayed it was just his wing. Still, this was no time to be concerned for the enemy. When he saw the Holy pearls were nearly on top of him, he summoned his Greatsword again. "COURAGE OF HASHMAL!" he called, charging forward and through the Esper crystal, gathering earth with the attack. The Holy pearls bounced off his defenses and back toward the sender. Bartz swatted them away with his bare hands, jumped into the air, summoning Cecil's Paladin lance, and threw a small bit of Holy energy at him.

Reks saw this as his chance. He dodged the small, magic bit, lined himself up under Bartz and summoned his Staff. "WILL OF ADRAMMELECH!" he shouted before slamming his staff into the ground, smashing the Esper crystal that was summoned. A large bolt of lightning came crashing down as it locked onto the staff like it was a lightning rod. Unfortunately for Bartz, he was between the lightning and the staff. Despite the crackle of thunder, Reks could still hear Bartz scream as thousands of volts of judgment coursed through his body. Bartz fell out of the sky with a sickening thud.

~(-)~

"Really?"

"Really, really?"

"Really. Why do you keep asking me?"

"Because… You left us before."

"You left us all alone."

"We kept calling for you…"

"But, you never answered."

"Father told us you went somewhere far away…"

"Somewhere we could never go…"

"Well, I'm here now. Aren't you happy?"

"Yes!"

"Happier than we've ever been!"

~(-)~

Despite all of the damage they have taken, everyone struggled to return to their feet. Their bodies were broken, bloody, and beaten. They were being pushed far past their breaking point, but still they persisted. A trickle of sweat ran down Reks's face. "So, Jenova is willing to kill them if she gets what she wants. Some mother." Reks dismissed the Staff, leaving him barehanded again. He materialized a pin in his hand. It was black, save for the stylized, white skull that took up most of the pin's surface. "I really should not have this, but, at this point, what's another broken rule?" Soon, everyone was charging for him from all sides, despite the numerous injuries that they've suffered. Reks squeezed the pin in his palm as he focused his energies into it. "OPEN UP… YOUR SENSES!" A bright light erupted from the pin. The four of them covered their eyes as the flash encompassed them all.

When the light died down, Reks found himself in a white room, devoid of any sort of defining features, save for four creatures which could only described as some sort of mutant, alien squid with wings. Inside of these strange squid-like creatures, he saw the faces of the four barely peeking out from the alien-squids, sleeping, slowly sinking into the creatures' flesh.

"EVERYONE! AWAKEN!" he shouted, though it was all in vain. The only thing that did was get the attention of the creatures that were trying to eat his brothers. They began spraying various kinds of gas at him. "TERROR OF ZALERA!" He summoned his Gun as an Esper crystal materialized in front of him. He shot it, causing the crystal to scream an unholy wail, blocking the gas. He loaded a special shot into the gun and fired. The shot moved slowly, but, the more it traveled, the bigger the shot became. It was soon big enough to knock the creature holding Vaan off its feet as it exploded in the creature's face. Reks dismissed the gun and ran over to the downed creature. The other creatures were soon firing lasers of various colors at Reks to impede his progress toward Vaan. Reks countered by whipping out the Mace as an Esper crystal materialized on its tip. "FORCE OF ZEROMUS!" He flung the Esper crystal into the distance where it shattered and created a black hole, drawing the other creatures toward it. They shrieked as they tried to hold their ground.

He pounced upon the downed creature that held Vaan hostage. He lightly smacked Vaan's face trying to get any sort of response from him. "Come on, Vaan… Wake up!" He looked back to see the other creatures were regrouping. Getting desperate, he tore into the flesh of the creature, ripping it apart from Vaan. The creature shrieked an unholy wail in pain as its allies were soon blasting various colored beams in Reks direction to make him stop. Reks had no choice but to flee from the downed creature. If he was going to save them, he couldn't very well die here.

"WHO DARES HURT MY CHILDREN?"

The voice seemed to come from everywhere in this white void, echoing off of nothing but itself. Descending from above, Reks saw what looked to be a flower with half-a-woman attached to the front of it with long, tentacle arms.

"Children?" he asked.

Looking down, she noticed the intruder and screamed before whipping one of her arms forward. While Reks did avoid the initial impact, the force of her arm hitting the ground flung Reks back. He landed hard on his back and rolled a bit from the impact. He struggled to return to his feet, wiping a bit of dirt off of his face.

"Jenova, I presume?"

"These are my children, and you will not hurt them!" she threatened, slamming her arms into the ground for emphasis.

He scowled at her. "If you were wise, you would release your prisoners."

She laughed in response. "Prisoners? No, they asked for Mother's protection. Look at them," she said, motioning to the sleeping faces inside of the creatures. "They are sleeping... They are dreaming… Their dreams are happy and peaceful. They don't want to be a part of this world. It is hard. It is cruel. They are forced to fight in a war they don't understand against people they thought they knew. They are forced to remember things that no one else can know. They are forced to carry a burden all on their own. Such sad children. How could I let them suffer?" Reks balled his fist in anger. "If you were their brother, you would understand."

Reks shook his head. "You are right. You are absolutely right. They have suffered more hardships in a short amount of time than most people can even begin to fathom." He clenched his fist harder, feeling the power of Mist well up inside of him. "HOWEVER! That does not make it okay for you to lock their minds away in a world of dreams! They know life is hard! They get up every day fearing that someone they know will try to kill them. Despite all of this, they persist! They continue to live their lives as if nothing was happening! They continue to treat everyone the same even though they know otherwise because they agreed to carry the burden of truth. They did it all so that no one else would have to suffer like they already have." Reks felt the Mist energy inside of his body reach a boiling point as its aura burned from his body. "JENOVA! I WILL ONLY REPEAT MYSELF ONCE: RELEASE YOUR PRISONERS, OR SUFFER THE WRATH OF THE DARK ONES!"

"YOUR 'BROTHERS' ARE MINE!" she hissed, whipping her arms forward again. "THEY SLEEP BECAUSE THEY SO WISH IT!"

Using the increase in power, he summoned one, last Esper crystal. "I CALL UPON THE POWER OF THE LOST ESPER, ZODIARK!" he cried, smashing the crystal between his hands. In response he was incased in an egg as the power of the Esper began to fill his body.

~(-)~

"Wait…"

"Happier than I've ever been?"

"What's wrong?"

"… No."

"This isn't right."

"It's a lie. It's all a lie."

"This isn't how it's supposed to be."

"Calm down! Let Mother help you!"

"LIAR!"

"WITCH!"

"TEMPTRESS!"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

"YOU… YOU DARE DEFY MOTHER?"

"You…"

"YOU…"

~(-)~

"STOP HIM!" Jenova shrieked. In response, her "children" began firing a multitude of lasers at the egg, but the lasers completely missed. "What?" Looking down, she noticed that her "children" were beginning to stir. They were trying to leave the world that she so lovingly made for them. "YOU… YOU DARE DEFY MOTHER?" she screamed as she commanded the creatures holding Bartz, Squall, Zidane, and Vaan to electrocute them. They screamed in pain, but the electrical jolt only succeeded in finally waking them from their dream.

"You…" they said, freeing their left hand from the creature that held them.

"… are not…" Then, their right hand burst through the creatures' flesh. They grabbed the flesh that covered the rest of their body with their now free hands.

"… OUR MOTHER!" They tore open the creatures' chest, freeing themselves from their own prison. Now free, they passed out once more as they fell from the open cavity.

"NO! NO, NO, NO!" Jenova began screaming. "I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED! EVERYTHING! AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME?" She whipped her arms out and grabbed them and squeezed, the distinct sound of breaking bones filled the air. "YOU SHALL PAY FOR YOUR INSOLENCE!"

Jenova, however, forgot about the egg until she heard cracking sounds that weren't coming from her hands. Looking back toward the egg, orange energy began seeping through the cracks until the eggshell exploded from no longer being able to contain the energy within. Emerging from the egg was Reks, completely incased in a fiery aura, giving him the appearance of a burning phoenix.

"JENOVA!" he shouted, his voice echoing with several voices that were not his own. "Do you wish to know why the Occuria sealed away Zodiark? It was not because he betrayed them liked the other Espers, but it was because the Occuria feared his power. Now, you shall know why!" He flew at her with such incredible speed that he had closed the gap between them before she could even react. Every time Jenova caught sight of Reks, there was a new fist mark in her flesh. Fist after fist pounded her body from all sides. The fierce flurry of fists stopped almost as suddenly as it began. Looking up, she soon saw why. "TERROR OF ZALERA!" He summoned an Esper crystal and blasted it with his gun, causing the crystal to shriek in Jenova's face. The ear-splitting cry caused her to drop the four. Reks quickly separated himself from Zodiark's energy. The energy caught the four before they could land, acting as a makeshift vessel to carry them.

While Jenova was stunned, he blasted a Thunder spell at her as reality broke away to reveal the EX dimension. Reks began by calling down bolts from the heaven, swirling in a helix pattern around Jenova. Next, Reks called forth an ice storm. The ice storm took the form of a gigantic dragon. It opened its humungous maw wide and clamped down over Jenova. While all that was going on, Reks raised his hand toward the heavens. Lightning came down from the clouds and gathered up in his hand, creating a crackling sphere of electricity. He flew forward and punched Jenova in the "gut" with the electrical sphere, causing it to explode. The explosion was so fierce, that it actually pierced Jenova's body, shooting bolts out from everywhere.

With his Quickening complete, the Mist that gathered had built up, preparing to detonate. Twelve crests appeared in a clockwise manner over Jenova. Each crest had a symbol of the zodiac on it, starting with Pisces, and moving onto Aeries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, and Aquarius, leaving a large hole in the center. Reks flew up through the hole as the final crest appeared, Ouphiuchus. He kicked the middle crest of Ouphiuchus, causing all of the crests to fire beams of ice, fire, wind, death, gravity, earth, holy, aether, poison, spirit, lightning, water, and darkness at her. With the attack finished, reality returned to normal as Jenova was nothing more than a steaming mass of tissue. The creatures that held her "children" shrieked one, last, ear-splitting scream and dissolved away. The "phoenix" landed gently, resting its load gingerly on the white ground before also fading away. The room started to gain color as grass began to grow at Reks's feet. The color stretched and began to color the world in various hues of greens and blues and yellows. Soon, a field of flowers and a thick, dark forest sprung up, and several airships began to fly overhead. The sun was shining brightly on the sudden landscape. When Reks saw that their minds were now truly free from Jenova's influence, he smiled and nodded.

"All is as it should be." Taking out the pin from earlier, he stopped giving it energy, severing his connection with their minds.

With the pin no longer connecting him to them, he was returned to the Sanctuary. The four were now sleeping peacefully on the wet ground, though, much to Reks's horror, they still had the wings of Jenova. He hurried over to them and started nudging them awake.

The first to stir was Squall. He tried to stand but stumbled over feeling dizzy. He shook his head to try and make the room stop spinning. "Ugh… What…" Squall soon saw a hand in front of his face. He followed the hand up to the owner's face, only to fall over in surprise as to who was on the other end. He only saw his face once, but he couldn't forget a face like his. "… Reks?" He nodded. Squall took his hand, though the look of shock was still plastered on his normally expressionless face, and Reks helped to pull Squall to his feet.

"How do you feel, Squall?" he asked.

Squall held his head with his hand and grunted. "… I'm told this is what a hangover feels like." When he moved, in the corner of his vision, he saw something over his left shoulder. Instinctively, he grabbed it, only to realize, whatever he just grabbed, he felt it. He felt it coming from his back. Looking back, he saw it: The pitch-black wing. He saw something like that before coming out of Sephiroth's own back. But… "… What the hell? … Why is that coming out of my back?" Looking at the others, he saw the same, single wing protruding from their backs… Wings that shouldn't be there. "Wh-What the hell happened?"

Reks sighed. "Much," was all he could really say at the moment.

Then, it hit him like a ton of bricks. That dream… He saw flashes of images with people hurt… By his own sword. Allies… Friends.The memories were fuzzy, but they were there. "Was it real? … Could it be real? Did…" Squall reached down over Bartz and, with a sharp tug, plucked a feather from his wing. The resulting shriek of pain and sudden waking from Bartz was an indicator that the wing wasn't just for show.

"OW! Ow, ow, ow, ow…" he whined as he rubbed his back. "What the hell was that for, Squ-" He then noticed the feathers his right arm was brushing up against. Looking back at the wing, Bartz could feel the color drain from his face. "… Oh… dear… god…" Looking around in a panic, he saw that his brothers and Squall also had the single, black wings. The images… They started to flash rapidly in his mind. The screams… The blood… It was all so clear… So vivid…

Tears began to run down his face. "… My god, what have I done?"

Reks sighed. "So, you remember…"

Bartz looked up upon hearing a familiar voice. The tears only grew. "It can't be… R… Reks? How?" Reks got on his knees and pulled Bartz into a hug. Bartz promptly began bawling at this point. "WHY? WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY? WHAT DID WE DO TO DESERVE THIS? ITS! NOT! FAIR! I… I just… I just wanted everyone… I just wanted my family back…"

Reks began to pat his back in hopes of making him calm down. "I'm sorry, Bartz. I really am. Sometimes… Life just isn't fair." Bartz began to hiccup he was crying so hard. "But, I knew I could count on you to keep an eye out for them, protect them from life's cruelties. You promised me you would, didn't you?"

"Y-Yes…"

"Good." He ran his hand through Bartz's hair. Bartz began to giggle as that was always what Reks did, despite them being about the same height.

Soon, Zidane and Vaan were stirring too.

"Ugh… Anyone get the license plate of that bus?" Zidane asked, clutching his head.

"No more for me, thanks," Vaan joked, being just as woozy as everyone else. "I'm driving…"

Reks laughed this time. "It's nice to know some things don't change."

Bartz snorted back the mucus that began dripping down his nose as he wiped the tears from his cheeks. "I know, right?"

"Ugh… What happened?" Zidane groaned. "Last thing I really remember was being in the World of Darkness…"

"I dunno…" Vaan answered, until he saw Reks. His eyes grew wide when he suddenly remembered. "… N-No way… That… That was real?" Looking at his back, there it was… the wing. "… Oh god… Me too?"

"You too, what-" Zidane just noticed the wing sticking out of Vaan's back and crawled backwards in fear, pointing at it with a trembling hand. "Wh-wh-what? You?"

"Zidane… You had one before I did…"

Zidane looked at his back, and, low and behold, there it was. "… No… No way…" Looking around, Zidane saw Jenova, bloody and unconscious some ways off in the Sanctuary. Vaan soon noticed the same thing. Like a bolt of lightning, the two were off, brandishing their swords.

Bartz knew what they had on their minds. The two prepared to end what was left of Jenova's life. They raised their blades and lunged, only to be stopped by Bartz grabbing both of their hands while they were overhead.

"Bartz, let go!" Vaan demanded.

"She deserves it!" Zidane hissed.

Bartz bent their arms back, painfully pinning them behind their back. "And, then what? Yes, she's a monster. Yes, Jenova did to us what no one should go through. But, what about Jenova, the grandmother? What about Jenova, the kindly, old lady that visited Cloud in the hospital whenever she could? Are you okay with killing her?" Vaan and Zidane bowed their heads in shame and dismissed their weapons. "Yes, we have the wings of a monster, but that doesn't make us monsters." The two turned around and began crying into their brother's shirt. "Aw, come one. If there's a way out of it, we'll find it. Together, just like we've always had, and just like we always will. Right?"

The two looked up. Seeing Bartz's smiling face calmed them down just enough to smile back. "Right," they answered together.

Reks was soon giving them all a big hug as well. "This is what I miss most."

"REKS!" Zidane and Vaan shouted happily, returning the large hug.

"Aw, man, I can't believe it!" Vaan exclaimed.

"Yeah! You totally kicked our butts!" Zidane finished with a laugh.

Reks playfully ruffed their heads as well. "Well, I did have the advantage of being at full strength. You guys and Jenova didn't exactly make it easy, though."

"Hey, hey!" Zidane said, bouncing up and down on his heels. "You gonna stick around? We could use the help!"

Reks laughed nervously. "Uh… I really wasn't supposed to help you guys at all, actually. My boss is really going to have my wings for this…"

"Is he that bad?" Vaan asked.

"You know how Judges are, Vaan."

Vaan cringed at the thought of Ivalice Judges and took his word for it. "Wait, judge?"

"Oops, I think I've said too much. Now, I'm really going to get it."

The four brothers shared a quick laugh. Squall looked on in amazement.

"I… I don't believe it. They really are brothers," he thought.

"Well, of course we are!" Bartz answered. "We've been saying that since the beginning!"

"What?"

"Uh, duh!" Zidane responded. "We all heard that."

"Uh… Heard what?" Reks was lost.

"Mr. Leather-pants over there said he couldn't believe we were brothers," Vaan explained. "Seriously, how did you not hear that. It was loud and clear."

A trickle of sweat ran down Squall's cheek. "Uh, guys… I said that… in my mind."

The Bartz, Zidane, and Vaan looked at Squall like he had three heads. "… What?"

"Wait, wait, wait," Vaan said, trying to make sense of the situation. "Are you saying we just read your mind?"

"Hey, if we read his mind, maybe we can read each other's! Quick! What am I thinking?"

A rather, well, provocative image of certain females soon swept through the four's minds.

"OH GOD, ZIDANE!" Bartz screamed. "WHY DO YOU THINK THESE THINGS?"

"My eyes! My virgin eyes!" Vaan whined.

"LAY OFF THE -bleep-ing PORN, MAN!" Squall shouted.

Zidane giggled and swished his tail playfully. "I'll take that as a 'yes.'"

"Bartz!" Reks scolded. "You're supposed to keep him in check!"

"I swear, I tried! The guy keeps breaking the parental lock I have installed on the computer!" Bartz yanked on Zidane's ear, something he clearly didn't like by the various pleads to let go. "You are in sooooooo much trouble, young man."

Zidane snickered. "Yeah, I know… Totally worth it, though." The thought earned him another sharp tug on his ear from Bartz. "OW!"

"I can hear that, remember?"

Vaan sighed. "Privacy's going to be a bitch."

Squall glared at him. "Don't tell me you watch porn, too."

"What? No! I have a girlfriend remember?" This only caused Bartz to glare at him too. "What's that look for? … Whoa, whoa, whoa! I have not gone to second base with her, okay? Her uncles would kill me if they found out, and I rather like living."

Despite this, he still received an ear-pull from Bartz and Squall and whined at them to let him go. Reks couldn't help but laugh. The four stopped their antics to look at him, wondering why.

When Reks could catch his breath, he explained. "I'm so glad… So glad I don't have to worry about you."

"What do you mean?" Bartz asked.

"Look at you! Bartz, you matured so fast to take care of them, but Squall at least lets you be the kid you are at heart." Bartz flipped his cape over his head to hide the building red in his cheeks. Reks laughed again. "See? That's just what I mean!" Reks finally caught his breath and smiled. "Squall, thank you for being a good brother to them."

Squall opened his mouth to protest, but closed it again when he realized, well, that's just what he was. He sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "You're welcome."

When the others heard that, they suddenly pounced upon the lion. "BROTHER!" they screamed happily. Squall promptly buckled under their combined weight. Of course, the three started laughing. Squall let himself smile for the briefest of moments.

Reks sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry to break up this touching moment… But, I really should be going."

Bartz, Vaan, and Zidane frowned but gave Reks a big hug.

"Promise you'll come back?" Bartz asked.

"I can't promise anything," he admitted. "But, I'll try and sneak a few visits here and there." That seemed to be enough as they let go of their embrace. Reks started to phase out as the three waved him good-bye. Before he fully left their vision, he gave them one last smile, and the three returned it in kind.

Cosmos and the others flashed in shortly after Reks left. Cosmos was obviously drained, but the time for rest would come later. They laid Jenova at her feet, and Cosmos performed the ritual to remove the shard of Chaos that had Awakened her. The four had a hard time looking everyone in the eyes after realizing what they had done while under her influence.

When Cosmos extracted the shard, she noticed something as wrong with it right away. Although the shards themselves were usually small, this one was unusually small. To call it a shard was wrong; it was more like a sliver of Chaos.

The others seemed to notice the problem as well.

"… That's all?" Tidus questioned. "I figured someone with her power would have a lot more of that in her."

"Are you sure you didn't miss anything?" Terra asked.

Cosmos shook her head. "Yes, this is all of it, I'm certain." She then looked up at the four. "Unless…"

"Unless…?" Bartz repeated.

"The rest of the shard is inside of each of you." She again summoned the harmonious energies and attempted to reach inside them for what was left of the shard. The four soon doubled over in pain as it felt like something was trying to be ripped out of them, and the thing in question had no intention of leaving. It felt like a desperate tug-of-war inside of their chest. Cosmos stopped when she realized that the pain was too much. All of the party involved began to pant as the pain began to subside.

"W-Will you four do me a favor?" Cosmos asked between pants. "Allow me to see your Crystals."

Doing as they were instructed, they summoned their crystals. Immediately, they knew something was wrong when they phased into existence in smoky wisps instead of a bright flash. Their normally bright, reflective, colorful Crystals were now dark, gray, and opaque.

Bartz jaw was barely on its hinges. "What in the-"

"It is as I feared," Cosmos interrupted. "The shard fragments have imbedded themselves deep in your Crystals." She sighed. "I do not think I can remove them without possibly killing you."

"I-It's that bad?" Terra asked completely shocked.

"Your Crystals are tied to your hearts. If your hearts are consumed by darkness, then your Crystals will blacken." A trickle of sweat ran down their cheeks. "I can remove it if you manage to concur your darkness. However, at the moment, it has wormed its way deep in the darkest corners of your heart. I fear that it will try to make that darkness grow. If you do not find a way to overcome it, you will lose yourself to discord."

The four could only look at their Crystals in horror. Despite it no longer reflecting the light, the four could still see their reflections in the Crystals' surface. The faces… They changed. Instead of seeing themselves as the heroes they are, they saw themselves with misty-white hair and horrid green eyes with cat-like pupils… and a smile… a smile so horrid it made Kefka's sweet by comparison. They knew that face… That was the face of a cold-blooded murderer… A murder of an entire world that did it just because he could.

They regularly faced psychotic, world-destroying gods who were their neighbors, friends, and family, not knowing which of them they will fight next, constantly putting their lives on the line and, oftentimes, surviving by the slimmest of margins. However, nothing was more terrifying to them than what they saw in their own Crystals: Themselves.

~(-)~

I think I'm getting close to that point where I'm going to suffer story-burnout again. I mean, thoughts and ideas are just pouring out of my head at this point, and it's making me restless. I recently had an idea for (yet another) Dissidia fanfiction where it crosses Dissidia and the Wizard of Oz. Surprisingly, though, the main character is not Bartz, but rather Cloud (But, Bartz is the scarecrow.)… And Cloud is forced to run around in a dress instead of the ruby slippers. :B I don't know if I want to do that, though, since it won't be a one-shot. And, that's not getting me started on another long-term story idea I had crossing over MegaMan Battle Network and Digimon Tamers (or maybe Xros Wars) and my own original story for a webcomic a friend and I want to make...*headdesk*

I have a whole Dissidia moveset for Reks planned out, by the way. I should probably also make one for Sora and Roxas for future self-reference. (I'd show you if the site didn't keep eating the link)

Also, damnit, I wish there was a right align in this. Maybe because I'm typing this up in Word and the site does say it doesn't support it fully. The moments where they're talking to Mother is supposed to be interchanging left align-right align with Jenova being middle-align. Bah.

Next time: The wings persist? What does this mean for the team? Will the four be able to adjust to having a piece of Chaos stuck inside of them? What are the repercussions of Jenova's actions?