"Ghiki!"

Kogoro's voice was welcomed to Ghiki. After what had seemed like hours, Ghiki had finally found himself back on the ground again. He swiped his paw upwards at Flurry as the bird sailed above his head, but he quickly dodged it and sailed off to land on a nearby tree root that stuck out of the ground ominously. As soon as Ghiki got his footing on the ground, he was ambushed by Kogoro from behind, knocking him over. "Kogoro," he said, laughing as he rolled onto his back. "It has been too long."

"More than a thousand years," Flurry informed them, preening.

"We were getting worried about you," Kogoro said, pawing at Ghiki's ears, "we didn't think your host was going to make it."

"I was worried there for a while too," Ghiki admitted, climbing up on Kogoro's back and hanging around his neck. "He's from the hot place, so I worried he would die of chill."

"Especially after Kogoro-host left him," Flurry muttered, still preening.

"Of all the people to get stuck with as a host," Ghiki replied, swinging back up to straddle Kogoro's back after grabbing a pawful of snow, "I had to get the snowpansy."

"Hey," Kogoro protested, turning his head to try to look up at Ghiki, "don't make fun of these hosts. At least they survived the remaking... unlike those last unfortunate souls who wandered here."

"Messy," Flurry said, fluttering his wings and shaking out a few loose feathers. "Glad we didn't have to find new hosts."

"We have the Shuyin to thank for this, you know. Without what he did to them, these guys might've broken under us." Kogoro kicked some snow up in the air behind his hind legs.

"Yeah, yeah, Shuyin," Ghiki said, tossing the pawful of snow at Flurry. "He's also the one who broke the Vegnagun."

"It's humans in general," Flurry muttered, getting hit with the snow and giving Ghiki a glare before preening his newly-wet left wing. "They forgot what they built the Vegnagun for, and now they've destroyed it and they're going to have to build another one."

"You're always so negative," Kogoro barked harshly. "This time, maybe we can stop it for good."

"Tch," Flurry enunciated, spitting out a few feathers. "How do you think we're going to do that?"

"There's got to be a way," Kogoro replied, pouting as he sat back on his haunches.

"Well, we do have our hosts," Ghiki piped up, sitting down on the top of Kogoro's head. "They know things. This one knows a lot about machinery and how to build them."

"This one knows magic, and faith," Kogoro agreed, then looked over at Flurry.

Flurry looked at them. "He knows darkness... and light."

The three of them paused, looking at each other.

"...or maybe we'll have to come up with something on our own," Ghiki finally said, smirking as much as his monkey features would allow. "I'm not sure I'd want to trust the fate of the world in their hands, anyway."

------

------

Kogoro bounded through the snow, carrying Ghiki on his back. "Do you think we can talk to our hosts?" Ghiki wondered out loud.

"Why would you want to do something like that?" Kogoro asked, looking up as Flurry elevated himself above the trees.

"I'm worried that they're confused," Ghiki replied. "You know, suddenly being pushed back after the transformation and all."

"Well, that was the point, wasn't it?" Kogoro leapt over a large tree root that stuck out over the snow. "To drive them crazy so that we could take over."

"So that's why?" Ghiki chuckled. "I always wondered why they had to go through the whole trial thing."

"Yes, it's to drive the dominant human personalities into submission, until we could take control of their bodies and their life force."

Life force.

"So we're really just using them," Ghiki observed, sighing slightly. He felt a little guilty.

"We have to," Kogoro assured him gently, "or else X-Death would dominate the world again."

"Why don't we just let it?" Ghiki looked up at the sky, trying to spot Flurry. "I mean, it would be a lot less hassle than us having to be reborn every thousand years."

"This will be the last time," Kogoro said, stopping as they neared a clearing. "We have to finish X-Death this time. We can't keep doing this, the system won't work forever."

I want my life back.

"Do you hear that?" Ghiki jumped off Kogoro's back, landing on his hind legs in the snow.

"Hear what?"

"My host is talking to me," Ghiki replied sadly.

"You're nuts," Flurry announced, settling down in front of them. "The humans can't talk to us. They're in submission."

"No." Ghiki shook his head. "I can hear him."

Tell me what is going on!

"Yours is a fiery one," Kogoro said, pawing at Ghiki's shoulder affectionately. "Figures even submission wouldn't quiet him permanently."

"Irritating," Flurry added.

"Quiet," Ghiki responded with a pout. He actually liked his host; a rather lot, in fact. The guy had survived in conditions that should have killed him -- Ghiki didn't even understand how it had been possible. He should have frozen to death after the first couple of hours in the icy cold. It was amazing he had gotten as far as he had.

"We have to get our relics," Kogoro reminded them, completely ignoring Ghiki's request for silence.

"They're still in the tree," Flurry replied, preening a little more. "I went ahead and checked. Should be no problem."

------

------

Guys? Guys!? It's me, Gippal, please, you've got to be able to hear me.

I can hear them -- myself! -- talking, I can feel myself moving, but I can't control it; I can't do anything. I'm powerless, even lost to my own body.

Is this death? Have I been reincarnated? Is this what it feels like?

No. No, I would remember dying. I'd know. I haven't died... this is still my body, damnit. It's been taken away from me!

Gippal, calm down.

Hello?

You have nothing to fear.

Who are you? Whose voice is that? Nooj?

Not Nooj. Not Baralai either. Both.

Both?

You have to trust them. Come to us, be with us, let them take care of it.

We're going to die. The virus is going to get to us.

Not to us. To you, maybe, if you don't let go.

But... but... they've stolen my life from me...

It's for the good of the world.

Your -- our! -- sacrifice is worth it.

I'm not ready to die.

Speak for yourself.

How could this have happened?

You are the one who bonded so closely to the sphere. You are the one who established the connection between host and totem. Without you, we never would have been able to do this.

What are you guys? Where are you?

We've given ourselves to them. Given our lives. For the good of Spira.

I don't believe it. I don't believe it at all! We shouldn't have to die just because of this virus... that's what the virus does, is bring death. We're only feeding it.

We didn't say it was permanent.

...not permanent?

Temporary. Let them borrow our life force. If our lives are required permanently, that will be our decision.

Then...? What is this? Where are we?

Come, join us. Bond to us. We will make them stronger.

Can I trust you?

What other choice do you have?