Aerith had looked radiantly stunning as always in her usual pink and red getup and Yuffie hadn't changed a bit either--she was still the hyperactive twat that she had been back home. Cid barked at me in a surly manner but was grinning all the same, and there stood the remains of all I had ever known or cared for. Everyone else was gone. I would again never be subjected to Barrett's strange analogies or Red's deflated groan of amusement as our resident Chocobo tried for the millionth time to exit the stable via quantum tunneling as he entered. Watching them, I realized I could not remember which Turk was which, or the color of Cait Sith. At that moment I couldn't have identified Tifa's laugh from anyone else's.

Thinking of Tifa made me wince and drew my gaze up from Aerith's embrace. A man I hadn't noticed before was standing in the doorway, pointedly not watching us. His profile, outlined in the light, was striking in a way I had not seen since... well, perhaps Rufus, or Reno--or was it Rude?--but this one could have outshone the sun. His eyes held Sephiroth's coldness and faint lines of pain were creased around his mouth, but the effect was ruined by plump cheeks and hair that I knew from experience would never stay out of his line of vision.

Then he looked my way.

Starting existence as I did, mind and body confused by the mako and timestream and war, there were some facts of life I never truly learned. But meeting his gaze, I think I learned a few more.

I think that I could stand seeing those eyes forever.

I think...

. . .

"...I think you killed him."

"hE is StIlL aliVe, mAdaM."

"Then why hasn't he moved? He's been here three hours now, and I don't even think he's been breathing."

"I assure you that he is, my lady. He's always been exceptional at this."

If I hadn't been awake before, I was certainly conscious now. That voice had been hardwired into my brain years ago to provoke an instant reaction of panic and hatred, and to hear it again after so long made my sword hand itch for action. I had not been the one to lay the finishing blow on Sephiroth, but I had seen him die. Perhaps it was the world's idea of a joke that, in bringing Aerith back, he was to be returned as well.

Cold fingers placed themselves on my chest and began rolling in light circles, and, overcome with disgust, I found that I could not keep up my unconscious act any longer. I grabbed his wrist and sat up, trying to take in the entire situation with my eyes before it could turn against me.

A woman dressed in all white, who reminded me somewhat of Tifa, stood to one side of the cold marble platform I was laying on. Sephiroth, of course, was on the other, and was watching me in sickening amusement. What was even more noticeable than them, however, was the crawling darkness that covered every inch of the massive room, marred only with the sparks of glowing eyes and crimson patterns. Heartless.

Sora said the Heartless were locked away, though. That they were all gone.

...it doesn't take too much imagination to guess where they might have been left.

Before he could get the wrong idea, I dropped Sephiroth's wrist, trying to ignore the part of me that screamed to reach the sword I could see laying a few feet away and dispatch him. "What am I doing here!" I demanded.

"Resting," the lady in white said with a sweet smile. "Even with your mako enhancements, the rather hasty spell we had to use to bring you here should make you feel a bit queasy in a few minutes." The speech sounded odd, nearly memorized, as if she wasn't used to saying things like that. "Please lay back down."

"That wasn't what I asked," I returned with a growl. "Why aren't I in Traverse Town?"

"You're needed here." Sephiroth's silky tone made the words in my head stop screaming for battle and start just screaming in general. "There's a machine in this place that can only be run by mako-enhanced magic users. I, however, do not appear to be compatible with it, so the obvious choice is you."

BS, I thought. How many machines come with a label saying "Please insert only those with mako poisoning"? I don't know who the girl is, but the only reason I'm here is because you want to use me again.

"How are you alive?" I asked, trying to keep my voice from shaking. All of these events at once were fraying my nerves, no matter how "mako-enhanced" they might be.

The silver-haired warrior merely laughed. "Another time, Strife. Now, my lady, shall we be going?" She gave a simpering smile and nodded, wrapping her arms around one of his leather-clad ones, and then looked back to me.

"Oh... I'm afraid that the doors don't open." The lady extended one arm, motioning towards the massive floor-to-ceiling gates at the far end of the colossal room. "Please don't try to use them to escape. The Heartless may get angry at you," she ended, giving a light, nearly joyful laugh of her own before opening a dark-fire portal, which she and Sephiroth disappeared through.

The Heartless came over, attracted by the magic, and I held very still until they returned to their positions away from the platform I was on. Slowly, I leaned over to pick up my fallen sword, and, as no black ball of teeth pounced immediately towards me, I slid off as well. From this perspective I saw that I had taken to be a random granite slab was actually an ornately designed dais-an altar, apparently. It somehow did not lend much towards improving my mood.

Glancing down, a silver flash caught my attention, which was quickly identified as one of the buttons off of Sephiroth's clothing. I picked it up out of curiosity, quashing the urge to throw it as hard as possible into the crowd for fear of retaliation I most likely could not stop. Anything of his left a marred, greasy feeling in my hands and set my mind spinning, but I didn't drop it. It reminded me of Materia, if anything... even though I knew this world did not contain the swirling orbs of my own, and even with the emotions the silver drew, I pocketed it and walked on.

Luckily, the beasts around me stuck towards the walls, generally leaving the center clear, and any that were in my path moved out of my way quickly. If all they know of humans is Sephiroth and that key blade-copying friend of Sora's, then I can understand why. At least I don't have to deal with them. I've had enough fighting.

The walls and floors were too dark to make out, and when I reached down to touch the surface I was treading on, I felt... nothing. The experience unnerved me somewhat, and I decided to ignore it as long as my weight was being supported. It seemed to work for the Heartless, so it would work for me. I remembered the look in Aerith's eyes as I was ripped away from her, the pain there as my mere existence hurt her again, and I figured that I was no different from the black beasts anyway.

The battle hum in my mind went off through my thoughts and I jerked to focus, noting that the aforementioned creatures were gathering much more closely now, apparently reassured by my failure to attack them. These were not the scurrying ant-like creatures I was used to dealing with in the arena but slinking, toothy types that looked much more dangerous. They would be easy to dispatch, of course, but the growing number was worrying. I pulled out my sword, waiting for battle.

However, the attack I was expecting didn't occur. The beasts scurried off as quickly as they had come, casting what I would supposed to be terrified glances behind me. A Behemoth, I assumed, thinking of Sora's book of Heartless. Or... Sephiroth. There was no place to run, and even though in the old days I would have laughed at the idea of fleeing from a fight, I ached at the loss of such an exit now. I turned around.

"Hello," said the two-foot-tall mouse standing there, and I was on the ground before I realized it, staring into wide, concerned eyes. "Are you alright there?" it asked. "Maybe you should sit for a bit," and then it made a noise a bit like "nuh-yuck" that apparently stood for laughter. I didn't respond. Really, in conversations, I rarely ever responded verbally, but I absolutely refused to speak to a creature bearing eyes the size of my hand and dressed like a monk.

It winked at me and then dashed away faster than even my eyes could catch, leaving me laying on the insubstantial ground and wondering if I was hallucinating. It wouldn't have been the first time, for sure. Apparently I wasn't, however, as the Heartless stayed far, far away, seemingly as disturbed as I was.

Their absence showed me the room, and there...

...there was the machine they had spoken of. It wasn't a guess; there was something about the structure that, looking at it, made it obvious. The Heartless avoided that just as clearly as they did the mouse, and my mind screamed to join them even as my feet moved closer. My body knew this machine was built for me, like the buster sword fit my hand, like I could drive a motorcycle while fighting. My mind agreed that perhaps Sephiroth hadn't been lying before, but that complying with his wishes was not the brightest idea. A part of me that I had once known as Zack pointed out in the background that magic existed in this world and that this was obviously a spell, but the overpowering force of the machine drowned it out.

I set my hands on the keys, punching in the right combinations to make it come alive, the movements coming by instinct and magic and simply pure drive. For a moment, I wondered what exactly the thing did—it didn't feel like a weapon, didn't look like a torture device—but, luckily, whatever was controlling me also knew that answer. The machine could see things, possibly with a capitol S; the past, present, and, to a limited extent, the future. That's why it wanted those with the eyes for it for operation.

What am I supposed to be seeing with it? I tried thinking, wondering if that would get a response as well. The answer echoed in my head.

"Prey."

What kind? Somehow, I doubt its aim was Heartless hunting.

"Those that can be won to this side. Those that can be used against us. Those that the master desires."

Master? That lady in white… or Sephiroth?

I could have sworn the machine snorted. "She is powerful, true, but… who do you think?"

Who am I supposed to be looking for?

"Those that can be won—"

Who specifically? Had I been anyone else, I would have been bothered to talk mentally to a giant piece of metal I was being magically controlled to use, but I doubted my life could be stranger as it was.

"So far, they have only found one. Him."

And on the screen, lovely and shirtless in sleep, was the man from the doorway. I watched as he let out a breath and rolled to his side, noting the deep scars and also, in a way, their rarity. What does Sephiroth want with him? I did not doubt the man could be used against them. Even sleeping, he screamed fighter.

"I don't question, but if I did, I would be asking "What do you think?" again."

Sorry. Do you have a name?

"Yes. It's Ansem. But don't let anyone know. And don't freak out, please. I built this machine, and when I saw that my body was being consumed by darkness, I spent my last few minutes as a free being putting my soul in here."

From Sora's descriptions, his greatest nemesis didn't seem to be the type to have a sense of humor. Then again, I never had been all that comfortable with jokes. The man on the screen let out a sigh, and I had to look away.

What am I supposed to do with this machine? Besides finding people.

"You're supposed to watch them for weaknesses and so forth. That's what the master said, at least. Myself… well, I tend to check in around shower time. Those girls…"

I glared at the machine, feeling a headache coming on. Don't.

"His shower time is in a few hours, if you're interested."

I'm not.

This was a ridiculous conversation, but I never have been great at conversation changes. A bellow in the distance brought at least something to mind.

Why do the Heartless stay away from you?

"Because you are slightly wrong about me not being a weapon. I can defend myself, and you while you're over here."

I don't need a defender.

"So says the one who has been staring at a projection and completely ignoring the world around him."

I think…

….I needed a drink.

A/n: A post! I felt the need to post something today, so, here it is, sooner relatively than I expected. And, sorry about Ansem. I kind of went to town.

If you read this, can someone please tell me what the capitolization rules on Mako is? I'm not quite clear if it's a proper noun (Mako) or abbrev. (MAKO) or not (mako). Thanks!

Also, sorry about the massively slow updates. They'll be better now that I have time to write. Thanks a TON for the great reviews, esp. Major Misprint who surprised me back into writing this, even though I'm sure they don't know it :) More soon!