Chapter One:"Pain"
First, there was the silence he knew only too well.
Then, came an erratic, manly voice to his ears...
Slowly, Squall started to gather around his unconscience to produce something out of it. His head started to ache slightly as he managed to slowly open up his eyes to comprehend a part of the world outside.
The world around him much looked like a cave now; a cave of crimson obsidian, with archaic tribal tattoos carved onto the walls with the colour of white and black, to express their fear of the Gods of the mind.
The top of the cave showed a dreamcatcher that was made of what seemed like...
Squall shivered.
It looked like it was made of broken skin.
Squall checked himself for wounds. He had no wounds. He was surprised to find that, because he did remember how he had fallen down the spiral of reality, as his "friends"...
...He shivered and dismissed the thoughts. Then, he heard footsteps. Immidiately, he jumped up and looked around; managing to spot a stranger.
The stranger was wearing a crimson, hooded mantle on top of his black suit which included a crimson tie on top of the black shirt. His hands were quite perfect- with a curvy, clean shape... The back of his hands were shining while the palms stayed dirty.
"Who are you?" Squall demanded.
"I am Pain;
I am your reality, and your hallucination
I am Pain,
I am your serenity, your strength, your... exclaimation." The stranger replied.
"Who are you?" Squall repeated the question to get a more subtle answer.
"I am Pain
I am the self-inflicted wound that bleeds back inside...
You just gain
Me if you try to push your surface back outside..."
Squall stood in silence; his eyes darting towards Pain, and he demanded even a better, more clear answer from him. The stranger went right on;
"I am Pain
I am the disarray of your lost dreams...
It's in vain
You cannot stray from these screams...
If I remain
You will see that I am not nothing...
And these stains
Will never be mine; unless you don't do anything..."
Squall sighed and asked his question; "But I wonder who you are?"
"I can't tell any clearer..." Pain replied.
"Why do you carry my scar?"
"You gazed into a mirror..."
When Squall didn't reply, Pain spoke again.
"I AM PAIN
I am your doubt, your dilemmas, your choice,
I'M THE CHAIN
Around your shout, your mind and your voice...
You can't refrain,
From what I will push onto your brokenness,
I am the shame
You feel from reaction to response openness..."
Squall's confused look earned yet another attempt to gain reaction.
"I AM PAIN
I AM THE INFECTION ON YOUR HEALING WOUND
I AM THE SAME
WITH YOUR TORMENT- WE ARE BOTH CONSUMED...
I AM TO BLAME
I AM WHOM YOU ARE BEYOND AFTER THE FALL...
I AM PAIN!!!" the scream echoed; bounced off the walls of the cave, turned around, changed meanings, mutated the emphasis, and then, a whisper escaped Pain.
Squall listened in for the words.
"I am the one you counted on through it all..."
"This makes absolutely no sense..." Squall said.
"Does it? Maybe you don't look deep enough-"
"Why did you save me this last dance?"
"I thought my face wouldn't appear as rough-"
Squall looked around to see a few more figures, approaching the cave. He saw a man wearing mis-matched clothes. He had the hat of royal entertainers, and underneath, he wore a torn, grey trenchcoat. He had torn, pink gloves on his strong, muscular hands, and a red shirt underneath. His blue, baggy pants appeared in a good shape. His eyes were colourless; but they were resembling of broken porcelain. In his hands rested a worn-out leather bag with papers leaking out of the corners of it.
On his side, there was a girl. Squall guessed at her age to be 21, same as he was. She was wearing the clothes that are normally worn at a funeral; however, she had painted on black make-up, the eyeliner of which was melting on her face, drawing lines across her pale cheeks. Her ice-blue eyes captivated Squall from the movement he gazed into them. She had fishnet gloves and stockings on, alongside with stilletto heels. Her lipstick was coloured in dark gray rather than black. She carried an umbrella that was covered in blood; and blood was leaking off it's edges.
Squall turned around to face the girl and the man. He first turned to the girl, facing away from Pain.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
She opened up her mouth, and replied in a shaking voice.
"I am Sorrow,
I am the lake of tears you let take form...
I am hollow,
I am the face of your rainstorm...
No tomorrow-
You can't deny my suicidal touch of care...
I am Sorrow,
I am your only friend and only enemy...
I always wait there..."
Squall turned his gaze away from her this time, and faced the man.
"I shouldn't, but, who are you, sir?" he asked.
The man smiled a bit through his mustache.
"I am Fear,
I am the cold blood running through your mind...
When I'm near
You will feel my fingers- trace up your spine...
I am Fear
I'm the loss of control, the joystick of madness,
I am clear
Enough to explain myself, and her-" fear tilted his head to Sorrow"-Sadness..."
Squall felt confusion spin inside of his head. He looked around the tribal symbols around the walls of the cave. He faced away from all of them, and looked up to the dreamcatcher made of broken skin.
"Is there a meaning to all of this?" Squall asked to Hyne above.
"Yes, aren't you supposed to be dead?" Pain reminded him.
"Why can't I ever find my bliss..." Squall spit out in disdain, hanging his head, and staring at Sorrow from behind his hair.
"Maybe because you look for it in your head." Sorrow said.
"Or maybe because you are keen on hanging by a thread." Fear added.
Squall faced away from all of them. His gaze deviated from their faces, and contacted the ground. As he lifted it to stare at the walls again, he saw a young woman, standing right in front of him.
She was wearing a red nightdress- one that perfectly matched her flaming red hair; her golden eyes were looking at Squall in a rather seductive fashion. Her scarlet lips parted, as her bare feet started to move her towards him.
"I am Passion...
I am the new face of your growing obsession...
My superstition
Is the fruit of this crossbreed analysis session..."
Squall was surprised quite a bit when her soft hand brushed against his forehead, her fingers swirling inside his hair.
"Why are you here, why do I feel your touch?" Squall demanded.
"Don't you long for something, dove?"
"I can't handle you; you were always too much!"
"I see you're accepting it, my love..." Passion smiled, "Now isn't that a start?"
"The beginning step of what?" Squall demanded, "I don't even know where I am; what is all this?"
"A start to another era in your heart,
But now, let me show you the way while I can,
Welcome to Deusapolis."
Passion gave him a look over her shoulder, and then, started to walk towards a tunnel in the cave. As Squall instinctively hurried after her, he wondered why he wasn't dead yet...
...Or why the first one to greet him was Pain.