For all their knowledge and fear of what I could do, Pandora was so callous about security, or they assumed I would be so weakened by their punishment and cowered by Kazen's will that I would remain wherever they placed me. Fools, didn't their whole plan for me hinge on the fact that I'd forcibly take back Esthar for them?
That night I dressed in the loose fitting black clothes I wore when out in the Salt Lakes battling. The clothes were so designed to test my fighting abilities and resistance to heat and moisture loss in the hot sun out there and they were the only undamaged clothes I owned.
I slipped out into the cold stone tunnels to the armoury. A single guard known to me as Abe was a minor distraction, a simple twist of the neck and he was taken care of. I left him slumped by the door as I broke the door open with my shoulder. Inside the room lay rack upon rack of the weapons I had held in my hands at one time or another. I selected a sword and a few daggers, my weapons of choice ever since.
As I passed Abe's lifeless form on my way out I realised he had family out in the caves somewhere. A cold mirthless laugh passed my lips as I told him they'd be with him soon enough.
I headed towards the main cavern of Pandora's complex, the communal room. Kazen's habit of control even stretched to the structure of the lifestyle of the other members of Pandora which meant they'd all be there now for the evening meal, which suited my purpose fine.
As I walked down the smoothed walled passage I saw the doors opening, the meal was over and it was time for them to return to whatever it was they did in this Hyne forsaken pit. The darkness of the passage wasn't illuminated enough by the light that burst from the open doors as I charged, sword in hand like a vengeful shadow of Death, the blade slicing through the first group of people.
Those behind them could only gasp in surprise as bodies fell apart in front of them, blood washing over they feet. My blood slick blade swung up and cut down the next wave as confusion coursed back into the crowd. People ran back into the room clutching their screaming children, in their fear not realising they were trapped as I stalked over the corpses and closed the double doors, barring them behind me.
It had only taken me a moment to kill six people, a fact that excited me as the rest realised that their weapon had turned on them.
Three dozen people remained, half of them children, those wretches that scorned me now tearful and wide-eyed. The adults turned to look at Kazen who had gone white in fury.
'Omen, what is the meaning of this?' he finally yelled at me, slamming his fists on the long wooden table.
'You old fool, you can't control me, you never had. I will not be your knight, only your angel of death.' I retorted, my young voice sharp and strong as I brandished my blade.
Kazen grinned in a warped way. 'Not even you could kill us all, my dear Omen.' He said softly.
'I think I could, I guess I should thank you for that.' I replied sarcastically.
'Restrain him.' Kazen said curtly and all the men detached from the walls approaching me warily, some picking up knives from the tables and smashing chairs to provide weapons to protect them.
Their resistance was futile, my sword cleanly cutting the first three to rushing in at me.
I leapt onto the table, the women and children running in fear to the corner as the six remaining men surrounded the table, Kazen however remained where he was at once angry and amazed in what he had created in me. The men swiped at my legs but I jumped their clumsy blows. I had surpassed my teachers long ago in combat which was why they sent me out to dispatch monsters, hadn't they realised that yet? Another swipe of my sword, another corpse created, a fountain of blood from a severed carotid artery and gurgle and thrash as life expired.
Still the others cowered, the fear growing and consuming them so much that none thought to unbar the door so they could run. What were they waiting for? Kazen's word?
I tired of playing with these foolish men who thought they could subdue me. A flip from the table and a single broad arc of my arm and three more were no more, their flesh yielding to metal like any other. My guards and jailers were mere humans now, no more could they hold me captive.
A sharp pain caught me in the shoulder as I had landed. It seemed that one of the remaining men had got a lucky swipe in as I felt the blood trickling down my back, my top flapping loosely where I had been torn. However they watched in shock as the wound healed by itself giving me idle time to stab him in the gut in retaliation, twisting the blade and then tugging it out, eviscerating him. The blood drained from his dying visage in synchrony with Kazen's as he muttered softly 'It has awoke...'
It was just me and the remaining man, should've figured it'd be Zadel, the man who first showed me how to use the blade. Funny how his face would show a mixture of pride and fear as he squared off against me, the poor man held only a long staff of wood, torn from the back of a chair yet it was no time for sympathy. As with the others I cut him down with a single flick of my wrist, my face an impassive mask.
I strode over the strewn corpses around me and headed to the cowering masses, leaving Kazen to stand quivering and imprisoned by his fear. The women screamed at me to spare the children, show them mercy and so I did. Every swing of my blade came at head height for the children, ending their existence instantly. The women were not slaughtered so quickly for they were hacked up as they tried to cover their children from the blows, something they had never done for me, which made my rage intensify. After all the carnage I turned to face my nemesis, the man who inflicted so much agony. I grinned sardonically as I reached for a dagger, the grin made all the worse by the blood that spattered my face.
Kazen stood there, his brown eyes faded, his body still shaking feverishly as if he had broken down. There was no pleading, no sound at all as I threw the knife, the blade plunging into his eye. Kazen threw his hands up to his face as he screamed in pain, the force of impact knocking him back over his chair and sprawling to the ground where his screams were instantly cut off. His body lay still on the ground after a few last twitches of his hands as blood oozed from his eye socket. I let out a sigh of relief and in a final act of rebellion, wiped my sword clean on Kazen's body. The deed had been done and it was time for me to leave this hell and regain my life.
'Kazen called you Omen?' Meia asked as Jayson paused.
'That was then name I was given by Pandora.' Jayson said dryly.
'I see... then what happened?' Meia asked enrapt and fascinated by this story of the past she never knew.
I spent the next year and a half getting as far away from Esthar as possible. This involved walking across the railway tracks and through Fisherman's Horizon to the Galbadian continent. I pilfered what I needed to survive, keeping a low profile as I passed through F.H and Timber.
It was in Timber I was taken in for a while by one of the resistance groups running errands for them. It was during that time that I heard that Esthar had disappeared, severing contact from the world. I also learned about Garden and SeeD, ambivalent mercenaries created from children, mostly those that had been orphaned or abandoned. The rebels assumed I was feral as I didn't talk much and from the numerous scars I'd amassed. However they respected my ability to slay monsters and my right to privacy and so refrained from asking about my past. The more I heard of Garden, the more it intrigued me. I knew of the Garden to the north but I was sickened by the similarity of Deling's dictatorship to my mother's that I didn't want to be that close to Deling City. The isolation of Balamb Garden appealed to me and so I left the rebels and stowed away on a train to Balamb Island still carrying the sword I'd destroyed Pandora with.
In Balamb town I quickly vanished, heading to the rounded blue metal towering haven of Garden, wondering how to get in.
My question was answered as I spotted someone in a dark blue uniform fighting a huge monster. I rushed to their aid and leapt onto the monster's back, plunging my sword into the base of its neck. As the monster collapsed the figure could only look at me in awe.
'Who are you?' he asked me.
'Jayson.' I replied, using the name the rebels had given me.
'And your ID number?' he demanded.
'ID number?' I asked, genuinely puzzled.
'You're not with Garden?' the figure commented. 'Are you a soldier?' he snapped raising his weapons, a dagger in each hand.
'No! I came to join Garden... I have nowhere to go!' I said, lying about the last part and pulled my sword from the monster as it dissolved, holding it low and raising a hand in submission.
The figure relaxed, lowering his own weapons. 'Well you do look too young to be a Galbadian, but you handle yourself pretty well kid.' The figure replied.
I let the "kid" slide and asked. 'So how do you join?'
'Well you do have potential... I'll take you to Cid and see what he says, for helping me out.' He told me.
'And your name?' I asked, extending my hand.
'Jaden.' He replied grinning and shook my hand before leading me to Garden.
It was then I met Cid for the first time who was interested in my fighting prowess and seemed to take my background story at face value. He allowed me to sign up and assigned me an ID number.
I think he was disappointed with the progress I made after the promise I showed to start with and I didn't see Jaden again once I settled in.
The studies of weapons were second nature to me so I had no trouble there, what intrigued me most was magic, the studies of which led me to discover I had my own inherent "para-magic" without the need for junctioning of GF's, another unsurprising fact given the Sorceress blood in me and another secret to hide. Luckily no one noticed this and Cid's interest in me waned as he was concerned with Squall's welfare and development what with what was to come although I didn't realise that until now.
Jayson stopped once more, his eyes finally opening and realising how dim the sunlight had become.
'Is that it?' Meia said sadly.
Jayson shrugged. 'What more do you want?' he said, forcing a grin.
'Well if you have your own Para-magic why do you have Orion? And where did you get him from anyway?' Meia asked, stretching her limbs lazily.
'Yeah, how come you left me out?' Orion whined in his head.
'Fine I guess I should tell you that too.' Jayson said sighing.