Transcending Reality

"Transcending Reality" by: Emerald Eyes

"Hey, Pretty. Don't ya wanna take a ride with me through my world?" –Poe

Chapter Ten: Ashes of What Once Was - (double digits! Booyaka!)

When people play video games they never think twice about the plotline, the characters, the events. It's all "hey, I'm gonna kick the antagonist's ass" or "damn it, I died! Now I have to replay that whole section over again!" They never think twice: never notice how serious it is. When people die, they die, as in gone, dead, done in. Forever. There isn't any 'game over' screen that flashes up or any button on the system that restarts the game. When life is done, it's done. But one would guess someone really couldn't blame them for not noticing it. It's just a video game. Sure, the characters may be outstanding, and the plotline may seem almost real… but it's still only a game, something created on a caprice by a mastermind with a great imagination. But… nothing is ever just what it seems to be, now is it?

^_^_^_^

After what seemed like hours of trying to coax passerby in cars to stop alongside the road, Reno had just about given up hope. That is, until an expensive-looking red convertible pulled up beside him.

"Hey, Sexy. Want a ride?" a feminine voice taunted from the front seat.

Reno nearly drooled. The woman in the car could be called nothing less than marvelously seductive. Golden waves of hair flowed over her shoulders, cascading down her back like a waterfall of sunshine. Bright eyes sparkled with brilliant blue light like the stars on a summer night in Rocket Town. The redhead had to force himself to stop gaping.

"I—I, uh," he stuttered, and then ended lamely with, "sure." The woman gestured towards the passenger seat and Reno followed quickly, mentally scolding himself for making him look a fool in front of a chick.

As soon as Reno slammed the door, the car sped off at an alarming speed, the lady's mouth curved up in a mischievous smile.

"What's your name?" she asked, taking her shining eyes off the road to stare into his emerald ones.

"Reno," the Turk responded after he had enough time to compose himself, "And what might yours be?" he asked, this time with a little more confidence.

"Jessica," she said, and giggled, a light melodious laugh. "What's up with the suit?" she asked, indicating his blue attire.

"What? This?" he asked in mock confusion. He tried to avoid the subject. "Forget about it. It's nothing."

"So," the girl asked lightly, trying to start a conversation, "Where do you come from?" She flashed him a seductive smile that made his cheeks flush. He decided that if all the women on Earth were as hot as this one, he'd have to stay there.

"Mid—" he stopped in the middle of the word, only then realizing that he had almost made a very grave mistake. "Far away… someplace far away," he covered quickly, "I'm not from around here so I don't know the area too well." He offered her a weak smile. The lady had a certain charisma about her that made a person, especially one like Reno, open up to her. If he wasn't careful enough, he might just end up telling her everything. God, I'm starting to act like Elena!

"Oh," the lady said simply, sensing that he was hiding something, but not wanting to push the question, "Okay then…" she pursed her crimson lips, trying to think of another good question. Her hair shimmered in the wind as cars rolled by on the opposite side of the road. Her golden locks flowed in the warm nighttime air of late June. Reno stared at her figure underneath tight leather pants and a red tube top.

"What do you do?" Jessica finally asked him, her eyes filled with curiosity as the full moon cast silver highlights about her face.

"Huh?" Reno asked dumbly, taken back by her speaking so suddenly and unexpectedly.

"You know, Silly!" she reprimanded teasingly, "What do you do? What's your job?"

His eyes went wide. What was he supposed to tell her? Then a thought hit him and he smiled at the idea. "If I told you I'd have to kill you," he watched amusedly as she pouted, "Sorry, babe. It's confidential. That's just the way it is."

As soon as he said that, Jessica's face brightened, delighted about Reno's little game. "By the way, Secret Agent Man," she said, designating him a new nickname, "You never told me where you wanted me to take you?" she paused and then added cryptically, "I'll drive you anywhere your heart desires."

"Good," he said simply, "Can you drop me off at Blackwood?"

Her smile faded and was quickly replaced by a worried frown. "Blackwood? But isn't that where that crazy man is?" Reno's only response was to stare at her apathetically, and she continued heatedly, "Listen. I'm not going there and I'm not going to let you go, either. Haven't you heard? The whole town is in chaos! And I don't know about you, but I don't want to die!" She sighed, and then said more softly, "I'm turning the car around."

Now it was Reno's turn to sigh. His hand reached for something hidden in the wrinkles of his shirt and jacket at his left hip. He pulled out the standard issue handgun that each Turk was required to have, and aimed it directly at Jessica's head. "I'm sorry, babe," he said, emotionless, with only a slight hint of amusement twinkling in his eyes, "but you are going to Blackwood."

The girl's eyes widened half in fright, and half in dangerous wonder. She let out a startled gasp. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed, "Don't shoot me!"

Reno merely chuckled and smiled at her deviously.

"All right. I'll take you," Jessica said, giving in to his mirthless laughter, "But I'm not going in," she added quickly.

This caused the redhead's laughter to increase. "I didn't ask you to come with me, Honey. I wouldn't want a pretty chick like you to get yourself killed."

Some of the woman's fear dissipated, her previous mischievous grin taking its place. "Now, that doesn't mean you have to get yourself killed."

She took her eyes off the road to throw a sideways glance at Reno, looking into his cold eyes. He stared back into her eyes and laughed. Not cold and cruel like before, but a good-natured laugh. "I'll try not to."

The gun still pointed at the girl, but she seemed a little less wary of it now. And he knew that even if he didn't have the gun at her head, she would still drive him to Blackwood. Not out of fear, but of another unidentifiable emotion that he couldn't quite comprehend. Heh, what do you know? The chick trusts a Turk, of all people.

Reno smiled and leaned back in the reclining passenger seat of the car. He gazed up at the stars, at the unfamiliar burning embers that bunched together to form unknown constellations. It was ironic, and funny in its own way, how peaceful they were. He was on another planet, in another dimension; in the farthest place he could ever be from his home. But there seemed to be something unforgettable about the moment, something special, like it would be the last peaceful memory he would ever have.

And perhaps it would be.

^_^_^_^

He couldn't recall exactly when it happened or when he noticed it, but the bright orange glow grew, managing to block out the meager light of the stars against a midnight sky. It took him but a moment to figure out what it was.

"It smells like something's burning," Reno blandly stated, sitting up in his seat when he noticed the sour odor of soot.

Jessica shot a worried glance towards the sky, noticing the falling crimson embers. "Are…" he voice faltered, choking up with fear, "Are those ashes?"

Reno looked up towards the sky dismally, trying not to notice what he saw, "Yeah."

Jessica's face twisted into an ambivalent mix of hate, fear, and despair as they drove closer to the town. The ambiance didn't look any better as they drove forward. A thick orange glow blocked even the moon out now, as well as the thick black smoke that looked like ominous rain clouds. There were now so many scarlet ashes lighting the sky up that it gave the impression that it was raining fire.

The girl let out a small cry when the first set of houses came into view. Some were on fire, some were not. There seemed to be no pattern to it; the flames seemed to have been set at random. It was almost as if the arsonist didn't care what he lit as long as it could cause panic and chaos.

The blonde haired girl abruptly brought the car to a stop about a hundred yards before the first burning house. "This is it," she said, her voice wavering distraughtly, "I go no further."

Reno didn't hear the statement. He was lost in his own thoughts. The scene of death indisputably reminded him of an old file he had read at Headquarters once, and had had it visualized though a cut scene in Final Fantasy VII. "My God," he said, barely above a whisper, "It's like the Nibelheim incident all over again."

"What?" Jessica glared at him suspiciously, "What are you talking about?"

Reno winced. He did it again: he let information slip. "Oh, nothing," he offered her a weak smile, but didn't bother to hide the fact that he was intimidated, "It's more of that classified, top secret stuff, remember?"

The girl was not amused this time. Her frown only grew more incredulous. She shook her head slightly, her mouth hanging agape. "Who are you?"

Reno opened up the door and stepped out of the car. He turned to look her directly in the eyes. His expression was cold once again. "I'm a Turk," he answered stoically. Shutting the car door, he turned and walked away. And he never looked back.

Jessica stared after him for a moment, shocked over his peculiar attitude, then peeled out of the town with an extremely disturbed look on her face, the tires on the car screeching in protest.

^_^_^_^

After seeing the town as it was that night, it was hard to believe one could once describe Blackwood with the word 'quaint.'

Yes, it used to be that way once; at least that was how Alex had described it. Only now it seemed like it never was. It seemed almost inconceivable that there were ever peaceful woodlands surrounding the main road leading into town, or children playing happily in the streets.

Now the place looked like hell, and Rufus was anything but thrilled to be at ground zero of the catastrophe.

Rufus was on edge: paranoid and ready to run at the first sign of trouble. His efforts to conceal his fear proved fruitless.

Alex, leading the blonde haired man into the hellish town, turned his head around to see if the ex-president was still following. He then veered off into dark side street tucked in between two presently-vacant houses. Rufus trailed behind and continued after the man.

The alley was completely black except for the amber light of not-so-distant fires reflecting off of Alex's near-emotionless face.

Fire. Ever since the incident with Diamond Weapon, Rufus had discovered he now had an intense, almost primal, fear of fire. The memory of explosion all around him and his flesh burning was too fresh in his mind for him not to.

Rufus stared at Alex expectantly. The other man noticed something peculiar about the blonde's eyes, and returned the stare suspiciously. The ex-president's eyes glowed a faintly pale shade of azure. It was barely noticeable, but it was there. "Rufus, your eyes are glowing."

"So?" the other answered indifferently, "They have mako in them. What's your point?"

Alex cocked his head to the side confusingly. "I thought only members of SOLDIER were infused with mako?"

Rufus shook his head. "No. All the important members of ShinRa are—were—infused with mako… with the exception of the Turks that is. But it's next to nothing compared to the high levels of mako SOLDIERs were exposed with.

Alex nodded his head slowly, trying to comprehend the information. "Oh," he said simply. He was about to ask why the Turks were never infused with mako when Rufus interrupted him.

"Where are we going?" the blonde asked in an apprehensive voice, "You don't know where he's at! What makes you think he's at the end of some dingy side alleyway?"

"This is a shortcut," Alex responded, not bothering to look back at the blonde, "It leads to the center of town. Sephiroth's there."

"How do you—?" the ex-president was cut off abruptly by a cacophony of shouts that seemed oddly different than the screams of agony heard from the fires.

Before either of them knew what was going on, the street they were previously on was overrun by troops. Rufus stared bemusedly out at the soldiers in camouflage running purposely though the streets, his bewildered expression throwing an unasked question at Alex.

"The U.S. Army," Alex responded, his face becoming grim, "I knew they'd get involved. With Sephiroth destroying an entire town completely on his own, it's kind of impossible for them not to notice."

"The military?" Rufus asked absently, his ambiguous expression changing to one of awe and longing. I used to own an entire army… but not anymore.

They both watched in stunned silence as the troops undulated by, wave after wave of them. In the ambiguous throng of soldiers and vehicles, an occasional tank could be seen. "Whoa," a stunned Alex commented, "They must really think something's up to bring in half of the fucking army!"

Soldiers moved deftly thought the fires, searching every crevice, every corner, for anything suspicious. One moved unnervingly close to the alley and Alex backed up into the shadows with Rufus quickly following his example.

Another soldier passed alarmingly close to the alleyway's opening. This time, the man took the opportunity to search the looming darkness. The man, clad in camouflage, held his m-16 rifle unwavering in front of him. He glared suspiciously at the shadows as the two unnoticed men beside him held their breath. The uniformed man turned to them, and just as it seemed their hideaway would be revealed, the soldier dropped unceremoniously to the grimy pavement.

Rufus stood behind him, his face beaming with a complacent grin. He reached down and pulled the gun from the unconscious soldier's grip. "Come on," he said, noting with amusement the shocked expression on Alex's face, "I don't think they'll take kindly to us once they've discovered I knocked one of their men unconscious and stole his weapon." He looked down into the murky depths of the alleyway. "How do you know that Sephiroth's down there, anyhow?"

Alex shook his head sadly and whispered, "I was just following the screams."

Neither of them spoke the rest of the way into town. The only sound was of cackling fire and the cacophony of screams.

^_^_^_^

Everyone was afraid to even move. He kept them there like frightened animals, like prey. And Sephiroth was ready to pounce.

Reno was frozen also, lost within the crowd of terrified spectators, but the redhead wasn't terrified. He was determined, willing his feet to stay rooted to the pavement. The Turk looked ahead to the silver-haired man, his face set in an obdurate frown. He wanted to take out Sephiroth; that was all fine and good, but… he didn't exactly know how he was going to pull it off.

A minute ago, he had had a lot more options. It was chaos then: people were running and screaming, not caring where they were going as long as they weren't standing still. It would have been a perfect opportunity to strike at the General while he was unawares, but then the man had spoken in an ominously cold voice, commanding: "Be silent!"

The crowd, surprisingly, had listened. Reno couldn't comprehend why, but he had listened too. The throng of horrified faces around him had acknowledged the fact that Sephiroth radiated malevolence even if you didn't really know what he was capable of.

And now the only option left that the redhead thought was remotely plausible was to somehow play the role of a sniper. Reno sighed. He always preferred his nightstick over his gun. He had bad aim… very bad aim. But he still used his pistol whenever it was absolutely necessary, however much he despised it. After all, the redhead was a Turk, and all Turks knew how to use a gun and use it well. But Reno had to be the worst gunman in the history of the Turks, and he didn't think he had the skills (or the confidence) to take out the General without injuring a few civilians.

Sighing in submission, the redhead started scanning his surroundings for an acceptable place to fire his weapon at the insane SOLDIER. Vaguely, his hearing picked up the cold voice of Sephiroth again, but he wasn't listening. He pushed his way though empty faces, staring in morose wonder at the man with the mako eyes. He could almost picture it in his mind: Sephiroth floating above the crowd, in all his godlike presence, awing them with his ethereal abilities.

It almost made him laugh. The man still wanted to destroy the world. Reno wasn't really listening to Sephiroth's speech at all, but fragments of it slightly piqued his interest; parts like 'My ancestors perished long ago because of you,' and 'Humans destroyed the Cetra, now I will summon the Calamity from the Skies to tear this planet apart.' Reno couldn't understand the General no matter how hard he tried. We're on a completely different planet! The people here aren't responsible at all for the Ancients… but Sephiroth is so bent on destruction that to him, all humans are the same, and all deserve to die.

But Reno had time to contemplate the matter no more, as he had found the perfect place to carry out his plans. It was on the roof of a tiny building not more than ten feet away.

His expression changing drastically from amused to grim, he climbed on top of the dumpster on the side of the building. From there, he boosted himself up a measly six feet onto the roof. The roof was smooth and black. Puddles of water collected in some places as a result of a recent rain.

Reno moved deftly against the second story wall, keeping his eyes peeled for anything unusual. He rounded the bend with celerity, and involuntarily took a sharp intake of breath. What he discovered was what he had least expected.

A man in a camouflage uniform was perched on the ledge, crouching so as not to be seen by the crowd or by the one terrorizing it. He had a rifle pointed intently at Sephiroth, whose silver hair was now cut short, and whose black leather clothes were traded for something more local. But the image of Sephiroth was still intimidating, and the man with the rifle was about to fire on him.

Heh, Reno thought, looks like someone beat me to the job.

The redhead carefully made his way back around the corner before the uniformed man sensed his presence. He watched as the man aimed with deadly accuracy. Better than his, better accuracy than a Turk. He watched as the man's index finger came to the trigger. He watched as the trigger was inevitably being pushed inward…

"Sephiroth, you fucking prick!!!"

Reno was distracted by the unexpected voice. The man in camouflage was distracted by the voice. And most devastatingly, Sephiroth was distracted by the voice. He turned his aquamarine mako eyes on the crowd, floating forward, scanning the frightened faces for the one who dared defy the silence.

Sephiroth moved out of the uniformed man's direct line of sight and he cursed, setting his rifle down angrily beside him. He reached into one of the numerous pockets lining his uniform and revealed a walkie-talkie, speaking heatedly into the mouthpiece.

Reno lost interest in the cursing, elite man and also began scanning the crowd for the one who had so audaciously spoken up. The voice sounded oddly familiar to Reno, as if he knew it from somewhere.

Suddenly, gunfire was heard, and bullets riddled the levitating form of Sephiroth. At least, Reno thought they had hit the man. Sephiroth laughed as another round of bullets smashed head-on into the demigod. Reno gasped. The bullets bounced off of a high-density magic barrier, one much more powerful than a Wall spell.

The man in camouflage dropped his walkie-talkie and stared at the demigod in disbelief. Reno cursed. And the man who had spoken earlier spoke again.

"You ruined my life!"

Sephiroth let out a demeaning laugh. "Is this Cloud that I am speaking to?"

"You're comparing me to him!?" the voiced asked superciliously. Reno knew that voice. It wasn't Cloud's. It sounded more like… There. He spotted the owner of the voice. It was a young blonde man who looked no older than a teenager, but the hair wasn't spiked, and the eyes weren't seeping with mako. It most definitely was not Cloud. The Turk shook his head. He knew the boy from somewhere. "I used to be the most powerful man on the entire planet!!!"

Sephiroth finally spotted the boy who was making the ruckus. The look he was giving the silver-haired man was so deadly that it belied his age. A rifle exactly like the one the uniformed man had was resting in his grasp, pointing directly at Sephiroth's head. The boy didn't seem to care that the weapon was useless.

Reno's mouth dropped. The boy was incognito, but he saw past the façade. He recognized the deadly glare, the venom in his voice. It was Rufus Shinra. "I don't believe it!" Reno shouted out in disbelief, "What the hell does he think he's doing!?"

Rufus spoke up again, this time in a calmer, but no less deadly voice, "I'm sure you've recognized me by now. I'm Rufus Shinra, remember? You killed my father with that… masamune." He glared at the sword in the SOLDIER's right hand contemptuously. "But I didn't care about him. I cared about the company. But, Sephiroth, whenever you used the Black Materia, whenever you summoned Meteor, you woke up the Weapons." Rufus sighed and smiled at Sephiroth evilly, "Yes, there was Sapphire Weapon, Emerald Weapon, Ruby Weapon, Ultima Weapon, and…" Rufus gasped mockingly, "…Diamond Weapon! You do remember Diamond Weapon, don't you?"

Reno stared over the edge of the building, his eyes so wide the white could be seen completely around the irises. He winced at the ex-president's tirade. "Shut. The. Fuck. Up," he said in between clenched teeth.

Sephiroth laughed in amusement and responded to the blonde's paroxysm. "Rufus Shinra, what a surprise. I thought you were dead."

"The same thing that's kept you alive has kept me alive." All eyes were either on Sephiroth or Rufus now, a slight pang of confusion overrunning their fear.

"Oh, really?" the General responded, not the least bit surprised, "Then that would explain why you're not on the correct planet."

"Why are you here? There's no Lifestream here. You can't become 'one with the planet,'" someone else spoke up. It was the person next to Rufus. Reno squinted, trying to see past the glare of the fire. He couldn't make out any features, but he did come to the conclusion that the man had short black hair. It's probably Alex, the redhead thought, but why any of them can't learn to keep quiet is beyond me! They're going to get themselves killed!

"On the contrary," the silver-haired man replied, "There is a Lifestream here, as well as on every other planet that houses life." Yes, Reno could tell now. It was Alex that had asked the question, however stupid the question may have been. Sephiroth's right. There's a Lifestream on every planet, including this one… isn't there? Now that he thought about it, he wasn't so sure. He grew up in a place where there was a Lifestream, on a planet that had one. But he had never been to another planet before. He had assumed that since his planet had a Lifestream, all planets did. But by the way Alex asked the question, it didn't seem like Earth had one, or ever did, for that matter. Maybe Sephiroth just assumed Earth had a Lifestream without really knowing if it did or not… or maybe he knows something we don't.

A glance to his side showed that the man in camouflage was once again talking madly into the walkie-talkie. Absently, Reno wondered who was on the other end of the connection. A look back at Sephiroth and he discovered that the man was about to speak, his mouth curved up in a wicked smirk. But much to the redhead's surprise, the smile faded, replaced by a grim frown. The man's aquamarine mako eyes gained a faded, far off look, like he wasn't really seeing or listening to the people in front of him.

And out of nowhere all hell broke loose. Hundreds of men dressed exactly like the one with the walkie-talkie swarmed into the plaza, rifles pointed with deadly accuracy at the man levitating above the crowd.

"Freeze!" one of them yelled, as if that would actually stop the lethal man. As it turned out, the men didn't even have a chance to even attempt to stop him, for Sephiroth threw his head back and laughed. He disappeared into thin air, causing frightened gasps and shocked murmurs to flow though the crowd of people.

Reno now recognized the men for who they truly were. Damn it, I should have seen it sooner! He was so used to seeing royal blue uniforms and helmets and goggled faces that he didn't recognize the skills of an army when he saw one. …been with ShinRa so long now that I don't even know what anything else is anymore!

But the threat was temporarily over now, and Reno let loose the breath he didn't realize he was holding. He slumped down to lean against the wall to the roof. He sighed in relief and closed his eyes.

"Don't move! Drop your weapon!" The voice was so distinguished amidst the whimpering throng of people that it made Reno jump. He looked up over the edge of the precipice to see a group of soldiers surround Rufus, the later having his hands behind his blonde head in tenacious admittance. Alex had backed away far enough so that he was all but forgotten in the multitude of soldiers. Way to go, Shinra! Damned good way to get yourself knee-deep in shit!

Despite his cynical attitude towards the situation, his mind raced for possible solutions for the problem. He watched, his face a mix of horror and bewilderment. Below, on the ground, Alex watched with the same expression written on his features.

Alex looked up and saw him looking down from atop the building. The man's nervous eyes darted back and forth between Reno and the soldiers leading a hapless Rufus away from his two companions. Alex faltered, pausing in mid-step towards the blonde. He threw an uncertain glance at the redhead and Reno vigorously shook his head. He wasn't about to let Alex go after the ex-president. That would be suicide.

Reno began to descent from the roof. He wouldn't let Alex after them only because it would be shear stupidity. Reno, however, would find a way to liberate Rufus. If I can't, he thought, then I don't deserve to be called a Turk.

Alex looked absently at the troops, some leaving with Rufus in their custody, others staying to estimate the damage done to the town. When he looked up to see Reno walking his way, he threw his arms in the air in a gesture of defeat. "What do we do now?"

"What the hell was Shinra thinking?!" the Turk interrupted sharply.

Alex shrugged. "I don't know. Ever since I saw him in the Squaresoft building he seemed a little edgy, especially when someone mentioned something to do with his company. When we were in Nibelheim he saw how much everything changed, how no one uses mako power anymore, and he would hardly talk to anyone for the longest time afterwards. And then again, when we saw the army coming in to town, he seemed bothered by it. I guess seeing Sephiroth set him off." Alex shook his head bemusedly. "I don't think Eiko's Curaga spell really cured him at all. Shinra's still crazy."

Reno didn't know anything about a Cure spell being used on Rufus. No one had told him about it, but it didn't matter now. He'd think about it later. "Do you want Rufus Shinra rescued or not?" he asked dejectedly.

"Well, yeah, but… we don't have the time. And he's with the military! They're probably going to take him to Area 51 or something!" the dark-haired man exaggerated. "How could you possibly save Rufus?"

"I'm a Turk, remember?" the redhead answered matter-of-factly, "This used to be my job. And besides, it'll be fun!" At the mention of the word 'fun,' Alex winced visibly.

"Look, Sephiroth is one thing but… the United States Government?"

"Come on, Alex! You're procrastinating!" Reno retaliated, and walked off in the direction Rufus had headed, "I need you. I don't know this place, this planet. It's unfamiliar. I can infiltrate any military base, but I don't think I can do it without your help." Alex looked at him dubiously and Reno sighed, annoyed at the other's sudden mood change. "Look, you brought me into this mess. Don't chicken out now."

Alex hesitated a moment before nodding. "All right," he said hoarsely, "We'll take my car and follow them, but after that, it's up to you."

Reno grinned, "I knew you'd help! Now if only we could stop by one of your friends' house to pick up a case of beer…" Alex glared at him sharply causing Reno to laugh heartily, "I'm just kidding. Seriously, lighten up, kid… now, uh, where did you say you parked your car?"

End Ch. 10 at 07.17.01.

Emerald's stupid end-of-chapter ramble: Hmmm… How'd u like that chapter? I kind of figured the U.S. Government would get involved if just about the whole continent knew about the 'Blackwood Incident.' But anyhow, there are several reasons this chapter came out late:

1) In late June, I bleached my hair and dyed it neon red. Well, it turned out a little too red so I dumped peroxide on it to dull it out. It turned orange after that, so I went down my friend's house (thank god for my friend, Jessie) to try and get it out. I put even more bleach in it but it didn't get the orange out. It only turned the roots that were still brown and made them blonde. So now my hair looks like Tidus's from FF10 only it's orange on the tips. It's kinda cool; actually… it looks like fire. But anyhow all that took place over the time span of a week and it took off valuable writing time.

2) I went out and spent money on Chrono Cross. I've been playing that almost nonstop but I can't beat the time devourer the correct way so I stopped. I know I have to use the elements in a certain order but every time I try it the boss interrupts with his own spell and it ruins the whole thing!!! Um… *looks around nervously* if anyone reading this at the moment knows how to kick his ass and save Schala, then PLEASE tell me in a review or something because I really REALLY wanna see the good ending.

3) I've been reading Robert Jordan's 'Wheel of Time' series and I've been reading everyone else's fanfiction.

4) I have a job…

And those are my big, fat, lame excuses for this chapter being out later than usual. For all those wondering, I try to have less than a month's hiatus between chapters 'cuz I feel lazy if it's anymore than that. In Ch. 11 expect to see more of Irvine. Someone else is probably gonna be in there too but I haven't decided who yet. And… if you've read though my big, fat, lardy ramble then I thank you, 'cuz I know I can get extremely boring.