He gasped awake, his form trembling… had it all been a dream? No… it couldn't have been, he had
been there. Him… Folken Fanel had been at heaven's gate but where was he now?
Several torches that were hanging on the sides of the wall lighted the murky brown cave. The shadows
that the light cast gave the area a hellish red-like hue. He looked down at his right arm… it was once again
that horrid metal contraption.
Maybe they had made a mistake and now he was in hell… funny, he would have thought hell would be
darker than this.
" Lord Folken, it's good to finally meet you face to face," a female voice cut through his thoughts.
To his right stood a Zaibach captain, one he had never seen before. Her outfit was similar to
Dilandau's except that her shoulder guards didn't have spikes on then, instead a blade-like piece of metal
extended from each.
Also her uniform was a dark grey where it should have been red. The girl was just a couple years
younger than him; her red eyes glimmered in the firelight. Her long wavy hair fell gently over her
shoulders. Though she was beautiful she gave off a cold feeling that couldn't be ignored.
" Where am I? Who are you?" his demanded.
The young woman gave a bit of smirk then gestured with her head to the man standing beside her, who
ran off towards the mouth of the cavern.
" Is that anyway to thank someone who just brought you back into the land of the living?"
" You didn't answer my question," Folken growled.
The man who had been at her side earlier chose then to return. In his hand was a bottle with a dark
amber liquid in it along with two metal goblets. The woman held the goblets while the man poured the
drinks.
She then offered one of the goblets to him saying calmly, " My name is Uteri Osaka."
The name sparked something in Folken's mind. The girl had looked somewhat familiar but he hadn't
been able to place her until now. He had seen her face in the holographic database the Vione that had of all
the members of the Zaibach Empire. If his memory served him right Uteri Osaka had been the captain of
the reconnaissance and battle squadron 'The Ghost Riders'. She had been colourfully nicknamed 'The
Devil's Soldier' because of her interest in black arts and the occult, as well as her slightly brutal nature. But
there was one thing that she would never do, and that was abandon a member of her team, even if they were
dead she insisted that the body be brought back with them, though no one knew why.
Uteri continued to inform Folken of his situation as he took the goblet from her hands but didn't drink
any of the liquid, " And as to where you are, you're back on Gaea."
" But I was dead… how did I get back here?" he questioned.
" I brought you back."
A puzzled look crossed his face before asking his next question, " Why?"
The young woman sighed and ran a hand through her hair as she sat down. She had always hated
admitting anything like this to anyone. " I need your help."
" For what?"
" The Zaibach Empire has fallen… and I intend to rebuild it, as well as crush that who destroyed it."
Folken felt a cold hand clutch his insides, Uteri obviously didn't know about his betrayal of the
Empire. He was able to keep his face impassive as he quickly distracted the woman with another comment.
" Uteri Osaka huh? By the way people talked about you I would think that you had wings of fire and horns
coming out of your head."
" And by the way they talked about you, I thought you would be the human embodiment of anguish,"
she quipped back giving him a cold glare.
"So why do it?" he continued taking a whiff of the liquid in his cup to see if it was safe to drink.
Uteri took a small sip from her drink before replying, "Why do what?"
" Rebuild Zaibach? You could easily move on with you're life," Folken sighed finally giving into the
liquid taking a swift gulp. " I'm grateful for the second chance… but I'm not going to mess my life again.
The war is over, life can go on… so why are you so persistent to hold onto the past?"
Uteri gasped and clutched at her chest, turning away from him as the gears of her metal heart scratched
against her ribs. 'Why was it acting up again?' she thought silently trying to regain her composure. Gazing
down at her hand an idea planted itself in her mind.
" You're wrong, the war isn't over… to the victors it is… but not to me," she turned back to the
scientist, an almost sad expression on her face. " Zaibach was all I ever had, it was there for me."
"And now it's not."
" You're wrong! Zaibach was different from everything in my life… it wasn't a person, it couldn't
hurt you, or abandon you… it was a cause. A cause can't leave you… you can leave it, but it can't leave
you!… It becomes part of you," she panted from the outburst trying to remain in control of her emotions. "
And I owe it… and so do you…"
He looked at the younger woman in confusion unable to see where she was going with this rambling of
hers.
He was suddenly taken by surprise when Uteri's hand sprung out, quick as a viper and latched onto
Folken's left hand. She then forced his hand on to the left side of her chest, just above her breast.
He eyes widened in shock as he felt the gears of a steel device roll under his palm along with the
rhythmic pulsing of a hard pump. Folken eyes slowly drifted up to meet Uteri's eyes.
" We're one and the same Folken… you weren't the first of Dornkirk's charity cases."
Folken ripped his hand away still slightly shocked by what he had discovered. 'She has no heart…' he
couldn't help but shudder at thought.
" He gave us back our lives… gave us a second chance and you're just going to throw everything he
did for you out the window? I don't know about you Folken but I repay my debts."
He breathed slowly regained its normal rate before he answered her. " With blood? Killing to stop
killing? Sounds pretty backwards to me!"
" No, an eye for an eye… that's all, don't you think justice should be served," Uteri's eye almost
twinkled thinking that she had caught him.
" Yes, justice should be served… but what you have in mind, that's murder… I'm sorry. If you were
looking for help, then you resurrected the wrong person."
Uteri sighed as some of her men crowded around the two. " How can you just forget everything
Zaibach gave you, power, respect… LIFE?"
" Life means LIVING Uteri, so technically I owe Zaibach nothing… remember that!" he snapped
back.
Uteri clenched her fists in anger and pain as her heart acted up for a second. " You know… I'm sorry
too… sorry it had to come to this." She then stepped back and gave an order to her men, "Kill him."
The several men around him drew their swords and rushed toward him. Letting his instincts take over
Folken unfurled his wings and soared skyward and out the cave entrance and into the night.
Uteri snatched one of the dark grey feathers from the air and glared the direction Folken had departed.
" You just made a big mistake Folken… and you're going to regret it."
~~~~~~@~~~~~~
His lungs pumped with exertion but something in his mind pushed him forward. He had been
following the mysterious light almost all night. His legs were tired but he pressed on.
'Come Dilandau, we've not very much further to go… then you shall be rewarded,' the flame
promised again.
Dilandau upped his pace following the light… 'Then I'll be rewarded.'
been there. Him… Folken Fanel had been at heaven's gate but where was he now?
Several torches that were hanging on the sides of the wall lighted the murky brown cave. The shadows
that the light cast gave the area a hellish red-like hue. He looked down at his right arm… it was once again
that horrid metal contraption.
Maybe they had made a mistake and now he was in hell… funny, he would have thought hell would be
darker than this.
" Lord Folken, it's good to finally meet you face to face," a female voice cut through his thoughts.
To his right stood a Zaibach captain, one he had never seen before. Her outfit was similar to
Dilandau's except that her shoulder guards didn't have spikes on then, instead a blade-like piece of metal
extended from each.
Also her uniform was a dark grey where it should have been red. The girl was just a couple years
younger than him; her red eyes glimmered in the firelight. Her long wavy hair fell gently over her
shoulders. Though she was beautiful she gave off a cold feeling that couldn't be ignored.
" Where am I? Who are you?" his demanded.
The young woman gave a bit of smirk then gestured with her head to the man standing beside her, who
ran off towards the mouth of the cavern.
" Is that anyway to thank someone who just brought you back into the land of the living?"
" You didn't answer my question," Folken growled.
The man who had been at her side earlier chose then to return. In his hand was a bottle with a dark
amber liquid in it along with two metal goblets. The woman held the goblets while the man poured the
drinks.
She then offered one of the goblets to him saying calmly, " My name is Uteri Osaka."
The name sparked something in Folken's mind. The girl had looked somewhat familiar but he hadn't
been able to place her until now. He had seen her face in the holographic database the Vione that had of all
the members of the Zaibach Empire. If his memory served him right Uteri Osaka had been the captain of
the reconnaissance and battle squadron 'The Ghost Riders'. She had been colourfully nicknamed 'The
Devil's Soldier' because of her interest in black arts and the occult, as well as her slightly brutal nature. But
there was one thing that she would never do, and that was abandon a member of her team, even if they were
dead she insisted that the body be brought back with them, though no one knew why.
Uteri continued to inform Folken of his situation as he took the goblet from her hands but didn't drink
any of the liquid, " And as to where you are, you're back on Gaea."
" But I was dead… how did I get back here?" he questioned.
" I brought you back."
A puzzled look crossed his face before asking his next question, " Why?"
The young woman sighed and ran a hand through her hair as she sat down. She had always hated
admitting anything like this to anyone. " I need your help."
" For what?"
" The Zaibach Empire has fallen… and I intend to rebuild it, as well as crush that who destroyed it."
Folken felt a cold hand clutch his insides, Uteri obviously didn't know about his betrayal of the
Empire. He was able to keep his face impassive as he quickly distracted the woman with another comment.
" Uteri Osaka huh? By the way people talked about you I would think that you had wings of fire and horns
coming out of your head."
" And by the way they talked about you, I thought you would be the human embodiment of anguish,"
she quipped back giving him a cold glare.
"So why do it?" he continued taking a whiff of the liquid in his cup to see if it was safe to drink.
Uteri took a small sip from her drink before replying, "Why do what?"
" Rebuild Zaibach? You could easily move on with you're life," Folken sighed finally giving into the
liquid taking a swift gulp. " I'm grateful for the second chance… but I'm not going to mess my life again.
The war is over, life can go on… so why are you so persistent to hold onto the past?"
Uteri gasped and clutched at her chest, turning away from him as the gears of her metal heart scratched
against her ribs. 'Why was it acting up again?' she thought silently trying to regain her composure. Gazing
down at her hand an idea planted itself in her mind.
" You're wrong, the war isn't over… to the victors it is… but not to me," she turned back to the
scientist, an almost sad expression on her face. " Zaibach was all I ever had, it was there for me."
"And now it's not."
" You're wrong! Zaibach was different from everything in my life… it wasn't a person, it couldn't
hurt you, or abandon you… it was a cause. A cause can't leave you… you can leave it, but it can't leave
you!… It becomes part of you," she panted from the outburst trying to remain in control of her emotions. "
And I owe it… and so do you…"
He looked at the younger woman in confusion unable to see where she was going with this rambling of
hers.
He was suddenly taken by surprise when Uteri's hand sprung out, quick as a viper and latched onto
Folken's left hand. She then forced his hand on to the left side of her chest, just above her breast.
He eyes widened in shock as he felt the gears of a steel device roll under his palm along with the
rhythmic pulsing of a hard pump. Folken eyes slowly drifted up to meet Uteri's eyes.
" We're one and the same Folken… you weren't the first of Dornkirk's charity cases."
Folken ripped his hand away still slightly shocked by what he had discovered. 'She has no heart…' he
couldn't help but shudder at thought.
" He gave us back our lives… gave us a second chance and you're just going to throw everything he
did for you out the window? I don't know about you Folken but I repay my debts."
He breathed slowly regained its normal rate before he answered her. " With blood? Killing to stop
killing? Sounds pretty backwards to me!"
" No, an eye for an eye… that's all, don't you think justice should be served," Uteri's eye almost
twinkled thinking that she had caught him.
" Yes, justice should be served… but what you have in mind, that's murder… I'm sorry. If you were
looking for help, then you resurrected the wrong person."
Uteri sighed as some of her men crowded around the two. " How can you just forget everything
Zaibach gave you, power, respect… LIFE?"
" Life means LIVING Uteri, so technically I owe Zaibach nothing… remember that!" he snapped
back.
Uteri clenched her fists in anger and pain as her heart acted up for a second. " You know… I'm sorry
too… sorry it had to come to this." She then stepped back and gave an order to her men, "Kill him."
The several men around him drew their swords and rushed toward him. Letting his instincts take over
Folken unfurled his wings and soared skyward and out the cave entrance and into the night.
Uteri snatched one of the dark grey feathers from the air and glared the direction Folken had departed.
" You just made a big mistake Folken… and you're going to regret it."
~~~~~~@~~~~~~
His lungs pumped with exertion but something in his mind pushed him forward. He had been
following the mysterious light almost all night. His legs were tired but he pressed on.
'Come Dilandau, we've not very much further to go… then you shall be rewarded,' the flame
promised again.
Dilandau upped his pace following the light… 'Then I'll be rewarded.'