Chapter Two: Liberi Fatali: The Children of Fate

AN: This chapter stinks, and I promise to rework it eventually. It's basically about Rinoa explaining how things work on Gaia, and where she comes from in terms in familiarity with Earth ways. Feel free to skip ahead to Chapter 3.

The dusk was quickly approaching, the normally brilliant blue sky fading into a mass of oranges, purples, and reds. Raven faced the sunset from the tower's roof, chanting her strange words once again. However, that was Raven, and the rest of us were inside the tower's main room as I explained about Para-Magic.

"Back home, as I said before, only a Sorceress can use true magic. However, others that fight to defend their homeland need to protect themselves too. That's why Para Magic was developed: to give the soldiers and SeeDs of our world another weapon. The spells and summons that are used are not as strong as a true Sorceress's magic, but the magic can be devastating in the wrong hands."

"You mentioned something about summons. What are those?" Robin asked, jotting something into a notebook. By now, I'd figured that he was a master detective.

"Summons are our Guardian Forces, as we call them back home. They are mystical creatures summoned to attack enemies. When they are not summoned, GFs reside in our brains, alongside the Para-Magic we have stocked. Unfortunately, extended usage of GFs causes memory loss, since they take up space in our minds."

"Then why does everybody use 'em?" Beast Boy questioned, confusion written across his jade eyes.

"Because there is no other alternative. If SeeD were to stop using Para-Magic, the buttheads in Galbadia wouldn't stop. They value power over their memories. SeeD would be destroyed, and Esthar alone could not fight Galbadia and the sorceresses."

"So Galbadia is the bad guy here?" Cyborg concluded.

"Well, I'm kinda biased against Galbadia," I admitted. "My father, General Caraway, is head of Galbadia's army, based in Deling City. I haven't gotten along with him since my mother, Julia Heartilly, died. As I grew older, I took her surname instead of his and joined a resistance movement in Timber to fight Dad's army. I'm trained to use a weapon, the Pinwheel, as well as magic. It works kinda like a boomerang."

"Please inform us about SeeD!" Starfire exclaimed.

I could now see that the Titans wanted to know my entire story. I decided to stick to the basics for now. "SeeD was founded by Sorceress Edea Kramer and her husband Cid. They built Gardens, mobile military schools used to train future soldiers who would become SeeDs. SeeD members usually work as mercenaries, doing random jobs to rake in money for Garden. However, SeeD's true purpose is to defend the world against evil Sorceresses. Eventually, Edea herself was possessed by an evil Sorceress and the war began."

"Tell us about the war!" Beast Boy was now clutching a bag of popcorn, waiting to hear an epic story.

"Sorry Beast Boy, but I'm tired." I coughed to emphasize this. "Maybe another time."

"Aw man!" He pouted childishly and stalked off to torture Raven, I assumed. Sure enough, he came bolting through the room a few minutes later, pursued by a set of frying pans enveloped in a black aura. Raven proceeded to her room, ignoring the four of us.

Robin closed his eyes, (I think he did anyway, that mask hides all.) thinking for a minute. I could sense that he was arguing with himself over whether he should trust me. Cyborg must have thought the same thing, since he nudged Robin in the ribs, glancing at me pointedly. I pouted cutely, reminding myself of Angelo when she wanted to be fed. If this didn't convince him that I was innocent, nothing would. Eventually, he made his decision.

"Night, Rinoa. See you at practice tomorrow." Robin waved slightly and entered the dorms. Starfire followed, muttering something about humans and illness. Cyborg raced downstairs to his "baby", and I stood there alone for a few minutes.

"They never told me where to sleep." I realized. "Ah well, this will do." I curled up on the sofa, curling into a ball for warmth. Another night done, another dawn approaching. I smiled to myself, drifting off into sleep.