Malak Galthana woke up in the old Kamyuja headquarters. He remembered this room well. The smell of his roommate Auron permeating the air, the straw mats which supposedly were the only things Barinten could afford, the dingy walls which had all sorts of things living in their walls, and so on and so forth. Malak really hoped that Barinten did that because he wanted to challenge his assassins mentally and physically, but he suspected it was simply because he was cheap. This was the room he shared with Auron, and his sister's room was right across the hallway. She shared it with this nice brunette woman named Vanessa Broyer, or something. Auron had had a brief fling with her a few years ago, but Rafa told him to end it.
It really surprised him how much hold Rafa had over him. It surprised everyone else too. Especially his best friend and roommate Auron. They had gotten into some trouble over the years. They once were sent to assassinate a mere child for no other reason than an initiation test. Auron wouldn't do it, but Malak, always loyal to Barinten, killed the child to please him. Since Malak and Auron were a team, Barinten let them both in, but Auron was always unnerved by Malak from then on.
"Well, that was nothing compared to what Rafa did," the voice of Auron floated from behind him. Malak turned around.
"Auron," Malak said, obviously surprised. "You died. In the battle against Limberry. You took an-"
"Arrow to the neck?" Auron cut him off. He tilted his head to the left, revealing a pierce wound in his neck. "Yeah, I died. I'm a spirit. And I made a deal with someone to get you out of the limbo you got stuck in after the battle with Altima. Then, I get to go out of the Hell I'm stuck in."
"Why did you go to Hell?" Malak asked. "You always struck me as kind of a boy scout."
"Yeah well, some of the stuff Rafa and I did behind closed doors," Auron said reluctantly. "You might want to talk your sister out of bondage."
"Talk her out of what?"
"Yeah, and also we killed someone," Auron said "Together. And add in all that stuff we did while we were in the Kamyuja. Not exactly Heaven worthy."
"I'm still back on Rafa's into bondage," Malak said, shocked.
"Yeah we did some pretty kinky things," Auron said sarcastically. "Once we killed a chicken and drank its blood. Can we get back to the topic at hand please?"
Malak put his hands up in the air. "Okay, okay, I'll buy it. So, what, now you're gonna show me a time from Christmas past?"
"Something like that," Auron said. The room from Malak's days in the Kamyuja disappeared and a scene from the more recent past in Riovanes Castle. It was right before Rafa left.
"Malak," she had cried to him. "Please believe me."
"No, no," Malak said to her. "It's far too absurd. The Grand Duke would never do that to you. He loves us too much. After our parents were killed, he took us in. He took us under his wing. If we have to kill a few people to pay him back for our lives, then I say it's alright."
"Do you know who sanctioned the attack on our village Malak?" Rafa yelled. "I saw the signature at the bottom of the order. Medina down in records showed it to me. I saw the signature with my own eyes. And do you know what it said? Hm? 'Grand Duke Gelkanis Barinten, Thirty-Fourth King of Riovanes Castle'. That is the man who killed our parents, burned down our hometown, and raped me!"
"Stop it, stop it, stop it!" Malak yelled. "Why would the Grand Duke do that? He loves us. We're his favorites."
"Because we are the only people left in the world now who have the Heaven and the Hell skills," Rafa said. "Why do you think he burned down our village?"
"Nonsense," Malak retorted. "The report said it was a dragon attack. It was probably that same dragon who attacked us years before."
"Listen to me very carefully brother," Rafa said softly. By now, just about everyone in the castle had come out to hear the siblings' squabble. "The Grand Duke… is evil. He ordered the attack on our village to get the unique skills only we possess. I'll get Medina to show-"
"Medina's dead," the sinister voice of the Grand Duke came from behind Rafa. She turned around. "She was giving out private information. Don't believe a word this harlot says, my beloved son. You know in your heart that I didn't do all those horrible things."
"You know brother," Rafa said, her eyes about to burst forth with a cascade of tears. "Somewhere deep inside you know I'm right, but you don't want to admit it."
"Rafa, my dear," Barinten began, and extended his hand to Rafa. She pulled away.
"I'll make you see," Rafa said. "Someday, you'll see brother. I… am… right." Then she jumped out the nearest window.
"Find her! I want a team on this now!" Barinten yelled almost before she went through the glass. "Malak? Head the team. Bring her back alive."
Auron whistled. "Drama, eh?"
"Yeah, I realize now she was right," Malak said. "Too bad it took my death, by the hand of the Grand Duke himself no less, to finally figure it out."
"He couldn't be here today," Auron continued. "But he wants you to have this message: You and Rafa were always the special ones. Even without the Heaven and Hell skills, you were a cut above the rest."
"So, what now?" Malak asked, turning towards his former best friend. "Do we make up and hug? Or can I go back because I saw my little sister throw a tantrum."
"You're not taking this seriously!" Auron yelled. "You need to realize that I saved your sister!"
Malak stopped for a second. "Wait, what?"
Auron pursed his lips, took a deep breath, why, Malak was unsure, and began to speak. "When she was running from you, and you caught up with her in Yardow, she was nearly killed by your ninja. I alerted her to the shruiken in time to avoid getting hit."
"You saved her life," Malak said, almost appreciatively.
"And that's what you needed to realize," Auron said. "That, and it won't work with Luna."
"What?"
"Just trust me on this one," Auron said, wringing his hands. "I can't tell you why, because that would be cheating, but you and Luna aren't meant to be together. Understand?"
Malak sighed. "Yes, I understand," he said, not really meaning it and knowing full well that he was going to try and talk her into having dinner with him like he always did. Auron seemed to sense this because he rolled his eyes as Malak said those words.
"I can see where you're coming from though," Auron said, and he whistled. "Damn that girl is fine. I'd like to take a piece of that back with me. But I can't because she's-" He paused. "Never mind."
"So, what, now I'm just supposed to forget that you had bondage sex with my twelve year old sister?" Malak asked, wild eyed.
Auron paused. "Twelve and a half."
Before Malak could reply, the room glowed white.
A/N: Wow. Rafa's into bondage? At age twelve? Sorry about that. I really don't know where that came from. No wonder Auron was in Hell. But all in all, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Malak seems a little underrated (because he sucks) and I had a little fun dipping into his Kamyuja days. This is not the last you'll see of some of these characters. And also, I know my chapters are kind of short, and I know I try to cram a lot into them, but 1) my attention span is not big enough to write so much, and 2) I really don't care about most of the characters I'm writing about. Usually just the playable character and their Spirit Guide, and I don't really like anyone else in the chapter. Once I get all those characters I like in one chapter, the length will go up. Next is my summoner, Strawberry Zanuba, another original. And you will eventually meet Luna, and I think it will eventually be painfully obvious why Malak will never be with her.