Prelude

***7 years ago***

Oh, Father, tell me you're not going to take me down there... I couldn't take it.

As we stepped into view of the vestibule, I very quickly came to realize just how many people had come today. I stood by my father, and I knew I had to be as stiff as several two-by-fours. The suit didn't help much, either. I hoped that he wouldn't make me say anything. He knew I didn't like much company, even if it was only one or two people, but this... this certainly took the cake, or so to speak.

'It's just a simple reception.' He had said to me before it began. I thought it was only going to be half a dozen or so people he knew talking over tea in the drawing room. I certainly didn't picture this. I relaxed some as he turned back to take his seat, a ways out of view of the vestibule and all the people it held. Even he didn't say anything, he only waved. That meant he had no intention of me doing anything in front of that many people, nothing except stand. I moved to take the seat next to him.

But Father and I weren't the only ones on the balcony. I turned to look at her, poised to take my seat as quickly as possible. My manner must have been similar to that of a deer caught in headlights. I tried not to show it.

'Hello,' She said, softly and politely. 'I'm Kiryu Tadanori's daughter, Mimori.' She inclined her head respectfully.

My father looked to her after glancing at me uncertainly. He smiled at her. 'Thank you. I am Ryutailen, and this is my son.' He spoke with a rather final last note. He wanted me to introduce myself.

Alright, I could do that.

'My name is Ryuhou.' I said.

'Nice to meet you,' She aid with a smile. She was certainly bold. Well, at least, she wasn't exactly timid. I could tell this almost right away. She was relaxed, calm... but, as though to completely contradict everything that I got from her first impression, she hedged. 'Umm... I felt a little out of place because there wasn't anyone around here that was my age.' She said to me, looking hopeful. 'I saw you on the balcony. My father told me to introduce myself, but I wanted to meet you, too. Would you kindly accompany me?'

Well, I suppose everyone has their timid moments. After that, she still seemed rather outgoing. Mimori. She had hazel eyes and dark hair, she wore a pink dress with lace and frills, she had a bow in her hair, and she looked like she wanted me to show her around. I looked to Father for guidance on what to do. He smiled ever so slightly, and nodded.

I looked back to Mimori. I wanted to like this girl, I really did. I smiled a little. 'Yes, if it's alright with you.'

'Oh, certainly! I did, after all, ask you, didn't I?' She said as we walked off of the balcony to a hall adjacent to the room where we were having the reception. It was a nice hall with different potted plants in the corners, and even a small fountain in the center. I was going to take her to an outside balcony. My favorite one, in fact, though I usually went there to be alone.

Just me and the sky...

'Ah!' Mimori breathed, and ran out farther onto the balcony, her shoes tapping on the marble. 'The stars seemed so much closer here...'

I followed her, staying nearer to the door back into the house. If anyone came, I think I would've concluded the tour of the balcony. 'It's only natural, after all, we're at a higher altitude.' I said softly.

'What a beautiful place!' She was glowing with delight, gazing at the horizon.

'It's not how it seems...' She had to know, I thought firmly to myself, because she doesn't seem to. Her face fell as she turned to look back at me questioningly. I continued. 'There are so many people suffering right over that wall. I wish we could just bring them all here and take care of them, I don't know exactly why we can't. Or why we won't. My mother used to say that "if such a thing never happened"...'

'But' She began, a thoughtful look in her eyes. 'If the Great Upheaval never happened, there would never have been any Alter abilities.' She spoke with a light in her eyes as the topic turned to Alters.

I tensed, but I doubt she noticed. She couldn't know what she was talking about.

'Among only one percent of the new generation born in the Lost Ground have this ability.' She spoke as though reciting something she read, still with a light in her eyes... She couldn't... 'It's wonderful!'

I winced. She couldn't! How could she know? How could she understand? She couldn't, and yet she spoke as an expert would... an expert from the mainland. They don't know at all what it's like... she didn't...

No.

I felt the well of power swell within me. She started to come towards me, a smile on her face. All colour drained from mine. Something would happen to her, I knew it!

'Please stop!' I cried as the power broke surface. I squeezed my eyes shut in apprehensiveness. There was the 'swoosh' of my Alter powers taking hold of something, and a 'crack' as it dissolved something, likely made of stone. This had happened so often, now that I could tell by sound alone what was being changed. I opened my eyes to see Mimori standing in shock, but otherwise fine. I heard a small sound as something fell to the marble floor. Quickly, I assessed the damage so that I could tell Father. I was supposed to tell him when something like this happened.

There was a piece missing from a decorative pillar and a roughly wedge shaped crystal was lying on the floor.

'Alter ability...' Mimori said with awe.

'I am so sorry,' I said regrettably. 'I couldn't contain it, I... I cause too much trouble to those around me... so-'

'No, I'm the one who should be sorry. I thought... I thought that people chose to be an Alter User.'

'It's quite the opposite...' I said quietly, looking at my feet. 'If you want to live a normal life... well, it's just something in the way. If anyone invites you here again, please refuse it. Something like this would certainly happen again, and you might get hurt.' Without looking up, I turned and went back into the house. I felt guilty and ashamed. I heard somewhere that the difference between the two was that guilt is when you caused the problem, and shame is when you are the problem. Both applied to me.

Just another potential friend gone.

***

It was a whole week before I was over the event. I wished things could have been different, that I didn't use my Alter ability by accident and scare her off.

It was a wonderful, sunny day, though, so I went outside to play. 'Tetsuei!' I called, and threw a chew toy. Tetsuei was probably the only friend I could ever have.

He jumped and caught it marvelously. 'Alright!' He bounded towards me, chew toy in his mouth. He was going to-

'Agh!' He pounced on me and knocked me down, licking my face. I couldn't help but laugh, but I did it while trying to keep my mouth closed. Dog drool... 'You cut it out!' He leapt off and started worrying the toy about, tromping all over the yard. Of course, no one can resist Tetsuei's antics.

I laughed again, but quickly stopped as I felt the Alter power start to come to surface again. At least Tetsuei was still a ways away, and Mother was gardening in the other half of the yard. Swoosh... crack. Wood. A hunk of the wooden walkway dissolved and rematerialized into what looked like a coin made of some unidentifiable material. I sighed to myself and picked it up, then went to go and tell Mother. There was someone with her, I saw as I came closer.

It was Mimori.

'Ryuhou. Why don't you take Mimori and show her around a while.'

My eyes stayed on Mimori, even as I spoke to my mother. 'But, Mother, it-' I began, starting to hold out the coin of mysterious material.

'It's alright. You should show her around. I'm sure you'll find something to talk about.' My mother smiled and went back to gardening. She was so kind. She always knew just what to say. I didn't know exactly what to say at first, so I didn't say anything, I just led her through the gardens. It did take a while, but I finally figured out what to say when we got to the covered bridge. She stopped and looked over the gardens. I opened my mouth to speak. Just as I was about to say something, though, a fountain came on.

My heart skipped a beat. Just a fountain, just a fountain. But it was an unneeded interruption. I took a breath and tried again. 'Why did you come here today? I thought I-'

'I was invited. My mother had said to go, too. And plus, we're already friends, aren't we? If we are then it shouldn't matter who the other is, as long as we're friends.'

'The ends justify the means, not the other way around.' I said, partly wishing that she'd just understand.

'Well, let's change that, then.'

I looked to her a little startled.

She smiled, probably at the look on my face, and continued. We're just people. It doesn't matter who you are or what you ca do, just that we have the right mindset to be friends.'

'Friends...' mused aloud, still trying to get my mind over it. She still wanted to be friends? Even after the warnings I gave her? She really was bold. Or maybe it was that she still didn't understand. I wasn't going to deny her anything, though. 'It's... alright?'

Her answer was a smile. She reached into her pocket and took out the crystal that I had accidentally willed into the world at the reception. She considered it for a moment, then looked me right in the eyes. It was a little unnerving, the way she looked at me then. There were so few people who didn't look on me without patronizing in their eyes, or pity... or disgust. I saw none of those in hers.

'Would you give this to me as a gift?' She asked softly.

This time, I didn't let my surprise overtake the features in my face. She wanted that? The very thing that demonstrated what could happen to her? I might turn her into a crystal very much like the one she was holding in her hands, and she wanted to keep it? Well, I certainly didn't want it. 'Yes, if you'd like.' I said looking evenly into her eyes. The only time I ever looked at anyone like that was if I was alone with one of my parents. 'Please, take it.'

Mimori smiled her warmest smile and clasped the crystal in her hands, holding it to her heart. 'Thank you.' She smiled.

And I smiled back.

***

'Emergency alert to everyone, this is headquarters!'

She stayed for six months. In the time that she was there, I learned to control the Alter ability a lot more. I don't think I would have been able to do it if she wasn't there.

'Repeating: This is headquarters to all posts!'

Six months. Just six months. Then she left. She swore to me she'd be coming back, that she'd be there when I needed her.

'Target is area 12! The target is area 12...!'

Lord, I needed her now.

Dark clouds billowed low in the broken sky above. They were all I could see. I couldn't move, all I could hear was a distant roar screaming over the demolished city. Brief flashes of light lit the scene, but I didn't see it. I didn't want to.

The warning had come far too late. By the time we heard it, we already knew. The storm raged over the city of cards, destroying everything it settled over.

I found I could move again. Slowly, slowly, I turned over and sat up, but immediately wished I hadn't. The sight that met my eyes... it was terrible beyond all imagining. Bodies... people... were lying everywhere, the land dark and littered with debris. Some of them were alive and trying to move, and others...

Others like my mother lying only a few feet from me weren't moving at all.

Tetsuei was alright. He was at my mothers side, whimpering and liking her fingers.

'Mother...?' I started to crawl to her side. I still couldn't move very well. 'Mother-!' Something caught my eye. A tall figure stood over the ruins. I blinked to clear my vision and tried to make him out. He was all black... no, he had white on him in the pattern of a skeleton and had...flames coming from his elbows? One hand was white, and the other black. He didn't look...

He frightened me. He frightened me so deeply...

He raised his hands above his head slowly, almost ceremoniously, and they glowed with shimmering colours. It was an Alter... Had he done all of this on his own? Why...? Who would do something like that?!

Tetsuei growled and lowered his head. He flew at the Alter, barking furiously intent on tearing him limb from limb. There was a small part of me, a little voice in my mind, that was telling me to do the same thing. It was never there before, or maybe it was, but I never heard it or chose to acknowledge it.

Things around me began to dissolve. The debris of the buildings, the ground, people... lightening crackled between his hands and he spread them wide. It was all I could to watch him... watch his terrible, hypnotic dance of destruction. Lightening singed through the air and struck Tetsuei. He was blasted back, all the way back to me.

How?! Why?!

'Tetsuei!'

Why did he?! This terrible person... I wanted to scream, to cry. The voice within me grew louder. 'Strike him, hurt him, make him feel everything that he's done here to you...' It said. A voice as ruthless as the Alter before me. I was being torn apart inside. My mother, my dog...

Where was Mother?

I called for her, but she didn't come. I couldn't see her. She was gone, disappeared like the broken buildings. 'Mother! MOTHER!'

But she wouldn't come. She never would.

All of the agony caused... all of the suffering... came out in my voice. It wasn't me screaming, but the other newfound part of me. I screamed for her... for Tetsuei... for all of the people dying and suffering...

And the power welled up in me again. Stronger than anything that I had ever felt. But I didn't care. All I cared about was being heard. Lord... someone... Mimori...

Swoosh... things were breaking apart at my feet, Tetsuei withered... And I didn't care.

I couldn't scream anymore. I fell forward exhausted beyond all reasoning... I raised my head, bleary eyed, and saw... something...

It was a person, forming in front of me out of the things I had dissolved. He looked... strong. Stronger than I knew I ever could be. He would do something...

'He... he... m-my mother...'

This person looked at me. His arms were bound in front of him and whips came from his collar. Half of his face was obscured by some sort of mask, but his red eye shimmered defiantly. 'Go... destroy the one who hurt my mother... do to him what he did to her...' The voice in my head told me to say.

Only when the defiant figure in front of me shot off like thunder did I realize that I had said it aloud. I could feel this person. He was searching, searching... and he found his prey. I felt as he fought, and part of my mind guided his movements, wanting more than anything to hurt anyone. Darkness overcame me as I felt that person... he came from the best friend I could only have... Tetsuei...

Zetsuei...

And the Alter who had taken my mother from me was banished, back to wherever he came from, beaten by my figure of defiance... for now...

And then I felt no more.