Chapter 2

Rinoa Heartilly stood in a massive flower field. She was 'waiting' for something. She couldn't recall what.

Her dark hair moved slowly as a small gale brushed against her cold cheek, and soft pink petals blew past her. Reaching out, she caught one and held it in her hand.

Just 'waiting.'

"Angel," She thought as she reopened her hand. As if by magic the petal transformed into a pure white feather. It hung for an instant, just above her palm, and then floated away with the breeze.

Turning on her heels, Rinoa watched as the feather flew upward.

The sky grew dark and there was a low rumble. She squinted her eyes as she watched the feather climb higher. A flash of lightning blinded her and a trickle of rain began to fall.

The feather had transformed again. She stared at the object for a moment; trying to decipher what it had changed into. As it reached the peak of its accession, it hung in the sky for a moment, and then began descending quickly.

The object swirled faster and faster down towards the earth. It struck the soil with tremendous force, causing the ground under her feet to shake violently.

Then it stopped. Rinoa rubbed her stinging eyes and then turned her attention to a new element.

A silver gunblade with a black handle stood upright before her. A strange looking creature had been engraved on the side. It reminded her of a cat, but noble – and with wings? Reaching out, Rinoa tried to touch it when suddenly a black gloved hand appeared, taking firm hold of the hilt.

Her vision began to blur and the last thing she saw was the silver ring upon the hand. It was the same creature as engraved on the blade.

Rinoa jerked herself awake and pulled herself upright, gasping for air. The dream again. Rubbing the sleep from her brown eyes she glanced around the familiar pink room. She was back to reality and glad of it.

From across the room Angelo raised his head in concern. Smiling, Rinoa patted the bed okay, good dog. I'm alright."

Every night the same dream, Rinoa ran her hand over her face. Waiting,' but what for?

If only I knew

Turning behind her, she reached for a holographic control panel over her headboard. The display read:

Neural Signal Processing (NSP)

Dream Recorded

December 13, 2065

7.22.01

09.21.01

11.03.01

12.13.01

The dream lasted a little over twelve seconds this time, Rinoa sighed. It changes, becomes clearer, but the feeling is always the same. Always.

Dream file save? Yes? No?

Rinoa placed her finger on the screen over the numbers '12.13.01' and dragged it into a file.

Save complete

The hologram disappeared as she placed the panel back on her headboard. Sighing she pulled her blankets around her and brought her knees to her chest. Hugging her legs close to her body, she let the images slowly run through her mind again. It frustrated her that she couldn't recall what she'd been waiting for.

For months the dreams had plagued her. Ever since her quest began the dream had invaded her sleep. Her task was causing enough controversy. If anyone found out about her visions they would shut her research down. Of this she was certain.

If I could just figure out what this dream means I'd know what to do, Rinoa thought.

Pushing her quilt aside, Rinoa put her bare feet onto the plush pink carpet and stood up. From under her she could feel the gentle roll of the train. Slowly she made her way across the boxcar to a set of built in dressers along the wall.

Rinoa slid the top right hand drawer open, took out a bracelet and opened the clasp. Securing the Seiko SPS Holo Bracelet around her wrist she checked the battery and then reached back into the drawer. Next she removed a light utility belt. With her free hand Rinoa pulled up her knitted blue cape and put the belt around her small waist. Her delicate white fingers fumbled with the clasp before it snapped into place. Then she took out a scanning google and shut the drawer.

With a toss of her dark hair she put on the headpiece of the google on her head and around the outside of her ear. Then she skillfully and attached an eye scope inside her ear and secured the optics across her left eye. Finally, she took a small flashlight and placed it above the scope. Holding the light with one hand, she used to other to tighten a small gray pin on the side of the headpiece.

The AN/SUS-X12A Spiritual Scanning Goggles are suppose to be the latest and greatest. All my gear are just proto-types though. No one has actually used any of these things in combat. Guess I'll be the first. Glancing at herself in the mirror next to the dresser she stuck out her tongue and winced, what a fashion statement!

Moving away from the mirror, she went to her makeshift closet and grasped the pink curtain that she hid all her junk behind. As she tried to pull back the velvet folds, Rinoa groped in the darkness until she grasped a hold of a flare gun. Attaching it to her utility belt, Rinoa reached behind the curtain one more time and dug out a hard black case.

"Come on, Angelo. We have some important work to do." She smiled at her partner as she left her bedroom.

The holographic glow on the control panel cast an eerie glow through the control room of the train. It softly lit Zone's face as he concentrated on guiding the Black Boa to its destination. As he watched the train move towards the end of the barrier-protected tunnel, Zone flicked as small switch on the side of the board. A second hologram appeared to the right of the first.

"Alright. The Spiritual Energy Scanning System is switched on. If there's any Phantom within 100 meters, we should be able to detect them." Zone turned to his partner.

Putting down the magazine he was reading, Watt's flashed Zone a questioning look. "Only 100 meters?! Is that gonna give us enough time to do anything if there happens to be a Phantom out there?"

"Well, not really."

"Great. So at least we'll have time to panic before we die."

"It was the best Doctor Odin could come up with. It's only a proto-type." Zone shrugged.

"Isn't everything?"

"Hey guys! How's it going?" Rinoa greeted her companions as she waltzed into the boxcar and put the black case on the metal floor.

"Hiya Princess." Watts flashed her a quick smile before turning back to his magazine.

"Hey." Zone looked up from the control panel where he was busy guiding the train to their destination. "Well, we're almost there."

"Good work." Rinoa knelt down on the floor and snapped open the silver clasp on the case. Carefully reaching inside she removed her blaster edge.

"So, you really think we're gonna find the sixth spirit in this place?" Watts raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yep!" She smiled as she attached her weapon to her left wrist and secured it. "I just know it's there."

"Alright! This'll put the doctor and the Forest Owls in the history books! We'll forever be known in the pages of" Zone's face turned to stone in the middle of his sentence. "Uh-oh, hold on, I think we have a problem."

Watts leaned over the bench where he was sitting and Rinoa stood up. Zone pointed to the display in front of him, which flashed:

Warning! This is a restricted sector!

She casually reached over his shoulder and tapped the control board, overriding the message. Rinoa turned to Zone and smiled innocently, "Nope. No problem."

"I still don't think that gives us clearance to be here. We're breaking all sorts of rules. This is a full-scale operation. You've got some sort of plan in mind for this little break in?" Zone raised an eyebrow at her.

"Sure she has a plan, right?" Watts gazed at her expectantly.

"Ummyeah!" She picked her weapon case up off the floor and placed it in a corner of the boxcar. "Get in there, find the next spirit, and get out."

"So you don't have a plan?!?" Zone ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation.

"It doesn't look like she has a plan." Watts shook his head. "Look guys, the guards are switching posts right now." Rinoa sat down next to Watts and took out a pair of black boots from under the bench. Pulling on her shoes and lacing them up, she nodded to him assuringly "There won't be anyone in this sector for a while. We'll have to complete our mission before they come back. If we don't"

"We'll spend the rest of our lives in prison." Zone finished her sentence without looking up from the controls.

"Probably the D-District Prison. I've heard stories about that place. If we're caught, it's game over." Watts commented as he watched her finished lacing her boots

"If we don't get the spirit it's game over anyway." Rinoa patted her dog's head and stood up. "We'll have to move fast. I'll go out and find the spirit. If the military finds us we'll be in trouble."

Zone shook his head and prepared to slow the train. "Not if the Phantoms find us first."

"It wouldn't be good if we ran into a Phantom." Watts agreed.

"Look, if all goes well we should be able to retrieve the spirit without attracting Phantoms or the military."

"And if things don't go well we're screwed." Zone sighed.

Watts shook his head in agreement. "Totally and completely screwed."

"Hey, this is gonna be a piece of cake. Trust me." Rinoa grinned. "Anyone wanna come with me?"

"Ummm gathering information is my specialty." Watts put his nose back into his magazine.

"Ouuchhhhhhhh my stomach!"

"Babies." Rinoa stuck her tongue out at them. "Angelo and I will be back soon, and we'll have the spirit! Just pull the Black Boa up to the platform and wait here."

"By the way, who decided to name the train Black Boa?" Zone raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, it sounds like a bad Jamaican porno flick." Watts agreed.

Zone sat back in his chair and thought for a moment "Actually, I think I've seen that one."