Disclaimer: As the same with all the other chapters, we don't own anything we didn't come
up with. That belongs to Square. We do this for no profit. Blah, blah, blah.

Chapter 22: Broken Pieces Of Sorrow

Rolling mist surrounded Vira everywhere, leaving the only thing that she could see being
herself. Nothing but fog for miles and miles around, swirling and moving around. Not too far
away, Vira could hear footsteps of someone drawing nearer to her each second.

"Who's there?" She demanded, puzzled by how strong her voice sounded.

A man with golden blonde hair stepped into view, smiling at her warmly. He was older,
small lines forming at the corners of his eyes. But his smile was inviting and friendly. The man
shook his head lightly, receding into the mist again.

His voice floated over the mist, sounding as airy as the atomosphere felt. "It's not
your time..."

That voice. She had heard it before. The voice of the man in her dreams, which meant...

"Wait! Where am I?! Don't go!...Father!" Vira yelled after him, breaking into a sprint
to follow. A great stabbing pain in her stomach, followed by one in her left hand brough her
running to a halt. Grimacing with intense pain, Vira clutched her stomach and dropped to one
knee. She tried to call out to the man once more, but the pain was too great. She fell to the
misty ground and everything again turned black.

Murmurs and whispers filled Vira's ears again, but all the could see was blackness in
front of her. The whispers grew louder and soon became distinguishable as Squall's, Quistis' and
Zell's. Slowly she opened one eye and looked up to see the fuzzy outlines of the three of them.
Squall turned to look at Vira and saw her eyes flutter open slowly.

"Hey," Squall stopped Quistis and Zell in the middle of their conversation. "She's
waking up."

Zell grinned and said loudly, "S'up, Vira! We're so glad you made it! We thought you
were gonna die there for a minute!"

Vira winced from Zell's loud voice, making Quistis hit him lightly, "Zell, please." She
scolded.

"Why...does it feel like I got cut in half?" Vira asked, her voice still weak.

Zell pointed to her bandaged stomach. "Because you almost did. Lucky for us, the wound
wasn't too deep. And Rinoa's really good at magic."

"Still, it wasn't enough to bring you back on full energy," Squall added. "You're going
to need some time to recover."

Vira feebly tried to glance around the room for Seifer, but found it too energy
consuming. "What about Seifer? He all right?" She asked instead.

"He'll be okay, but he's resting right now. He had a bad gash on his shoulder," Quistis
informed, her voice sounding relieved and worried at the same time.

An awkward silence filled, everyone knowing what Vira's next question would be. By the
way the air hung and the silence of the SeeDs, Vira had a feeling the news was not good. "Dorin
...is he?"

Zell looked down to the floor while Quistis turned her head away from Vira's bed. The
only one still looking at her was Squall. His face was hard and set in a serious mask, his
steely eyes looking straight at Vira. "He's still in the Rage. We were forced to put him in a
holding cell. Lord Pieter Vachon is coming to take him. For now, he's down there."

All of them fell silent again for a moment, Zell only breaking it to force Vira to drink
a potion. They all knew the seriousness, Zell particularly remembering what Vira's rage had been
like. Apprehensively, Vira asked, "Was I dead?"

The three exchanged looks and Squall nodded. "Yes, for a minute."

Slowly, Vira sat up, feeling stronger after drinking the potion. The other three had
faces that looked like someone had died, and that was true. Caraway...Rinoa's father. That man
she dreamt about...inside, Vira knew it had to have been her father. There wasn't a true way to
tell, but she felt it. The man that Xana had burned alive...and he had loved her. Or did he?
Another question Vira could not answer. Rinoa walked up behind Squall, gently wrapping her arm
around his. She looked at Vira, her expression matching everyone else's, but threefold due to
what happened to Caraway. Her eyes were glossed over, and her energy looked as if it had been
drained from her.

"How are you feeling?"

"My stomach and hand hurt a bit, but other than that I guess I'm fine," Vira answered,
looking at her bandages on her stomach.

Quistis looked at them too. "You'll probably have another scar," she said.

"So?" Vira shrugged. "It's not like I don't have any already. Goes with the job
description."

Quistis turned to Rinoa asking, "How's Seifer?"

"Better. He's sleeping for now. He'll feel a lot better when he wakes up," Rinoa replied.

Everyone fell silent again, an awkward silence. None of them seemed to want to talk, but
at the same time there was too much to say. Zell tried to avert his gaze to the ceiling while
Quistis just looked around the room absently. Rinoa clung to Squall's arm, gently leaning her
head against his shoulder. Vira was amazed that Rinoa was being able to act so calm at this
point, but then thought that she was probably in shock and that sooner or later it would catch
up to her. Squall himself looked deep in thought, as if there was something he wanted to say,
but couldn't find the right words for.

Suddenly, he looked back at Vira. "You seem to be the one Dorin talks to the most,
right?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Vira answered.

"Maybe..." Squall paused, still working on the words in his head. "Maybe you could go
down to the cells and try to talk him out of it."

Zell stared at Squall. "She's not strong enough, Squall. Vira almost got gutted by the
guy not very long ago. You want that to happen again?"

With his free hand, Squall put it up to silence Zell. "He's not going to 'gut' her
again, Zell. Dorin's in a cell, with no weapons. She'll be fine out in the hall. It's up to her,
though. I won't make her do it if she doesn't feel strong enough."

Vira threw the covers from her and sat on the edge of her bed, scanning the floor for
her boots. "I'll do it," she answered, pulling one boot onto her foot. Once both her boots were
on, she stood up a bit shakily. "I'll do what I can, Squall. But there are no guarantees."

Students who passed by Vira as she left the Infirmary all took quick notice of the
bandages around her waist, but she didn't notice any of them. Walking was more tiring with how
weak she still was. Slowly she stopped to think of where she was going. The holding cells...must
be down a floor. Yes, she remembered Zell briefly mentioning they built holding cells in the B1
floor in the detention wing or something like that. Another thought crossed Vira's mind; what
whould she say? It's not like Dorin could just stand there and calmly get out of this. There
would have to be something she could say. Something she could do...suddenly, a light switched on
in Vira's mind, illuminating an idea that she could use as a last resort. Instead of heading to
the elevator, Vira started walking towards the dorms.

Not long later, Vira found the holding cells and was shown to the one housing Dorin. He
was the only one there, and the lonely clicking of her boots made on the floor made things seem
hollow and cold. She stopped in front of Dorin, taking in how he looked. They had barely been
able to get him in there and now he seemed like a tiger in a cage, pacing back and forth
menacingly. Quietly, Vira set a wooden box she had been holding on the ground and cleared her
throat.

"Dorin?" she asked weakly.

Hearing a voice, Dorin lurched towards Vira, the bars stopping him mid-way. He growled
angrily at her, Vira sighing a little.

"Alright," she started, sounding like she was half talking to herself. "Squall asked if
I could talk to you and see if I could get you to come back, because...well...out of everyone
here, I seem to be the one that knows you the best. I still find it a bit odd, but now's not a
time to be thinking about it. First," Vira held her left palm towards Dorin, the new scar on it
facing him. As she continued, she pointed down to her bandaged waist. "I am not angry about this
at all. Most people wouldn't be too happy if someone they knew put a scar on their hand and
nearly sliced them into two, no matter what state you're in. But I don't care. I know it wasn't
your fault. Just another scar or two. No one else is angry either. We all just want you to come
back."

Another growl from Dorin made it clear to Vira that she hadn't suceeded yet. Again, she
sighed and continued.

"You going to let this thing beat you? Turn you into what you told me was a terrible
thing? Let them win? You are stronger than that. I know it and you know it."

For some reason, anger was starting to build inside her. That none of this was right.
Everything had been dumped on her since she got to Balamb Garden, everything was up to her to
fix. And now here was something else that was causing complications in her life. It wasn't that
she was angry at Dorin. No, she was angry at fate, the world. That everything was up to her.
This was something that Dorin needed to get out of, but she had to help. Another voice told her
a different story. One that was more unusual to her, of feelings she didn't know she had. That
she was angry because she cared and didn't want to see Dorin like this. And the confusion from
these conflicting stories only made her more angry.

"You are strong enough to stop this," she continued, her voice getting louder. "Snap out
of it! You hear me?! I know you can do it! Don't let this beat you! Snap...out...of...it!"

The loudness from her yelling only caused Dorin to lunge at the bars again, roaring with
intense ferocity. Vira exhaled deeply, rubbing her forehead with her right hand. Anger wasn't
helping either of them. There was only one thing left she could think of...the box on the floor.

"I hoped it wouldn't come to this," she said quietly, picking up the box from the floor
and holding it up for Dorin to see clearly. "I think you'll forgive me for going into your room
under the circumstances. I hope this works..."

Silently, she lifted the top to the box, which was revealed to be the music box they had
listened to not long ago. The picture of Dorin's mother smiled softly at him, the music filling
the room completely, yet still small and quiet. Vira's face fell a little, becoming a bit sad at
being forced to do this.

The music made Dorin stop immediately. His arms fell limply to his sides, pacified by
the song. Vira's face picked up a little seeing this. Even his eyes lost the crimson glow they
had. He stared at the music box and up at Vira.

"Vira?" He asked, and for the first time Vira truly smiled back at him. She shut the box
and walked closer to the bars.

"Yeah, I'm-" she answered, but was stopped by hearing him scream.

Vira looked up at Dorin and saw his head was thrown back, a scream much like the one she
had heard on the Silver Siren turn into a animal roar. The glowing crimson returned to his eyes
and viciously he launched himself at the bars towards Vira. She jumped back before he could reach
her, sinking to the ground. Vira sighed heavily. It had worked, she saw it. She heard him even
say her name. But it wasn't enough. He couldn't push it back for long enough. Vira tilted her
head against the wall she had sunk next to.

"I'm sorry, Dorin..." Vira whispered, closing her eyes. "I can't do it. I couldn't. It
didn't work. I'm so sorry...forgive me..."

Something inside Vira kept her from getting up, a force pushing her farther down.
Quietly, she repeated her apology, feeling worse by the second. It was sadness, trying to hit
her full force. Vira had fought sadness as best she could. For almost her entire life she had
ignored it, along with almost every other feeling. But lately, there had been too much for her
to shut off. All the missing pieces of her life trying to crash together at once, her fate
seeming doomed, her father's death, and now this.

-Fighting...I'm tired of fighting. Can't I just say I quit?-

Internally, Vira was still able to stop the sadness from consuming her as it had before.
However, one tear formed in the corner of on of her closed eyes, rolled down her cheek and fell
to the floor. It made no sound to Vira, but she knew it had come out. She could feel the air
stinging the path it had forged.

"I'm sorry..." Vira repeated one last time, feeling more alone now than she ever had.

"Excuse me?"

Vira opened her eyes, seeing Lord Pieter standing at the entrance to the holding cells.
He stared down at her, his face looking hard and yet very sad at the same time. Quickly, Vira
rose to her feet, clutching her stomach when she got up. The pain still had not gone away, and
she kept forgetting she was only running on half strength. She saluted briefly and muttered,
"Nothing, sir."

A few men in Draconian uniforms appeared, eyeing Dorin a bit fearfully. Lord Pieter said
something to them that Vira wasn't paying attention to. Then he turned to her and said, "Squall
told me that he was down here, and that you were trying to help get him out of the Rage."

"It didn't work," Vira answered, quietly.

"It's all right, Ms. Eronwil. Breaking the Rage is a very difficult thing. Most of the
time once you have succumed to it, you never get out," Lord Pieter assured her.

Vira looked down at Dorin's music box, still on the floor. Behind them the men in
Draconian uniforms were trying to approach Dorin's cell and take him out, without hurting anyone.
Vira quickly picked up the music box and handed it to Lord Pieter. He looked at her, confused.

"How did you get this?" He asked her.

"I thought it might help bring him back," she explained. "It did...for a moment."

Lord Pieter looked slightly shocked at this. "Well, if you were able to get Dorin out of
the Rage for a moment, there is still hope."

Vira nodded. "That's good."

Again, Lord Pieter looked at Vira, his bionic eye swirving in such a manner it made Vira
little queasy. "I've heard about some of what's happened. Squall informed me that you have found
out more about Xana and why she attacked Draconia."

"How much did he tell you, sir?" asked Vira.

"That she is Anarix, from the time long ago, before the Age of Strife. After her defeat
at her throne in Draconia by the Galbadian warrior, she was exiled from the country and
disappeared. And that she time warped to our time," Lord Pieter explained.

Vira nodded. "Yes. She also first warped to a 100 years ago to rise the 'Age of Iron
Will' as she put it, again. Her first target was a city in Centra. She called down the Lunar Cry
herself, destroying the city. But, it didn't aid her cause enough so she warped to 19 years ago
where she...met my father."

"And that would make you half Draconian," he added.

A nervous gnawing crawled up the sides of Vira's stomach. Even with how much Dorin had
told her that there was nothing to worry about when dealing with this, she felt even more
nervous that she had originally though she'd be. What would he do? Random almost paranoid
thoughts entered Vira's mind. Among some where thoughts that he could blame her for what
happened to Dorin. That she wasn't there to prevent it from happening. Another was that he would
proclaim she was more of an enemy than an ally, no matter how much Dorin had said that wasn't
true. Every scenario that played out in Vira's mind turned disasterous. And deep down inside,
Vira did feel guilty. One of the first times she could remember feeling true guilt on such a
large scale. Such a sense of failure. In the past, she had almost failed every class in Galbadia
Garden that didn't involve fighting and she had always treated it as nothing. But, this was
someone she was supposed to look out for. Someone she was supposed to help. And she had failed.
Dorin was in the Rage, and Vira hadn't been there to prevent it. Too consumed in the fight with
her mother. The guilt was too much now. Too much to bear. She looked at Lord Pieter and said
apologetically, "I'm sorry. I really am. I should have been there when it happened. But...I was
fighting off Xana. I know I should have been there to help. Maybe I could have prevented this
from happening if I was...Lord Vachon, I am truly sorry for what happened and I take full
responsibility for it."

Lord Pieter nodded and smiled sadly. "I know. And it is not your fault." He paused. "I
would like you and your friends to come with me back to Draconia. The Exorcism works better if
friends and familiar faces are there to help the victim out of the rage."

"Alright," Vira agreed. "How many people have actually broken out of the rage?"

Lord Pieter took a moment in answering. "Through out our history, there have been 539
Chosen. Out that number, only 54 have successfully been Exorcised."

Vira sighed. "That's not very good odds, is it, sir?"

Lord Pieter shook his head. "No. Typically, once the Rage has overtaken them, it takes a
strong will to break out of it."

Another beastial roar came from the cage as the Draconians lead Dorin out of his cell.
Vira quickly looked at Dorin, then back at Lord Pieter. "He...can do it, right?"

Lord Pieter merely stared at Dorin. "For all the Gods' wisdom, I don't know."

Without knowing anything else to say, Vira just stared at the men taking Dorin. Each
roar that came from him only made the feeling of success grow smaller and smaller. Vira frowned,
the pang of guilt growing inside. No matter what anyone else, she still felt like there could
have been...should have been, something that she could've done to stop this.


There was complete silence on the Ragnarok, each lost in his or her own thoughts. They
followed the Draconian shuttle over the Dragonspine Mountains, their snow capped peaks rising
majestically in the air.

"Do we know anything about what an Exorcism is?" Squall asked quietly to no one.

"Only stuff I could turn up was a bunch of legends and dogma," Quistis answered. She held
the hand of Seifer, who sat next to her, asleep, his arm in a sling.

"What about that man who was there?" Vira asked. "Was that the...intruder from earlier?"

Squall looked at Vira. "Could be. I wasn't there when you and Seifer saw him, so I can't
really say."

"He was." Seifer said, stirring and opening his eyes slightly. "Same features and he had
the same sword."

"Does anyone know who he is?" Vira asked.

Selphie scratched her head lightly. "Ummm...."

There was silence from the others. "He sounded Draconian, but that's about it." Irvine
said. "He had the same fighting style and accent as Dorin."

Vira frowned and replied, "That still doesn't quite answer who he is. I think we should
really find out what happened. All we know is the after effect. Not what caused it."

"Dorin never told us who he was, just that he should've killed him a long time ago," Zell
said.

Squall sighed. "Maybe Lord Vachon can tell us something when we land...there it is."

Squall pointed to the horizon, and a huge city rose out of the plains below the
mountains. Lights shown from the huge spires that rose to greet them and silnce fell on the
group again as they took in the sight. Steeples and spires rose from the gothic skyscrapers as
they drew closer to the city, entering it's limits. The buildings sported huge statues of
warriors and dragons, as well as other creatures of myth and legend. Everything was oppulantly
decorated, yet had a brooding feeling about it.

"Sturmgrad." Vira breathed.

As the group disembarked from the Ragnarok, which was now in fine condition, all took in
the atmosphere of this new surrounding. Normally, seeing such a sight would have brought many
questions from them, and Selphie giggling giddily at a new place to see, but the feeling was so
somber, none of them felt like saying anything.

Lord Pieter stood outside the Ragnarok to greet them, as the men behind him ushered
Dorin off. The group saluted him, Seifer having to do it with his other hand for now.

Lord Pieter returned it and nodded to them. "This is the Cathedral of the Lost. This is
where...the Exorcism is performed."

They all silently nodded back, most of them not sure what to say.

Vira remembered what Squall had said back on the Ragnarok and asked, "Sir, is there
anyone from around here who has had a grudge against Dorin?"

Lord Pieter thought for a moment. "Maybe, but he must be dead by now." he replied.

"Who?" Vira asked. "I mean, what did he look like?"

"His name was Yuri Zhukov. He used to be Lord Heir of House Zhukov until a few years
ago. He was a malicious son of a bitch. He was a schemer, and he always used to pit one person
against another so he could get his way.

"About two years ago, we were feuding with the Zhukovs over a building contract that was
up for bid in the Council..."

"I though there was no more feuding?" Rinoa asked.

"There are feuds, but they are non-violent, or at least non-lethal. Mostly jockying for
position in the Council. But anyway, we were feuding with the Zhukovs, and Yuri decided to
usurp power from old Lord Pavel Zhukov, who was dying. He pitted his brother Mikhail, who was
next in line, against Dorin in a duel, hoping that they'd kill one another. Then he poisoned
Lord Zhukov and tried to take the Lordship."

"What happened?" Quistis asked.

"Well, simply, Mikhail didn't die. He was wounded badly, but Dorin didn't kill him. So
Yuri was scrambling to cover everything up, but he was caught before he could destroy all of
the evidence. He was tried as a traitor and exiled."

"Just because he was exiled doesn't mean that he actually died though, right?" Irvine
questioned.

Vira nodded. "Yeah. Did he...have black hair? Long, black hair. And have a grin that
remind people of a shark?"

Lord Pieter's bionic eye swivled. "Yes. That was him..." He turned to Irvine. "When we
exile someone, we drop them out into the ocean in a small boat with a little bit of water and
a small knife."

"What's the knife for?" Zell asked. "To catch fish or something?"

His bionic eye zoomed in a little on Zell. "No. To kill themselves with. Either a fast
way to die or slow and agonizing."

"But, he is alive. Seifer and I saw him. Before...we ran into Dorin," Vira protested.

Seifer nodded. "Yeah, same guy who was in Garden before."

Lord Pieter blew a breath out. "And he is league with Xana. It seems that the witch saved
him. It figures, he would be a perfect match for her. In the meantime, I think the ceremony
will begin soon," he said, motioning to the entrance.

The group followed him inside the temple, gazing at the interior. It was magnificently
decorated, albeit in a somber fashion. Not that it mattered, the decor matched how everyone was
feeling. Silently, the group walked across the room, and stopped in front of a group of
priests. The priest were dressed in long white and red robes, with hoods that covered their
faces.

"Everything is prepared, Lord Vachon. Follow us." The priests turned and walked into a
cavernous room. It was lit only by the many candlabras that lined the walls and as such, the
ceiling disappeared high above into darkness. Around the room were lined tombs, each with a
mosaic of the man inside. All had rubys set into their eyes, and Vira realized that these were
men who had been under the Rage from centuries past.

Vira gazed at the mosaics, and couldn't help but wonder if Dorin would end up there. The
very thought just made everything worse, and she mentally scolded herself.

-Got to think more positively than that. He can get out of it. He almost did before...-

She turned her attention back to the priests, who had circled the room and began chanting
in a different language, old Draconian, she guessed. A familiar roar came from one of the
entrances to the room and two priests lead Dorin by a chain to the center of the room and
chained him to two metal links set into the floor.

As she watched, the lead priest bared his arm and, with a ceremonial knife, cut himself.
He touched his fingers in the blood, then sprinkled it onto Dorin, chanting as Dorin struggled
against the chains.

The priest healed himself with a spell and then put his hands over Dorin's head, looking
up and chanting. His hands began to glow, and Dorin roared, in what seemed to Vira in pain. She
also noticed that the redness of his eyes was growing brighter, almost like a light.

"What are they doing?" she whispered.

"They're praying to Hyne and to Vulkan to release him from the Rage," Lord Pieter. "This
is the most important part."

"Oh..." Vira trailed off, mesmerized by the ceremony. For some reason, it was getting
harder and harder to watch it by the second, and hearing the roars of pain from Dorin made it
worse. Yet, she couldn't look away. Vira held her breath unconciously, watching the preists
intently.

PING!!!

The loud sound of metal breaking sounded loud in the huge room, even over the priests'
chanting. Vira gasped as one the chains holding Dorin broke and he swung at the head priest,
knocking him across the room. The priests stopped chanting and Dorin snapped the other chain,
roaring triumphantly.

"What do we do?!" Vira yelled to Squall.

"Stop him! He could hurt someone!" Squall returned, running to intercept Dorin.

Vira followed, soon running in front of Squall. Irvine and Selphie weren't far behind.
Rinoa, Quistis and Seifer trailing in the back.

Dorin saw them and growled before he charged them, roaring with bloodlust. He charged
straight for them, and Vira saw that he had zeroed in on her as he roared. She didn't have
time to dodge him, he was too close, and she braced herself to take the hit.

-Please Dorin, don't do this...-

There was a whistling sound and Dorin suddenly fell to the floor, sliding to a stop
before Vira's feet. He looked up at her, surprise filling his face, his eyes still glowing red
as he struggled to get up before falling again, a sword-

-Oh no, Hyne no-

-a sword running through him, piercing his heart. She turned and saw Lord Pieter walking
forward, his scabbard empty. He had killed his own son.

Dorin felt a searing pain run through his body, cutting the red fog. His vision cleared,
and suddenly he was looking up at his father, his grief stricken face the same as the day his
mother died. And above him stood Vira, her expression one of utter shock. And he glanced down
and saw that a blade...his father's blade...stocking out of his chest. And the realization
dawned on him.

-My God...I went in to the Rage...I attacked them...and now I'm...I'm dying...-

He looked up at them and tried to say something, but he felt his gorge rise in his
throat, and then he realized it was blood. His vision started to dim and he couldn't breathe.

-Hyne, Vira, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I never told you I loved you...-

He kept his eyes on Vira as his vision darkened and he knew no more.


Vira stepped aside as Lord Pieter knelt next to the dying Dorin, drawing the blade out
and holding his head. Dorin's eyes began to fade into the their ice blue color, and he looked
up at Lord Pieter and Vira and tried to say something, but he was stopped as blood flowed up
out of his mouth, his last breath gurggling in his throat before going limp, his eyes rolling
back into his head.

Lord Pieter said nothing, merely closing Dorin's unseeing eyes before taking his blade
and standing up. He wiped off the blade and turned and began walking out of the room.

"Lord Vachon?" Quistis said, dumbstruck.

Lord Pieter stopped. "My boy..." was all he said before he left, his grief beyond words.

Vira blinked several times, watching Lord Pieter leaving. Her mouth hung open, shocked
beyond belief. After a second, everything began to sink in.

-Dead. He's...dead...oh, Hyne...no...-

Quickly, Vira knelt down next to Dorin's unmoving form. Gently, she tried to shake his
shoulders, as if that would make a difference. But it didn't. He stayed completely limp. Vira
shook her head slowly, letting go of him. However, she stayed next to him, just staring at him
silently. He...was dead. Lord Pieter had killed Dorin...to save Vira. It was the second person
to die in such a short time. First Caraway and now Dorin. How could it happen?

-No...why? Oh, Hyne, why did you do this to him? He didn't do anything! He was just
trying...he...he was always there, wasn't he? And now he won't...ever again. WHY?-

Zell knelt down beside her. "Vira?"

"Hmm?" she answered, still staring at Dorin strangely.

"You okay?"

Vira shook her head. "No...I haven't been for a long time...or ever again..."

Two of the priests came over and picked up Dorin's limp form. "He will be entombed here,"
was all they said before the priests exited the room, leaving the SeeDs alone.

Vira sat on the ground, watching the priests leave then looked back down at the floor.
How could it happen? Why? She should have been there...nothing made sense. "Zell?" she asked
quietly, her voice sounding odd.

"What?"

"Do you still have my necklace?" Vira still kept her eyes on the floor, not really
wanting to look at anyone.

"Yeah," he answered, looking at her with an extremely bemused expression. "Why?"

She held up her hand to Zell, the new scar stretched across the palm. "Can I have it
back now?"

Zell hesitated for a moment, then fished it out of his pocket and gave it to her,
confused.

Silently, she put the necklace in her coat pocket. "What...do we do now?"

Zell shook his head. "I don't know."

Squall walked up and knelt down next to Vira. "Vira? We need to go now."

Vira finally took her gaze off the floor and looked at Squall, her eyes looking a
million miles away. "Where are we going, Squall?"

"Probably back to Garden," Squall said.

"But..." Vira looked back at the mosaics around them. "What about Dorin?"

"There isn't anything we can do for him now," Zell said quietly.

"I know but..." Vira almost couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. She didn't
even know what the exact ceremony for something like this was. "What are they going to do with
him?"

"They said that they were going to entomb him here," Squall said.

"Oh...right..." Vira replied. "So...that was it? We won't see him again?"

"They said that we would be invited back when they entomb him," Squall answered, his
voice very low.

Vira slowly rose to her feet, feeling the pain in her stomach again. "Oh..."

Zell helped her up and Vira saw the others waiting for her. As they left, Vira silently
prayed to Hyne that Dorin felt no pain where ever he was, and wondered what she was going to
do now.

And unnoticed by them, hidden in the deep shadows, a lone man in black with a black
ponytail saw them leave, and smiled to himself.

Author's comments: Yeah, there is a *ton* of death involved in this story. By my count,
Vira's already died and cheated death quite a few times. Not to mention now Dorin is dead. How
terrible? After her realization that her feelings are inside, and that they do affect her and
she can feel true guilt about something, and responsibility for someone else, they are taken away
in a most tragic manner. It's sad, but must be done to get the point of this story across. But,
as you can see, Yuri is still lurking around, obviously ready to cause more havoc among our
heroes. The main questions to be posed now are: how will Vira handle the death of the closest
thing she ever had to a friend? Will Dorin's death make her reflect on her true interaction with
others and finally make her realize that as long as she's alive, it's not too late to change?
And if in this time of retrospect, will she realize anything else? I love to ask these questions
and I bet everyone can tell. XD Sorry, can't help it. The next chapter will most likely be the
conclusion of the "Rage" story arc and be the *big* turning point for Vira. Stay tuned and again,
for the love of FF8 R&R, please! :D