... Yawn... Y'ello, everybody. Please excuse my massive inactiveness, but you see, when the real world catches up to me I have to beat it off with a stick, which usually takes a while (Because, by the time I beat reality into submission, school has snuck up behind me and suddenly pounced on my exposed back (School is not reality. It is an element. An element of pure evil.) thusly hospitalizing the alter ego 'Slash The Ironman'.) but I'm back. Somewhat. Alos, machine died, and I got a nasty case of something. Not to sure what it was, to be sure. (IT WAS THE GODDAMNED VEGETABLES!!! I ALWAYS KNEW THEY WERE HAZARDOUS TO MY HEALTH!!!! SUGAR IS THE ONLY TRULY HEALTHY FOOD!!!)

It might take me a while to get back into the spirit of things (Head. Hurt... Must. Sleeeeeeeeee- *Thonk!* Zzzzzzz......) but I'd like to think that I'll be able to finish this story off soon. I've got other fics to finish, as well, and then I'll pack my bags and move off to Fictionpress for a while, and torment them with my writing for a while ^_^

This chapter is long to compensate the long wait for this chapter, and at the same time because I didn't feel like wasting another twenty chapters to get this done. Whew.

Anywho, ON WITH THE FIC!

Ahem. Unfortunately, I decided to dedicate this chapter to Jarred's past, and make a severe plot twist. (I feel so bad whenever I do that, like I'm making the chapter just to convert this from adventure to Romance... BAD SLASH! BAAAAAD!!!!)

Today's chapter is 'More Human Than Human', By White Zombie.

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Chapter XXXIII: More Human Than Human

The sound of Elena's haggard breath in the infinite halls of The Spire were truly pitiful. After carrying Jarred on her back for an hour or so, she was willing to admit that gravity was stronger than she, but oddly enough, she felt just as strong as when she had started out, just that she was more conscious of Jarred's weight and her breathing than was normal. Jarred was hardly a light weight! Her breath was ragged from carrying him, faltering almost, and laboured. The profanities that came with them, however, were enough to make a sailor take a step back in shock.

"...Dirty Pig F-%&#-ing son of a BITCH!" She hissed, mentally to Psin. "I hope you rot in hell for eternity, you vile bastard!"

Jarred's clawed hand scraped against the stone floor, creating a echoing, metallic hiss. He had stopped breathing completely, but for some ungodly reason his heart continued to beat, as off eat as it was, anyway. His heart thrummed three times, and paused for twice that long, and then thrummed three times again. A strange, inhuman rhythm. Just like those strange, inhuman ruby eyes, those strange, inhuman scars littering his body (Which were hard to point out, due to his dark complexion) and strange, inhuman pointed ears. Jarred retained his bestial form, even in his comatose state, which made him all the heavier, because he had a tail to add to his weight.

Elena trudged on valiantly, despite her aching knee (Fifteen minutes after dragging Jarred around her knee suddenly remembered it was supposed to be broken, and took the necessary steps.) and preserved on down the hall, but the courage of her stride was completely lost upon the broken gargoyle sprayed across the floor sometime in the far past, which promptly tripped her and her load. Jarred started a boneless tumble, hitting the ground soundlessly, bouncing, hitting the ground, rolled across the ground like he was made of rubber. Elena crashed to the ground, gaining some minor cuts across her cheek, and messing her hair in the process. The Turk sighed, and prepared to push herself up.

Odd...

Her arms weren't complying. Somewhere down the trek from her brain to her arms the massage changed from the lines of "Arms, move, now!" to "arms, move. How?" and had thus resulted in the mess. Sometimes it was better to shoot the messenger for sheer stupidity...

Jarred said she wouldn't feel tired. What he didn't say was that she would get tired anyway, just not feel it creeping up on her. Now that she thought of it, it probably took a lot of energy to wield magic naturally, thus resulting in a lot of Jarred's falls. It was hard to tell how much you could do when you had no idea how much energy you had left...Now that she thought of it, it probably took a lot of energy to wield magic naturally, thus resulting in a lot of Jarred' trippe

Elena gave up, and resigned to lay on the floor. With her last ounce of strength, however, she reached out to the still form of Jarred, right before she passed out from exertion...

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Elena woke up in a world tainted by shadows. Hazily, she focussed her eyes, searching the spanning shadows for any features defining it from the rest of the blackness. No such luck however. Darkness surrounded her, searing her with its vile anti-light. A pair of crimson, glaring eyes appeared out of nowhere, and was soon joined by thousands more like it, all circling around Elena as if the were standing around her in a circle. And through the darkness, a hissing voice came rang out.

"Poor Elena," It said sadly. "She's suffered so much already, and now she has to live through my death."

The Turk span around, trying to locate the voice.

"Jarred, is that you?!"

Silence. The eyes advanced on her, piercing her soul with a red-hot iron of the mind, each one raping her thoughts. Elena fell to knees under their gaze.


"So much like Elena..." The voice said wonderingly. "I wonder... Could you be the real Elena? Could you have entered my mind?" A sound like the shaking of heads could be heard. "No. Only Wraith and Psin can enter my mind. Elena does not have a bond strong enou-" The voice stopped suddenly. "The Blood Gem." It said slowly.

Elena raised her head, trying to avoid the cruel gaze of those eyes.

"Jarred, are you here? Where am I?!" She shouted out.

"... Can it really be you, Elena?" The voice asked shakily, unsure what to do. "NO! She can't be here! This is Rath's doing! She wishes to confuse us, and gain control!"  The voice howled.

Blinding light ensued. The red eyes cowered from it, dissipating into nothingness, and their cruel leering vanished. Elena closed her eyes in a frantic attempt to block out that terrible light...

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Quickly as it came, the light vanished. Elena stood in silence, almost afraid to open her eyes. Her heart pounded with some primeval fear, spanning back into the recesses of her mind and reaching some instinctive fear. Like how you know without being told that falling a thousand feet was harmful to your health. With every heartbeat, a deep vibration moved through the air, echoing and resounding inside her. Forcefully, Elena forced her eyes open.

Jarred stood there. At least, it looked like Jarred. His hair was long and tangled, a mess of indigo blue. In his hand he hand the claw from the Bone Village. One of the noticeable features, however, was the lack of the four scars across his cheek. It was hard to see normal scars on his body, but those scars had a much darker complexion, changing from charcoal grey to pure black. They were gone now, though. And worse, those crimson eyes no longer burned with passion, or even kindness. They blazed outwards with a fiery inferno of rage, devoid of any scrap of the friendship he had shown towards her.

The warped Jarred raised his claw menacingly, a twisted smirk spreading across his lips.

"Human." He growled out evilly, taking a step forward. Unknowingly to herself, Elena took a step backwards.

"J, Jarred? Are you alright?"

The claw on his hand moved like a blur, cutting through the air, right past Elena's face.

"Why do you try to like me? I am the Prince Of Darkness, fool! I am a god! The heavens cower before me!" He spun around with the claw, but lashed out with a closed fist while turning, neatly backhanding the Turk, who fell sideways from the blow. A small line of blood crept out of her mouth as she fell, though.

Through instinct alone, Elena threw an arm to the side, and as she hit the ground she pushed herself on, neatly turning the fall into a cartwheel, and equally on instinct summoned up a blue globe, but held it in her hands. Jarred, taken unawares, stared at the spectacle for a moment, before summoning up a globe himself. Elena dashed forward, ignoring her complaining knee, and drove her blue sphere into Jarred's chest while he was still struggling to react. A blue light exploded, flinging them both away. After a few seconds, Elena rose, but Jarred was already standing again, looking down at his open chest. Where the globe had impacted his skin was burnt and charred, and his clothes were scorched. Carefully, he reached down to touch the wound, but a light tap made him flinch deeply. He glared at Elena.

"Humans..." He growled, falling to his knees. "They're everywhere, trying to infect and destroy the planet. I must destroy them all!" Dark flames burst around him, and his crimson eyes flared darkly. "I am the Prince Of Darkness!"

Elena sighed, and summoned forth another blue globe. Jarred smiled viciously at her.

"Go ahead! You can't kill me! I am a god! I am indestructible! A, ha ,haha, ha... ARGH!" The blue globe shot through his chest like a hot knife through butter. From the charred gaping hole, small wisps of smoke arose, while Jarred blinked with pain, looking down at his massive wound. "Ouchie!" He said weakly, and collapsed completely. His body hit the ground with a wet thud, splashing the pool of crimson that was rapidly spreading around him.

Elena looked on remorselessly. That wasn't Jarred, That was some warped version of him that only the most simple minded got of him, the people that only saw him as a beast of war. She turned her back, slowly, and started to walk away.

"Fool!" Someone said. Elena froze in her steps, spinning around, looking at the figure before her. "You really think I'm on the same level as YOU?! I live for battle, and no one will take that away from me!" The 'fallen' Jarred had jumped to his feet, despite the gaping wound in his upper body, all while the black flames around him burned with a dark blaze. He sneered violently at her, and raised his clawed hand (The one with the claw on it, at least.) his eyes filled with malice. "May the planet have mercy on your corrupted, human soul!" His finger lashed out, fixing on her, and the dark flames around him quivered, and obeyed the unspoken command. Elena stumbled backwards, shocked that whatever that creature was could survive such a terrible wound.

She closed her eyes, out of pure fear, and raised her hands in a futile attempt to stop the flames from scorching her.

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The flames never came. After a few minutes of waiting, Elena opened her eyes. To her great confusion, she was standing up to her knees in lukewarm water, and all around her stood a thick forest, with massive roots shooting out of the ground and dipping into the water, like a thousand thirsty mouths. The forest exuded a dark light, while wherever the water touched the darkness was dispelled, considering how the clear canopy above let light seep in, while the dense forest around it blocked all light admittance. Sitting on a root, a young woman sat with her feet in the water, clad in a light blue skirt and t-shirt, (Although the t-shirt had the words 'Burn' written on it with flaming red letters. Teenagers...) with short brown hair hanging down to her chin. A book was lightly clasped in her hands, and she looked very absorbed in it. She seemed undaunted by the dark forest around her, which seemed to suffocate just about everything else.

Out of the gloom came a charcoal skinned teenager, with blazing red eyes, and a tattered cloak as clothing. He had long, messy blue indigo hair, which protruded in such a fray that it could be used as a weapon, if it was hard enough.* Although obviously young, he was very tall for his age, and was nearly as tall as a full grown man. A massive, thin sword was strapped to his back, and his hands shot to it's handle as he caught sight of the woman. Distrust shown in his eyes, and he backed off carefully, trying to make as little sound as possible. Too late he noticed, however, a fallen branch, which he stepped on, and the sound the snapping branch echoed around the shallow pond. The boy cursed, and ran behind a tree, while the woman turned around trying to find the source of the noise. She caught a glimpse of the cloak as it vanished behind a tree, and raised an eyebrow.

"Hello? Who's there? Come out where I can see you!" She shouted, standing up from her root. "I haven't got all day y'know!"

From behind the tree came the sound of metal being unsheathed, and much cursing.

"Some things shouldn't be seen, human. Forget what you saw. Leave me to my business."

The young woman snorted, and put a pair of fist's on her hips, on hand gripping her book sturdily.

"Oh, no ya don't. There's a village full of mercenaries just a mile away. If I go missing, they'd come looking. And if I told them a shady person was wondering the woods, they'd come running. Now, c'mon, I'm not gonna hurt you."

"..." Silence came from behind the tree. "...Promise?"

The woman laughed heartily, and put a hand to her head. "Geez, you make me sound like an ogre! Of course I'm not gonna hurt you! You're the one skulking around a forest like you're stalking someone."

"..." The sword was seen briefly, as it was sheathed hastily. A careful foot was placed beyond the cover of the tree, and when it failed to meet a horrible fate the rest of the leg came with it, and slowly the teenager showed himself, hands poised to grab onto the sword on his back at any moment. "There. Are you happy? Can I go now?"

The woman boldly strode through the water, and faced him down, eyeing the sword curiously.

"What's a kid doing with a gigantic sword like this?" She asked, looking at the mysterious runes. "Looks ancient. Did you steal it?"

"Never!" The teenager spat out hastily, but cringed at the woman's quizzical glance. "You could call it a... 'Family heirloom'." He supplied defensively, shrinking under the woman's gaze. "Besides, w, why should you care? What are you doing here?!" He countered erratically, pulling the sword out of her sight.

"I don't need a reason. I live in Fort Condor, but I can't stand being cooped up with hundreds of lewd mercenaries."

The teenager brightened up.

"Ah, Fort Condor! You live there? Then you can give me directions?" He asked, suddenly bold. "Can you tell me how to get there? I need to meet a friend!"


"Whoa, there, slow down! I'll take you with me, don't worry! Don't spaz out on me, kid. What's you're name, anyway?"

The boy frowned, and pulled away suddenly.

"T,that doesn't concern you!"

Elena felt cold suddenly, and turned around. Jarred, as she knew, was standing behind her, a blank look on his face. He was smiling mildly, as if remembering some fond memory. The long sword appeared in his hands; he looked down on it, and froze. After a second he let the blade fall to the ground, disgusted.

"T, this is why I'm a monster." He whispered. "This is why I am punished." He looked at Elena, an unreadable expression on his face. "She became my sister, Elena. And I killed her."

The water splashed with a shade of red as the sword passed it surface, spreading quickly until encompassed the entire pond. Jarred's fist clenched, until blood gushed out between his fingers...


"I killed them all!" The sword appeared in his hand again, this time with crimson liquid dripping from its malicious tip.

The Turk faltered for a second, but put a hand on the warrior's shoulder.

"I don't believe it. You only kill monsters, or things that need killing."

"You're wrong! You're wrong! I killed her! I killed Talice!**"

"No, Jarred, I won't believe it until I see it with my own eyes!"

"That can be arranged..."

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clank!

 Elena saw a metal door open, and something be pushed in. The door shut once more, casting the room once more into darkness. In the vile world, something stirred. In the gloom, it's silvery white skin reflected slightly, while a strong arm latched onto the still forms scruff, drawing it up.

"Who are you?!" It demanded.

"I, I'm not too sure..." Came a scared reply. The small bundle shifted nervously under scrutiny, obviously shaken by the whole ordeal.


"Oh, I see. He made another one. Are you a failure as well? I see you're skin is black. That never seems to be a good sign. Well, speak up, child!"

"Failure? Uhm, what do you mean?"

"Can you do magic? Do you hear voices?"

"Magic, what's that? Voices? You're the only voice I hear!" It snapped, suddenly gaining a spine. He slapped the hand away, ignoring the small red glow around him. "Leave me alone!"

There was silence. Then laughter. A silvery skinned boy peered through the darkness, and looked upon the child.

"I see Hojo managed to make another one of us. I welcome you, child. I killed the last monster they put in here, but we won't have that problem! What is you're name, child?"

"Jarred!" The child answered with a firm tone that belied a mind of a normal child.

The silvery skinned boy smiled deeply, and bowed slightly.

"Welcome, Jarred, to my humble cell. My name is Psin."

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~ I was ten, then. We escaped a year later, with the help of three others. Psin named Wraith, Spectre, and Ghost. The five of us performed a blood rite, and became blood brothers.~

Elena whirled around, to see Jarred once more, standing alone in a corner. His lips didn't move, but somehow his words reached her ears.

~We lived in Midgar for only for a few months, until we realized that Hojo was looking for us. We each decided to split up, and become stronger on our own. When we believed we were strong enough, we would meet up at Fort Condor, and proceed on to Midgar, and kill Hojo for what he did to us. I went north, Psin went west, Ghost south, Spectre east, and Wraith came with me for a while.~

Jarred sighed, and shrugged.

~Wraith and I came to the Bone village, which was having trouble with the Vlokorados. We agreed to help them, for free. All we wanted was to become stronger...~three others,e help of three others, named Wraith

Elena saw that he was about to say something, but was torn in indecision. He went rigid, and looked as if he was looking at something far away. He shook his head, and sighed once more.

~I became stronger, that's for sure. I learned a... Special technique***. Would you like to see it?~

"S, sure, Jarred, whatever you want." Elena answered, somewhat fearing what she would see.

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The forest surrounding Bone Village was a frightening place at night. Pale pillars of moonlight shot through the gaps in the leafs above, illuminating precious little. Wraith and Jarred ran through the forest, trying frantically to put as many miles between them and the angered Vlokorados pack they were trying to leave behind. Two eleven year old kids could only take on so many monsters at once, even if the kids in question were Half-Breeds. Behind them the Vlokorados ran, nimbly sidestepping each tree in their path, slowly gaining of the fleeing pair.

Wraith stumbled, and smashed onto the ground. Jarred looked behind, and saw his fallen brother, and halted as well. He ran to Wraith's side, and tried to pull him up.

"It's no use, brother!" Wraith hissed, pulling out a pair of long daggers. "Leave me! I will hold them off for you're escape!"

But Jarred would hear nothing of it. He forcefully dragged Wraith to his feet, and holding his hand pulled him along at a fast trot. Wraith was limping, though, and that was slowing them down. The Vlokorados howled triumphantly behind them, sensing their prey weakened.

"Leave me! One of us has to live!" Wraith pleaded, still holding his daggers.

"Never! You're my brother, and I won't see you dead for the life of me. Besides, Ghost and Spectre would kill me!" Jarred replied fiercely, turning around to face the oncoming monsters. In his hand he held the vicious claw, tipped with talons and fangs. "'Sides, this seems like a fun battle."

Wraith stood indecisively for a second, then joined Jarred, going into a stance. The daggers glowed in his hands, burning with magical fury. Jarred's fists were covered in black flames, hungrily licking across his flesh. His eyes were burning with similar flames, and were staring out at the oncoming Vlokorados.

"Keh, I never thought I'd go like this." Wraith said slowly, as the Vlokorados began encircling them, cutting off all escape.

"Life is dream, brother." Jarred said, suddenly laughing. "A dream from which we must all awaken!" se gaps in the leaveHe spread his arms wide, laughing wildly. "And I plan on being an alarm clock for everyone else!"

A deep sound erupted from him, and a tremor shot through the air, knocking Wraith down.

~SPLIT PERSONALITY!~ A mental scream howled.

A white line slashed across Jarred vertically, and two mirror images of Jarred leaped out of each side, but with only one difference. Instead of charcoal grey, one was pitch lack, the other snowy white. The two moved in perfect synchronization, mimicking the other like a mirror.

Wraith's eyes went wide.

"Jarred, what did you...?"

The two turned their heads to face Wraith.

"You like it? We certainly do!" They said in unison.

An inquisitive Vlokorados came a little too close. The two Jarred's attacked the beast with perfect timing, confusing it with a hit-and-run tactic. Scales and blood were thrown into the air as the two slashed through the red monsters hide, decimating it with their speed and strength. Finally, the beast tripped and fell to the ground, and the two warriors finished it off, ripping their claws across it's neck. The tall dinosaur kicked for a few seconds, then lay still.

The two Jarred's pointed at the other beasts, laughing madly.

"Hah, you think you take us down! Bring it!" They shouted out, pacing around each other, facing the beasts.

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The grisly battle went on, with in an unstoppable malice. Jarred killed each of the Vlokorados, ripping them apart with his hands. Wraith watched with grim wonder, standing amazement at the power of his brother.

~Wraith guided me back to the village afterwards, since I was so weak. From that night, he was changed. He shunned magic completely, using instead weapons. After a while of rigid physical trials, his ability to use magic seemed to disappear completely. But his skill with a sword of any kind was unrivalled. And the gift of the mind was upon him. He left the village that day, and after a while by myself I left as well, yearning to improve my magic further. I wanted to feel the power of that night again, I thirsted for it. I unlocked the secrets of my mind in the frozen north, until I too attained a form of enlightenment. I gained the knowledge of my forefathers, the previous Princes Of Darkness. I knew about my people, about The Spire, but more importantly...~

Jarred was shivering violently.

~I knew where to find the ultimate weapon of my people. The instrument of the Armageddon. The Villis Me Ka. The 'Destroyer Of Souls'.~

Elena felt her breath intake, and her heart race. Instrument of the Armageddon? What did he mean by that?! Oh no, Jarred...

He was on his knees, clawing at his eyes. Elena was at his side, pulling his hands away, forcing his hands around her so that couldn't harm himself. He clutched her tightly, his breath quivering.

"I, I am a monster..."

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A twelve year old Jarred walked into cave on the mythical 'Egg Isle', which he had arrived at with much effort. It had taken a great amount of magical power to find this place, and even greater to actually get here. The forest outside had a maze-like quality to it, riddled with ancient stones of some lost city or some-such, but with the help of the knowledge of his forefathers, Jarred had located this cave, recognizing it as the final resting place of the vile sword, Villis Me Ka, where it had been cast away ages ago. It lay there still, untarnished by the ages. Jarred put his hand on the hilt, and lifted the blade.

"You take the blade, child, despite not knowing the price?" A melodic voice said behind him. The child warrior spun around, malice in his eyes. A tall, silvery skinned woman stood blocking the exit. She smiled at him, beckoning to him. ~That has to be Shakal,~ Elena thought brashly. ~Or a very good impersonator~

"You still have time, child. Put down the blade, and return to your brothers. No amount of power is worth that blade."

The young warrior spat, and grabbed the sword sheath which lay beside the blade.

"You don't fool me!" He growled, putting the sword in the sheath. "You want the blade to yourself!"

"Child, if it lay in my power, I would destroy that blade!" The woman said in harsh reply. "Put it down, before it is too late!"

"The blade is mine," Jarred hissed, strapping the sheath to his back. "I'll be taking it with me!"

"Then you truly are the Prince Of Darkness." The woman sighed. "I will let you go, Prince, and I will welcome you back, but you will pay for that blade, Jarred, with the blood of others." She moved out of the way, gesturing for him to leave. "Go now. This place is not for the living... Not yet, at least!" She said with a laugh. "My, I'm going to have to redecorate..."

Jarred looked at the woman suspiciously, but left all the same. With the sword in his hands, nothing could stop him! Psin would be proud...

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~And then I left for Fort Condor, confident of my power. I was twelve, and growing like a weed, due to my enhancements. I was halfway through puberty, and almost as tall as a Coralese miner****. On my way down, I was attacked by a swarm poisonous bugs, and although their poison did not affect me, it put me to sleep. When I woke up, I was confused and disoriented, and got lost. Then, I met Talice. She guided me to Fort Condor, where I could meet my brothers.~

Elena was still holding onto Jarred, because the tall warrior was still trying to gouge out himself. His warmth spread threw her, and despite his bloody palms his touch was soothing to her. The monologue going through her mind didn't interfere with this sensation. Jarred's past was wicked, sure, but the person that made him was even more so...

~But they weren't there. I was alone, and suddenly afraid. Maybe they had left me behind? Maybe they had died? Alone... I hated it!~

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The young Jarred stood on one of the many perches that made up Fort Condor, the ruined Mako Reactor. The ShinRa weren't attacking today, so everybody was taking it easy. Like so many others, Jarred offered his services to the fort for free, desiring battle more than pay. Whispers had grown among the defenders of the black skinned warrior from the north, with his wickedly long sword, going forth into battle without an ounce of armour, and coming back unscathed, save for blood-smears. Jarred didn't care what they said, however. He only wanted his brothers to return and to take him away form this slow torture.

"Bored?" Came Talice's voice from behind him. "I suppose that's the price of being a solitary warrior."

That was another thing Jarred had to endure. The incessant visitations of that accursed girl. She wouldn't leave him a spare second without asking what he was doing.


"So what if I am?" He snorted, moving away. "Why should you care?"

"Curious minds want to know." She said with a smile. "So enlighten me."

"I'm thinking." Jarred 'enlightened'.

"Ah, I can see how that couldn't be boring." She said mockingly. Jarred stood silent, staring at the horizon. Talice tried a different angle. "Hey, what are you doing here, huh? You don't get paid to fight, and you obviously don't want to be, and even if you did we probably wouldn't have enough to offer someone of your calibre, so I'm wondering what you're doing here. I can't see someone like you working for charity, if this can be called working. You're more of the type you find among those blue coated bastards, the Turks, y'know what I mean? You don't fit in here. So I wanna know why you stay."

Jarred stood silent, rigidly staring outwards.

"If I tell you do you promise to go away?"

Talice grinned mischievously.

"Maybe."

Young Jarred sighed deeply, and spoke once more.

"I'm waiting for my brothers. We've had some... Unpleasantness with the ShinRa, and we're kinda on the run. To make it harder for us to be found, we split up, and decided to meet here."


"Oh, so you're a refugee, then?" She said acknowledging. "Why didn't you say so? We get lots of people like you here, except they usually have reasons like 'I've left everything behind to them, might as well give up my life fighting them'. But how does a fighter as good as you get put on the run? You could kick the crap outta any of those soldiers!"

"I left two years ago." Jarred supplied. "I was not always so great a warrior."

"Oh."

There was an awkward silence, in which Jarred turned around, and looked fixedly at Talice.

"Anything else you'd like to bother me about? Like what's my favourite colour? Boxers or briefs?"

Talice seemed to consider that for a moment


"Who are you're brothers?"
ados.

That caught Jarred off guard, but he kept his cool.


"I'm not at liberty to say."

"What, have you all got secret personas? You all live double lives in which you scheme to take over the world?"

Jarred snorted out a laugh at that.

"As, so even the great warrior laughs? Should I call the press?" She remarked snidely.

"Don't push it." Jarred warned. "I tolerate you're presence, which is more than I do for other people."

"Hmph, What do you to other people?"

Those crimson eyes flicked with mischievous delight for a second. He raised a hand, and a blue globe emerged.


"Ooh, learned a new spell, have we? Showing it off to the lasses, hmm?" Came a leering voice. "You've changed, brother!"

Jarred whirled around, casting aside the black orb, and stared into the red eyes of Ghost. He wore a wide, jaunty hat, and a flowing coat that trailed somewhat behind him. He was standing on the edge of the perch, balance of the treacherous edge. His hands were wiry but strong, and his face with the strong features of an assassin. Unmarred was his skin, completely, unlike the scars that Jarred bore from hard battle. Ghost sized up his brother for a second, and then clasped him in a hug.

"But you're still my little brother, yes you are! Yes you are!" He said teasingly, ruffling Jarred's hair. "Did you dye you're hair? It's black!" He said, somewhat alarmed. "When did it change?"

Jarred grabbed a lock of hair, and inspected. "Hmm, I didn't notice. Must have changed a while back. But dude, you've gotta see this!" Jarred whipped out the Villis Me Ka from it's scabbard. Ghost's eyes went wide when he saw the runes scrawling across the blade, and the demonic symbols on the hilt.

"Is that a...?" He began, eyes wide as plates.

"Yup! Found it at in some ruins!" Jarred said proudly, sheathing the sword once again: "It's the Villis Me Ka, the most potent weapon of our people."


Ghost stared at the sword for a moment, and kicked the ground. He suddenly looked up once again.

"Any of the others back yet?" he asked. "Spectre, perhaps? I met him in Junon, and he was getting pretty damned good at Magic. You should see some of the stuff he can do! Talked to Wraith a while back in Wutai too. He doesn't talk much anymore. At all. He's got a freaking way of doing things now, psychokinetics or something. He's completely mental though. Keeps talking about how he needs to find a weapon fit for his skill. A F-%#ยค-in' psycho! Any word of Psin?"

"Well, I've learned the names of three of the elusive five brothers, so why don't you all go along and introduce yourselves all formal-like." Talice said, feeling left out all of a sudden.

Ghost looked at Jarred.

"She taken?" he asked.

"Not by me."

Ghost thought about this for a second.


"Good enough."


With a flick of his coat, his appeared in a kneeling position in front of Talice, and grasped her hand, while with the other he removed his cap, and slipped it behind his cape, and allowed his indigo hair to spill out.

"Forgive me, fair maiden, for neglecting you. I was simply overjoyed at seeing my little brother. My name, however elusive it may sound, is Ghost. May my memories of you never become one." He placed a delicate kiss on her hand, and stood up once again, fitting his hat on his head once again. Talice stood in shock for a moment, taking in what just happened. She looked between Ghost and Jarred, a frown on her face.

"Are you two sure you're related? I don't see a resemblance. Well, except for the black skin and red eyes, but that can't be real."

"Only as real as you let it become." Ghost said slyly, and teleported back to Jarred's side. "Now then, my brother, I believe we have some catching up to do. I would so dearly love to know what you've been doing all by yourself with this delicious young woman fawning at you."

"Hey!"

"No offence, my dear! Brother talk!" Then, more secretively, to Jarred. "That should fool her!"

g voice. "asses, hmm?"diapear completely.and at the same time because I didn'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~For a time, it was good. Ghost and I fought alongside each other, and we learned from each other. He had forsaken all other magic's, and focused completely on fire magic, and became a servant to the fire god, Ifrit. Besides that, he learned to wield a gun in Junon, and became a highly demanded assassin, up until the point where he decided to see if anybody had come to Fort Condor. Three weeks after Ghost, Spectre came, and I learned of his expedition. He had become a fell-mage, a spell caster with evil intent, and at the same time a servant of the ice god, Shiva, and wielded mostly ice magic. He cast aside all weapons in favour of the ecstasy of magic. Somewhere along the lines, Talice had become out surrogate sister, and we taught her what we could of magic, the planet, and fighting, while she tried to teach us to cook, table manners, and in my case, how to read and write. I kept my own identity, the Prince Of Darkness, a secret though.~

Elena took in all this with a heartbeat, understanding it completely. These were children, not grown adults. Their thoughts might have been that of adults, but the minds were locked in 'twelve year-old-o-vision', thus making acceptance of others hard, but when it happened, permanent. It was turning into a small family, really, instead of a small group of like-minded psychotic killers.

~I was a fool.~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jarred and Talice were inseparable, except when the time for battle arrived. But until that time, they were like true siblings, joking and making fun of their other 'brothers'. Ghost was usually the butt of their jokes, seeming how Spectre would just get pissed off and break something. Ghost on the other hand, would usually have some sort of witty comeback. For instance, saying "You smell funny" to him would result in the a reply somewhere along the lines of "What kind of sick person go around smelling people". Nothing of the sort was going on right now, as Jarred was struggling with a book. He couldn't get his head around the idea that the words he could speak could also be written down. It also took him a while to learn the alphabet, and so on. Things normal children learned in the first grade he was just beginning to learn. On the other hand, he was fully grown and thirteen, which said a lot for the crazy genes that made him tick.

"No no no, no." Talice scolded. "Say it with me: De-di-k-shun."

Jarred repeated it, flawlessly.

"Good. Now find out what word that was on the paper."

The black skinned chilled looked at the piece of paper in front of him. To him, it was all little lines and squiggles, but obviously, to Talice they held some sort of meaning. Silently praying to whatever gods were listening, he pointed at one of the 'words'

"Aha, I can see you're good at making guesses, yes? Right answer, but no points for actually closing you're eyes and circling the word."

Jarred opened his eyes, and looked down at the piece of paper. His finger was indeed on a 'word', but it remained a mystery how it could go from paper to speech.

"Oh, you're feeling so smart, are you? Care to spar, hmm?" Jarred returned irritably. "See how long you last in battle, hmm? Or perhaps you'd like to try magic some again?"

The two stared at each other for a second, Talice mildly amused, Jarred angry at having his illiterateness pointed out.

"Well, if you're going to act like that, then fine." She said wickedly, and Jarred grinned. "But only if you can spell 'battle'. I say that's fair, yes?"

Jarred scowled.

~B A T T L E~ A dark voice said into his mind, and his lips repeated them almost of their own accord. ~I AM PLEASED TO SEE YOU AGAIN, MY BROTHER.~

The warrior spun around, a worried look on his face.

A giant stood in front of him. Well, maybe not a giant, but very close. He towered above everyone, a massive seven feet tall. A trench coat slid across the floor as he moved, gracefully, and powerful, in the way that a glacier is graceful and powerful as it slides down a mountain. Piercing black eyes stared at him, unblinking.

But what really caught Jarred's eye was the man walking beside him. His eyes were icy blue, his skin silvery white, and platinum hair. He wore a snowy white cloak, and a golden belt with a scabbard attached to it. He stared around at the people around him with such malice and hatred that it radiated in an outwards aura. His hand was on his sword-hilt, as if just waiting for a reason to hack everyone apart. He saw Jarred, and grinned.

"My brother!" He laughed, lunging forward, and hugging Jarred. "It has been too long, and Wraith is hardly good company."

"THE PALE ONE CAN'T STOP TALKING, MY BROTHER." Wraith mental voice said to Jarred. "IT'S LIKE HAVING AN VOICE IN YOUR HEAD THAT JUST WON'T GO AWAY."

"Watch your mouth!" Psin hissed, glaring at his tall companion. "I've spoken with our queen, by the way, and let me be the first to congratulate on you're rise in station!" He said.


Jarred froze then and there.


"Queen? That woman in the cave?"


"Of course, my brother! Who would have thought, one of Hojo's experiments, was part of an ancient prophecy!" He seemed to notice Talice, who was staring at him oddly. "What are you looking at, scum?" He demanded.

Jarred coughed.

"Ah, er, Psin, this is Talice. She's our, er, friend."

"Our? Ghost and Spectre know of her too?" Psin spat. He sneered disdainfully. "I thought you had learned something in the north. You learned nothing. You have to learn you're purpose if you want to become the Prince Of Darkness."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Things only got worse from then on.~ Jarred said to her. ~Psin let his scorn of humans show freely, and let people know his sole reasons for fighting alongside them show. His reason was that fighting monsters was slightly harder than fighting humans. Wraith took our side, and thus we were divided. Psin became alienated, despite our blood bond. And, in turn, he came to despise us.~ Jarred sighed. ~Much could have been avoided if we had forsaken Talice and reconciled with our brother. But instead, we ignored him. Eventually, Talice grew curious about our powers. She wanted to be like us, she wanted to wield our power. And, in truth, we would have gladly given it to her. We looked into the matter, and found a way to give her our power. She would become our blood sister, and gain our strength. Foolishly, I offered my blood for the rite. If it had been anyone else's, she might have survived. As it was, my taint destroyed her, clouding her mind, infecting her thoughts, tainting her body black. She was changed when she became one of us. She was, like me.~ Jarred's fist balled up, and e clenched his teeth. ~I killed her, Elena. With my own hands.~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a week since the rite, and still Talice was acting oddly. She was abusing her power; that was apparent. She used it wantonly, without thought or consideration, and Wraith was saying more and more often that she was slipping into a malady that no one could heal. But today Jarred couldn't worry about his sister, the ShinRa were amassing soldiers for another attack. We spoke with Psin, grudgingly, and made our peace for the moment, which would last long enough for the battle to end. Talice would be fighting as well, despite her unhinged state. Wraith would be watching her back in battle, cleaning up any messes she might make. It was bad enough that she was insane, but if the ShinRa found out that they were there then they would be on the run, with an entire army searching for them. Even Psin considered that for a second.

It was early in the morning when the ShinRa attacked, throwing the full of their force at the fort. It was raining, raindrops the size of pebbles, slashing down from the heavens. The defenders took their places, preparing traps and defences, while the mercenary soldiers formed a line around the fort, their weapons clutched tightly. The five brothers were together, Psin, Wraith and Jarred standing in front, their collective swords poised, while Ghost, Spectre and Talice stood behind them, providing some supportive magic. The uniformed army advanced slowly below them, manoeuvring around the falling boulders that were tossed down at them. About halfway, they opened fire upon the fort.

Bullets hailed upwards toward the defenders, and people were thrown backwards as they were struck. When it became apparent that the soldiers had no intention of advancing further, some of ht e defenders retreated back, while others jumped forward to the attack, Jarred and his brethren included. Ghost and Spectre managed to keep a shield of ice and flame in front of them, forming a barrier between them and soldiers. Mercenaries were shot down beside hem, while others still excelled in their comrade's death, angered further, but the half-breed warriors continued, unscathed. Jarred's enormous sword was held low, ready to slash upwards when he got close enough. Ghost and Spectre let their spells dissipate suddenly, and readied offensive spells instead. Almost of one mind, Psin, Wraith and Jarred leapt forward, slashing upwards, taking down the first soldiers in sight. In mere seconds, the three warriors had decimated the soldiers around them, and were returning their comrades behind them. What they saw appalled them. Spectre and Ghost were scorched to unrecognizable heaps of burning flesh. The only way they could be recognized was by the fact that Ghost had apparently dropped his hat, which lay beside him. Wraith's eyes went wide, but Psin laughed.

"She killed them!" He laughed evilly. "I told you all humans were the same! She just wanted your power, like Hojo did!"

Wraith fell to his knees, sobbing. "M, my brothers." Despite their burning state, he put his hands on their scorched corpses, burning his own hands in the process. He sat there for a moment, then stood up, tear stained.

"I can sense her still." He stated plainly. He gripped his sword strongly. "I will kill her for the lose of my brothers."

Psin smiled, and looked at Jarred, who was deathly still all that time. He put a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you coming with us, brother?"

Jarred shivered at the thought of what was being asked of him. Hunting his sister, then killing her...

"Yes." He whispered. "I will go with you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was in the forest. Wraith said so, and he had some... fascinating abilities. He said that she was enthralled by her power, no fully realizing the extent to which her power had gone. He said that she didn't know Ghost and Spectre were dead. She was expecting them to come and congratulate her. Psin sneered upon hearing this, drawing his blade. Wraith was grim, as well as Jarred. They entered the forest, each one with their weapons in hand.

They could hear her laughter. Her maddening, sickening laughter, accompanied by the scream of magic gone awry echoed through the trees. Psin broke into a run, in which Jarred and Wraith followed after.

"I'll kill that abomination!" Psin vowed through his teeth.

The three came into a clearing, where Talice sat on a tree stump, smiling happily.

"Hi, Jarred, Wraith!" She said, grinning. She looked over at Psin. "Oh, you're here too?" She giggled happily. "Have you accepted me, then?"

"Never, you murdering scum!" Psin hissed, going into stance.

"Murdering?"

Wraith went into stance as well, and advanced slowly.

"They're dead. Ghost, Spectre, they're dead. You killed them." The tall warrior dashed forward, rage in his eyes. "We should have never allowed you our power!"

Talice raised her hand, and closed it. Wraith stopped, stock still, like some massive hand had clasped around him.


"Maybe they are dead." She said levelly. "But if they are then they deserve it, for being weak."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~I saw it then. I saw my own taint, reflected back at me through her. I saw where I could go, what I could do if not constrained. 'you will pay for that blade, Jarred, with the blood of others', she had said. I realized then what she meant.~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jarred appeared next to Talice, his head downcast. He put a hand on her shoulder, and looked at her. The saddest look was on his face. He wasn't blaming her. He couldn't blame anyone for this, in the end. It was his blood that was making her like this, after all. He merely looked at her with such sadness that made Talice blink.

"Why?" He asked, and ran his sword through her. Talice screamed, her hands writhing. As her last minutes were upon her, she looked upon Wraith, and sneered, clenching her fist further. Wraith gasped, as he felt his very bones being crushed. Blood seeped out through his mouth and nose, and helpless sputtering came out. He was still after a moment, crushed. Talice turned to Jarred, and smiled once more, before she too was still. Jarred drew his sword out, slowly. No blood was on the hilt, he noticed, despite the fact that it had both entered and exited. Fearfully, he let it drop to the ground

"Hmph." Psin said behind him. "Stupid human. She killed our brethren out of madness."

Jarred whirled on him.


"And I killed her in sanity! Does that justify what is done here?!" He demanded. "It was my taint that unbalanced her! My blood that corrupted her..."  He looked back up, glaring at Psin.

"Relax, brother!" Psin said comfortingly, putting a hand on Jarred's shoulder. "She was a human! It doesn't matter! Is killing them any different from killing bugs?"

"You're wrong. She was one of us."

"She was less than we are." Psin comforted.

"We are monsters, Psin!" Jarred hissed. "If we consider every living thing lesser than us, then we are no better than demons!"

That made Psin catch his breath. He pulled his cloak around him, and sheathed his sword.


"If that's the way you feel, brother." He turned to leave.

"We're half-Breeds, Psin. That means we're half human, and half demon. We represent the worst of both races." Jarred said with a warning tone. "Despite what you may think. We are freaks, Psin. Beasts bred for war. To deny it is to deny what we were made for."

Psin whirled around, whipping out his sword on a swift motion, and going into stance. His white cloak billowed on a fust of wind, while his icy blue eyes glared at Jarred. Jarred lifted his left hand, and held into open. The Villis Me Ka shuddered, and flew into his grasp. "Take that back, Jarred! I will not have it spoken that I am like them!"

"You know it's the truth, brother."

"Like hell!" Psin bellowed, and charged. Jarred didn't move, even as Psin's sword hacked into him. The Villis Me Ka began to burn ominously with magical power, radiating it's vile, tainted essence. Psin's eye went wide as he saw the vile blade activate. He drew his sword out, and made to strike once again.

Jarred parried the blow. By now his ember eyes were flaming, the very darkness of his skin exuding a vile shadow. Everything about him seemed to intensify drastically. Psin's sword shattered on impact, praying metal everywhere. But the Villis Me Ka was totally unscathed, continuing on as if nothing had happened. Psin leapt back, but the blade nicked his cheek, gashing a thin line into his face. He screamed in pain, as the effects of the Villis Me Ka began to take effect. Jarred didn't stop though, letting the momentum of his strike carry into a downwards chop, hewing Psin cleaning across his eye, overlapping the previous cut. Psin crumbled to the ground, clutching his face, glaring at Jarred with his remaining eye. The Villis Me Ka dropped from Jarred's nerveless hands once again, when he realized what he had done.

"PSIN!"

With one final effort, Psin raised his hand, and a black globe appeared in it, growing in width. He made as it to hurl it, but his face wrenched in pain, and the globe vanished. Psin fell forward, shuddered, and was still. Jarred looked around him, seeing all those he had grown to consider his family, slaughtered by him directly and indirectly. Their blood was on his hands, face and blade. He fell to his knees, digging his nails into himself, gouging deep gashes into himself.

Jarred lifted his head, and screamed in anguish. It seemed to go on forever, in one, ululating note that chilled the soul more than the blood. White sigils formed in the air around him, growing more and more powerful as the shriek grew louder. The blood rolling down Jarred's body was absorbed, as the spell used more and more magical energy, absorbing the very essence of the surroundings. His burning eyes flared, and the darkness he radiated grew in strength, until he was lost from view. The shadows seeped out, taking the form of four vaguely human forms, standing upright. The white sigils were joined, suddenly, and red sigils burning alongside the white.

Unbidden, words sprang from Jarred's mouth.

 Through time and stone/

    The spirits yearn for their home

To leave our world/

    To leave our lives on wings unfurled

Heed my voice, o spirit of the land/

    Heed my voice, obey my command!

"Give them life once again!" A great voice said, and Jarred was amazed to realize that it had come from him. The white sigils exploded into light, and the red ones writhed with fiery power. The ground cracked under his feet as the Lifestream seeped upwards. A lethal amount of the green liquid reached up, merging itself in with the four shadowy figures. Slowly, each of the four things took on more detailed aspects. Black clumps became hands, shadowy lines became arms and muscles, and the whole of all of them took on an altogether more solidified look. Before long, Ghost, Spectre, Wraith and Psin stood before him, their limbs hanging limply at their sides. The intense magical forces subsided, and finally disappeared completely. Jarred found that his strength left him at that point, and fell from his knees to the ground.

Ghost opened his eyes, slowly, and looked around him.

"I, I'm not dead?" He stuttered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~I gave them life again. But at a terrible price. They are bound to me. For as a long as I live, so shall they. Their pain is mine, their happiness is mine, their very souls are mine. I can feel every thought coursing through their minds, every subtle emotion seething and festering like an infected wound. Psin hates me because I showed him what I was capable of, being the Prince of Darkness. Wraith, Spectre and Ghost are loyal to me because I hold their very existence in my hands, but they hate me as well because of what I did to them. My... Brothers... Are no longer of the same race as anything anymore. They are the embodiment of my fear, anguish and sadness.~

Elena reached out a hand to the young warrior. Considering all that he had done, it was hard to consider him as just a nineteen year old vagrant warrior with a taste for battle. He was the Prince Of Darkness, the supposedly most powerful entity to ever exist, part of a prophecy that went farther into history than the ShinRa could have imagined. And here he was, spilling his guts to her, letting her know about all the terrible things that had happened to him. Sh knew now why he chose to live on an island all by himself, why he yearned for battle.

He yearned for battle, because he hoped for something to destroy him. To shatter end the pain he brought to others.

"Oh, Jarred." She whispered sadly, putting a hand on his shoulder.

The black skinned warrior looked at her with those ember eyes, now sadly dampened.

"You are not repulsed? You do not cringe from fear?" he asked fearfully, grasping her hand in his own.

"Why should I be? You might have made mistakes, but nothing can change that. You're still the same person standing before me now. I've killed people, myself. You think I wanted to? Things happen, Jarred, and no one can do anything about it."

Jarred was silent then. He seemed to be trying to work this into his mind. Then, suddenly he looked upwards like everything was as clear as glass.

"Yes." He whispered. "You're right. No one can stop evil from happening. That is what I was made for." He smiled suddenly, as if thinking about something pleasant.

"Thank you, Elena. I know what I have to do now."

Jarred stood up, and raised a hand.

~I was made to end it all.~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The very foundations of The Spire shook as Jarred awoke. It's black tower's trembled with unseen force.

"Run, humans!" Shakal Na Haxa screamed at the AVALANCHE. "Wraith will guide you out!"

Everyone was having trouble keeping upright, due to the shaking. Vincent cradled a very sick-looking Yuffie, while trying to keep his balance. The rest of AVALANCHE was trying to find Wraith, who seemed to have disappeared somewhere along the lines. Shakal cursed, and straightened her dress.

"Fine, I'll take care of this!" With a flick of her and, a white light flared around them. The surroundings seemed to melt into a dull colour, and then it turned green suddenly. Everything became stable again, and their surroundings became clearer. They were in the forest inside the oval mountain range. The spectral Aeris looked thoroughly confused.

"What happened?!" She demanded. "We were trying to discuss how to revive me, and suddenly the floor starts shaking like jello!"

Shakal Na Haxa looked around her. Everyone was accounted for, except Psin, Wraith and his brothers, Jarred and that blonde human girl and her own daughter. Even Kahn was here. And none too happy about it, either.

"Someone is going to bleed for this, Shakal." He said menacingly. He looked around, and cursed suddenly. "You stupid wench! You just had to bring us HERE, didn't you?!"

"What do you mean?"

"The Shadowlord is near! I can feel it!"

Shakal shrugged.

"The Prince Of Darkness has awakened, Kahn. The prophecy is being fulfilled. The wrong way, to boot. Even the Shadowlord will listen then."

That shut Kahn up. His mouth hung on the ground, and looked up at the shaking tower.

"Has it begun?" he asked. "How long do we have."

"Eternity. Or no time at all." Shakal shrugged. A black tower leaned over the mountains, and with a huge snapping sound, cracked and fell into the ocean on the other side of the mountains. Black flames roared out of the tower, and stone rained down like snow. "it has begun: That much we can be sure of."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*: Please excuse the minor Cloud bashing. Author is cranky, needs to vent rage on poor, defenceless character.

**: For all those that read Jarred's failure of a past, this name may familiar. Well, I wasn't feeling very creative, and decided to recycle the name... Beholder Of The Shadows (Oh, I'd really hate to ask, but why do you have such a long name?), I think YOU at least should remember this name!

***: It sounds wrong if I write 'limit Break', so I thought that I should take a 'liberty' with term, namely, changing it completely. Aren't I evil?

****: Lets just say that's tall, ne?