SPOILERS
Expiry Dates
Before I leave this world I, want to see it spin from out there,
Watch the colours swirl before we blow it into shades of black and gray
No wings and no gates, just skill testing questions and expiry dates
.:Date I:.
"It has finally happened! One of the chain finally broke its bond and did exactly what we had expected! Wait till the Leads see this. We'll be famous!"
"Are you crazy! Why are you so excited about being famous! This could easily mean the end of Gaia and every other planet in our galaxy for that matter!" The girl yelled to her partner as she pulled her bike out in front of him, forcing him to come to a dead stand still on his own bike, almost loosing himself over the front tire.
"Eve. Please. Our ship is ready to go, and soon we can get off of this desolate planet. All of those fools will be stuck here trying to fix the mirror while we get out of here!"
"Dolsolus." Eve said quietly as she got off her bike and approached her friend. Slowly raising her eyes to meet his, a quivering smile spread across Dolsolus's face as Eve's fist landed a clean blow to the side of his head, knocking him clearly off of his bike and sprawled eight feet away.
Eve walked over to her bike and started it up. Pulling up next to her injured friend she quietly said, "This is why I don't explain myself to you. It never seems to get through." At this she stepped on the gas and flew off in the direction of the destruction where the moon Derris-Kharlan had struck Gaia.
"Sometimes I wonder why I even bother with her stubbornness." Dolsolus said rubbing his face where she had struck him. Feeling moisture on his hand he pulled it away to see a nice amount of blood on his hand. "Heh, she never fails to draw blood from someone either. I always said she would have made a great nurse." Jumping on his own bike, he quickly sped after the retreating motorbike, hopping that what they were doing wouldn't falter their chances of escaping the planet.
Eve had reached the site not to soon after she had left her friend. She sat there and starred at the enormous moon that had completely annihilated their entire eastern boarder. Leads and Occulants had already arrived and were setting out people to surround the perimeter. At this rate, she would never get her chance to even touch the alien land, which glowed in it's alternating colours of purples, dark reds, and navy blues. It wasn't to long after till Dolsolus arrived, bandaged head and all.
Eve let out a slight laugh at the sight of Dolsolus's failed attempts at self-healing.
"What! Well, maybe if you didn't always have to so forcefully get your point across maybe this wouldn't happen." Eve had made her way over to him and had taken off the bandage and taking out some ointment, and rubbed it on the gash near his temple and then wrapped his head back up.
"I would. But since it's the only way I can get my point across to you. All you have to do is use your brain a little and comprehend what I'm telling you and maybe you'd get away with only a few bruises." She said as she finished her work.
"Yeah, but you still don't need to be so forceful." He said as he touched the bandage, trying to examine her work.
"Shhh, we need to get onto that moon. I want to see if there are any life forms on it. My grandparents always use to tell me stories of these green plants that use to be on Gaia years ago and how the moons also had such things."
"You mean those stupid little dried out leaves that you always have around with you. You plan on looking for those things? What about getting off this rock."
"I know, I know. I already contacted Search on the matter. He's got the ship all set up and ready for us when we want to leave. But right now, I want to get up there." Her gray eyes widened in excitement as she turned her bike to an area that still had yet to be occupied by the Occulants and Leads.
"Come on there's our chance!" She said in wild excitement as she kicked her bike into motion and she went speeding down the dusty hill towards the fallen moon, her comrade in close tow.
Throwing her bike into full throttle the two sped up the side of the moon, which still resided in the darkness that the un-shattered mirror still hid from the light of the stars. At the peak of there travel a giant city suddenly came into view. The architecture was completely alien to there own cold steel and heartless metal. To this metallic beauty left Eve's black heart a sign of light that there was hope yet for their lives to be bathed in light and warmth.
"Come on! Let's check that place out!" Eve cried back to her friend as he waved up to her as she sped faster towards the strange local.
Coming to a stand still in front of what seemed to be the entrance. Her gaze was drawn upwards into a pillar. It seemed to be a strange platform of some sort. Rounding her bike around the corner as she took in every aspect of the weird contraption she finally decided and left her bike to rest against one of the strange pillars as she slowly stepped onto the stage.
"Eve! What are you doing! You don't know what the hell that thing does!"
"Well. I have a feeling it acts a lot like our own platforms in the cities. Wouldn't you say so?"
"Yeah, but." Dust suddenly kicked out from beneath the platform as a strange purple circle descended around Eve and a blue transparent light quickly rose up around her.
"Ahh, looks like it's working." The platform began to rise as Dolsolus stood on the ground looking up and flailing about in hopes of trying to get her down.
"Eve! Don't go up there! You might get killed!"
"Don't worry about it! I'll be fine. Watch my bike for me!" She cried down as the platform finally fitted in with the landing above and all signs of the girl were gone.
"Ah, but… damnit, Eve!" Dolsolus cursed as the ground began to shake. Looking over his shoulder he found what the problem was. An army of machines known as Regas came storming up towards the city. They were huge beasts in the shapes of Gaia's lords of darkness. There was Cale, a huge shadow demon, Dais, a fierce poisonous spider demon, Sekmet, another demon bringer of sin, and finally Anubis, a giant dog demon.
"Oh no. Not the Regas! Eve, get down here! The Regas are here!!"
But Dolsolus's attempts were futile, as Eve had already wondered off into the depths of the great city. Platforms hung loosely in the air as the vibrant colours swelled around her. She was simply overcome by the different colours that she scarcely realized what was going on around her. There was clearly something going on outside the grand city walls as the pounding of the giant Regas continued on, as well as the silent footsteps of a lone visitor approached her.
"This is incredible. I never would have thought such wonders could be seen by the Brine eye."
"And what wonders one could be fall upon learning that ones soon to be grave was really another planet simply populated by humans." The voice signaled an immediate spin around by Eve as the stranger quickly grabbed the girl's wrist, which had been holding a knife, which ended up on the ground with a clatter. "And what do you think you would have done with that?"
"Hmm… nothing but a bit of protection." Before the man could respond the girl had spun around again with avidly quick reflexes and sliced into the man's arm with yet another strange dagger. Letting go the girl jumped away from the staggering man as he held his injured arm.
"What… did you… do to me?" The man gasped before he collapsed to the ground. With a sigh, Eve grabbed her other dagger, slipped it into her belt, and grabbed the now unconscious man's arm and taking out a small device from a small pouch on her hip she let it rest on the man's bleeding arm. It appeared to be a bug of some sort, but as soon as blood touched it, it began to move and it ran up and down the slice in the man's arm allowing it to heal almost instantly.
She figured this would be the best time to take a look see out the glass windows that surrounded her on all sides, almost like a dome.
"I could do with out the glass." Eve said randomly as her gray gaze lingered out over the city that rested before her. It seemed that the majority of it had been completely destroyed, save a few buildings that still clung to the air that supported them. The whole city was marvelous. The girl's eyes moistened a little as she quickly dried them for she had never cried in her life, and wasn't going to allow something as colour to bring it about to her. Her glance finally moved away from the still dark outline of the city to a new route that lead down a corridor. Her gaze moved to the man behind her, who still remained unconscious on the floor. Her paralysis daggers worked wonderfully, as they sent the victim into a slight coma. She had only allowed so much of the daggers power to seep into the man, as she didn't want to kill him, or keep him asleep for so long that she wouldn't ever get a chance to have a friendly chitchat with him.
"What the hell." Moving down the corridor it almost seemed like it had begun to brighten. Her hopes of seeing light were soon dashed as she found herself running into a dead end. With a sigh she dropped her gaze only to be met with something that looked vaguely familiar.
"Oh really now. A warp node. And I had begun to think these people were highly advanced in the ways of technology." She said with a grin as she took out a small wand type contraption and making a downward slashing type motion with her arm in front of her, the destination that the broken warp node use to teleport to showed up in front of her. The wand quickly fell from her hand as bright greens and blues flooded into her eyes. Stepping through the rift she had just created she was instantly met with bright sunlight above her as green plants flourished around her and a river ran to her right. Birds sung and the warmth of the sun, her sun, filtered down upon her.
"Oh my lords. Is this what we've been missing for all of these years." She cried out desperately as she fell to the cool grass below her.
"Welcome to the green house of Derris-Kharlan." A voice behind her quickly grabbed her attention as she jumped up from where she had knelt, daggers at the ready. But upon noticing the man's weak outward appearance she slowly placed the blades away in their rightful places.
Kratos eyed her suspiciously. He quickly took in her appearance. Her outfit, hair, skin tone, and eyes were all completely alien to him. Her short cut ebony hair blew slightly in the breeze and her bangs that grew long in the front whipped about her pale face as her gray eyes reached his brown. Her clothes consisted of tight black leather, an assortment of buckles running up her thighs and various belts hung loosely and tightly around her waist. A similar loose fitting garment swung around her form that was attached at her shoulders. Numerous scars ran up her arms and where her vest dipped down into a V where what looked to be a strap of leather another long scar could be seen. Her neck was cluttered with strange necklaces, but the one necklace that got his attention the most, was the chain with the two dog tags clipped to it.
"Well, you certainly seem to be a very interesting person. If this is what life after death is than I think I would have preferred no life after death."
"Heh, I don't really think you should be talking to me like that in your current condition." Her eyes traveled to the long sword attached at his hip. "You have a sword, and yet you seem a bit out of practice if the simple move I pulled on your earlier was able to pull out that much damage on you. What's wrong with you? And why are you alone on this moon?"
Kratos gave a slight laugh. "What's wrong with me? I think that would be a better question you should be asking yourself. Have you looked in a mirror at all recently?" The girl was quick, he had to give her that. She was already on him like a mongoose was on a snake. The dagger she had dropped earlier aimed cleanly at his jugular.
"You're certainly something."
"You're going to tell me what this place is, what's going on. Why your moon struck our planet. And who you are. Otherwise. I'll slit the most precious vain in your body and you'll die in an instant, and I won't try to heal it like I did the last."
"Go ahead then. I've been wanting to die for a long time now." Anger in her eyes, she took the man and flung him to the ground.
"You're really beginning to piss me off, pal." But before she could continue her failed attempts at an interrogation the sounds of the Regas that she just now realized were upon the city dragged her attention away and initiated her being into a state of panic.
"Oh shit! The Regas are here!"
"Regas?"
"The Lords and Leads. If they find you they'll put you through far worse things, than death."
"Like what?"
"Like invading the remaining two chains of Symphonia in hopes of finding a way to save Gaia."
"What?"
"Ugh, come on. I'll explain it later. We need to get out of here first and I need to take you to our strong hold. I'll ask questions, you'll ask questions, we'll both get answers. Deal?"
"Well if this has anything to do with Sylvarant or Tethe'alla than I'm willing to work with you on this." With a grateful smile from Eve she quickly grabbed him by the arm and jumped through the rift she had made earlier. Picking up the carelessly dropped wand from earlier she drew another rift before them, which looked on to a gray world, a worried man of twenty-eight and their two motorbikes.
"Bought time you got here. The Regas are— who is he?" Eve shot a glance at Kratos and back to her friend.
"Let's leave introductions for later. We need to get out of here now!" Eve jumped onto her bike and started it up, Dolsolus acting out the same motions. Just about getting ready to take off in a cloud of dust, Eve remembered there little bit of cargo. Looking around she starred at the colourful figure behind her. "Well, are you coming?" As if on cue, Kratos's transparent blue wings sprouted from his back as he floated a foot off the desolate ground.
"I have my own way of transpor— what are you doing!" Eve had taken out yet another small mechanical looking bug from her waist pouch and let it fly through the air and allowed it landing space right on Kratos's brown hair. Instantly, as if a wall of water had flowed over his body and drowned him, his intricate clothes vanished and were replaced by black baggy pants, a black leather, sleeveless, vest and a white, long sleeve, button down, undershirt that remained with tails untucked in front and back. His hair colour immediately went to a far darker brown than his original shade, but his eye vibrant brown eyes remained the same.
Getting up from her bike. Eve walked around the newly transformed alien. Inspecting ever aspect of the new outfit and dreary colours she had taken away from him. But upon reaching his face, she let out a heavy sigh.
"Looks like we still have a few bumps to work out in the trans bugs programs." She let out another sigh as she remained starring into Kratos's eyes. "You really do have gorgeous eyes." After stepping away from him, Kratos let out a cough. He wasn't use to having another human so close to him so quickly.
"Well come on, let's go then." Eve said one again. Now on her bike once more, she patted the back seat as she starred at the unmoving Kratos.
"Erm… I told you already, I have my own—huh?" Snapping out of the girls trance she almost seemed to have placed on him, he suddenly realized that he felt weaker. His angelic powers felt far away from him now as he tried to bring forth his wings only to no avail. He then glared at the girl. "What did you do to me!?"
"Oh that. I simply placed a trans bug on you. Don't worry. You haven't lost anything. It's only cloaked so the Regas, Leads, and Occulants won't see you."
"What do you mean?"
"You haven't figured it out yet? The world you have crashed into is a gray and desolate place. If anyone, even normal Brine's saw some colourful creature like your, flying through the city, you would be immediately shot down and experimented on." She explained vaguely.
"Then, why didn't you do that to me?"
Eve started to open her lips, but then closed them and dragged her attention away from him. "Just get on the bike. The Regas could come to this part of your city any minute now, and if they found you… well… let's just say they wouldn't be bringing out the welcoming party." Starting the engine back up, she spun the bike around and pulled it up along side the still slightly confused Kratos. Kratos starred at the strange vibrating contraption before him. He had seen his fair share of technology, but this was no where near the familiar magitechnology he knew of.
"Will you get on!" At this outburst by Eve and the approaching rumbling from the Regas, Kratos gave into Eve's persistence and climbed onto the bike, and without even the slightest second, they were speeding off into Dolsolus's wake.
"So what have you found? Any life forms?"
"Yes, sir! We found plant life! Green plant life!" The occulant exclaimed to the Lead waving a small flower around in front of the Lead.
Taking the plant carefully in his hands he replied in a cold calm manner, "That's wonderful. But I would like a life form that I could TALK TO!" The Lead yelled as he grabbed the occulant by the collar with his free hand.
"I—I'm sorry, sir! But it seems there are no life forms in the city that are at the level of Brine speech." The occulant quivered. Dropping the shivering occulant the lead dismissed him as he ran off down another hall.
"Fools. They don't even know what they're searching for. Their heads are to clouded with thoughts of the stars, planets, and moons." The lead said angrily crumpling the tiny flower in his hand. Walking off down another path, he came to a huge open area, with floating platforms and a clear glass dome. Amazed at the colours that overwhelmed his black gaze, his feet lead him to a small pool of liquid, which drew his gaze away and down to the floor. It was the one colour the Brine's had seen often in there world, the colour of human blood. A broken medi bug rested beside the small pool as well. Picking the mechanical contraption carefully up, he starred at bemusedly. "So. Someone was here. And my bets are placed on the fact that they have already taken the alien into the city." Crushing the bug in his hand he let out a laugh. "Run you fools! But remember! The eyes of Anubis and the high Lead Sinaider will be watching for your every move!" A horrid laugh escaped the man as the large wolfen Rega let out a heart-wrenching howl into the broken sky.
Author's Note:
Well, Chapter I is complete. I feel pretty good about this story. I can actually see this one going places… such as having a final chapter!!! gasp Just you watch, a few more chapters later, I'll loose interest, and it'll die just like my Spirited Away fic did. sigh Well, hopefully not! If so, I'll have my friend bash me in the head, as I see him everyday and he's a TOS fanatic. laughs Well continue to RxR. I look forward to your comments.
Ahro
