Chapter 4: Hurry Up! Barrett!
Barrett, the young man with the green hair, opened his eyes. He was alone. He looked about as he slowly sat up. His head was pounding in pain, and his bearings were a little off. He was generally disorientated as he found a wall to support him as he stood. He certainly wasn't in the Clock Tower like he remembered. Where he was had plywood floors, clean and shiny, and the walls were white. He was standing in a hallway, a window showing the night sky at the end of the hall. He was confused for a moment. Doors lined the halls until it led to a stairway at the other end. He then looked at himself. He didn't look any different. He was still twenty-one years old, and he was still wearing his new armor. If he did go into the past, he hadn't changed any. That was when he heard someone coming up the stairs. He looked over to see two very familiar faces, and panicked a bit. He looked about and saw some large, potted bushes along the side of the hall, and ducked away into them; peering out as he watched the two young men go by.
"She's really upset." One said.
Barrett would have remembered this young man anywhere. Peering out, he saw that the young man looked no older than eighteen years old. He had messy brown hair, and tanned skin from traveling so much. His form was large, but in a fit, muscular way. The young man was as tall as Barrett himself, and was still much younger. He wore a grand suit of armor, mostly worn by Crusaders. His large steel breastplate was polished to a shine, bulky shoulder guards on it restricting most of the arm's movements. Beneath he wore what seemed to be a blue jumpsuit. He had a loincloth on with the decoration of a cross on it, and wore large steel grieves that reached to knee-length. Steel gauntlets adorned his powerful young hands as well. But what stuck out most were the large purple sunglasses the young man wore. They hid his eyes, the tinted surface reflecting everything around him.
"Nothing I can do about it." Barrett heard… his own voice!
He didn't look much different. The Barrett that was speaking with the young man was young as well, only maybe a year older. He was smaller, thinner, and had his own, happy, young appearance. Again, he was dressed casually, not much different than himself. Barrett stayed hidden as he watched his past self and the young man part ways to go into their rooms. This got Barrett thinking. If he was spotted by his past self, trouble was sure to ensue, and if he didn't fool anyone he did see into believing he was still nineteen, more trouble could ensue. He came out of hiding, fully suited in his new armor and looked at himself. There had to be some way he could have fooled everyone… That's when it hit him. He grinned and moved to the room his past self went into and knocked on the door. He then turned the doorknob in preparation.
"I'm coming!" His past self called to the door.
Barrett timed it almost perfectly. As his past self came to the door, he tripped, and was sent stumbling towards the door. This was when Barrett jerked it open suddenly. It opened inwards, and hit his past self right in the face with powerful force. The young Barrett fell back onto the floor unconscious. The older Barrett stepped in and looked at him sympathetically, and then began rummaging through his room. He found what he was looking for - a thick, plastic mask with a smiley-face design. He put it on his face with a smile and walked towards the door, stepping over his past self. He turned back to look at him and chuckled a bit.
"S'pose that if I told you Baret did it, it wouldn't do any good, huh?" Barrett grinned. "Sorry man, I'll return this real quick I promise."
Closing the door behind him, he made his way out of the hall and down the stairs. His clever disguise… if you could call it that, worked rather well - that and the fact that nobody saw him. It was late at night, and when he got downstairs, only Amy was still awake. Seeing his sister standing there, in her Kafra uniform, made his heart skip a beat. Even if her Kafra uniform was strange compared to most of the others, being of an orange tube-top that covered the essentials with a white, short neck-tie, an orange short skirt, knee-length orange socks and white running shoes. She was dead in Barrett's time, murdered by a madman right before his eyes. She turned to see him; her bold blue eyes glistening with unshed tears, and her light green hair neatly done. Barrett was overjoyed. He ran at her, hugging her quickly, almost pushing her into the fireplace if she hadn't managed to keep herself up.
"Amy!" Barrett cried out happily, nuzzling her cheek with his own in happiness.
"Barrett, what the heck are you doing!" She struggled to get away from him, but his older, stronger from held her tight. She broke into laughing soon. "S-Stop it! Cut it out you idiot!"
"Sorry I'm just really glad to see you!" Barrett said as he let go of her.
"You're just trying to make me feel better." Amy sighed, crossing her arms and turning away from him. "Why are you wearing that stupid mask again?"
"What? Well…" Barrett thought of a quick response. "I wanted to see if it still fit!"
"… Well, alright." Amy didn't take it any further, which surprised Barrett. "We're going to Glast Heim tomorrow… It's probably going to be real dangerous."
"I actually came to talk about that." Barrett got straight to the point. "Follow me and we'll talk about it."
Amy agreed, as Barrett was going to take her to bed. He held one arm around her shoulders securely, leading her on. She once asked about his armor, and why it was so different than before. Again, Barrett thought of an answer that dug him out of trouble. They probably hadn't been great answers, he couldn't think straight. He was too glad to see this young, seventeen-year-old girl who once was his sister. She was alive… But she wasn't happy. That, of anything, probably hurt Barrett the most. But he knew that she would suffer more if time continued its course. He knew exactly what to do. He had to keep her from going with him to Glast Heim!
"So, what did you wanna say?" Amy asked, turning to him and planting her hands firmly on her hips, getting right in Barrett's face. "Tell me! You've been avoiding it."
"You're not going." Barrett stated simply.
"What? Yes I am!" Amy responded.
"No, as you said, it's too dangerous." Barrett crossed his arms, looking down at her. "No."
"Yes." Amy argued childishly with the adult-sized Barrett. "I'm going and there's nothing you can do about it."
"But if you go, you'll die." Barrett blurted out. "Claud will trap us in some mirage-thingy once we get there, and he'll make us sad. But Linkin will come and make us feel better. After that, we'll find a big scary dragon thing and Nale'll hurt it. After that, Ayndi will come and hurt Nale's eyes, making him blind, and then he'll take you hostage. He kills you then Amy!"
"… What?" Amy sounded somewhat shocked.
"You gotta believe me!" Barrett pleaded as he grasped Amy's shoulders firmly.
"Barrett…" The man's sister was soft at first, but then morphed into stubbornness. "How could you! You scare the heck out of me with some phony story, telling me I'm going to die? Soda Pop just died Barrett! How could you be so heartless? What are you, some kind of fortuneteller? You don't know what's going to happen, so I'm going whether you like it or not!"
"Amy don't be so stupid!" Barrett shouted.
"You stop being stupid!" Amy yelled back at him.
Amy went to reach for Barrett's ear, as one of Amy's common ways of forcing Barrett to do as she asked, she would grab his ear and pull it. She couldn't see Barrett's eyes. She couldn't see the tears that wanted to flow from her stubborn behavior. He knew he was doing the right thing. It was etched into time and space, her death. Not only that, but it was etched into Barrett's memory. He could still see her face as it grew pale, and the blood that flowed from her frail body from a stab wound. He could still remember the words that she said right before she died. They echoed in his mind, in his dreams. He wanted it all to stop… And this was his only chance. She was ruining his only chance to save her life. His hands started to tremble. He wasn't going to let anything stop him from reviving his beloved sister now – not even his sister. He grabbed her wrist firmly as she reached to pull on his ear, and she froze. She knew Barrett never used such force… He was squeezing very hard.
"No…" Barrett's voice was weak.
"Barrett… Let go of me." Amy spoke sternly still.
"No… You're not going… I'm not letting you die… You're not going again." Barrett spoke to her, almost pleading to her. His grip only got firmer.
"Barrett… you're hurting me." Amy's voice became a little weak as well. "Let go."
"I'm not letting go!" Barrett shouted at her, making her flinch. "I'm not letting you go again! You're not going to die, you're going to stay alive, and you're going to find someone to love you! I'll find someone to love you… I'll make sure you get the love you deserve…"
"Barrett… my hand! Let go of my hand! It hurts!" Amy pleaded to the young man now, thinking him a madman.
"No, you're staying here." Barrett said sternly, choking back his tears.
He pulled the young girl to her bed and sighed. She fussed and tried to get him off her, but she couldn't. His older, stronger form was too much, and she couldn't pull away. She found herself forced to the bed, and Barrett went to work. Before she knew what was going on, she found her hands and feet tied to the bed. She shouted and yelled at him, and he tried to explain what was going on, but she was too angry and confused to listen anymore. He sighed and turned to leave, but she kept yelling at him. So, he turned around, took a cloth – clean of course – and gagged her. All she could do was squirm and make muffled noises then. She was helpless. He went to leave again then, stopping at the door. He turned to her, seeing her eyes full of sadness.
"Amy… This is for your own good…" He sighed, removing the mask and tossing it to the floor. This revealed his face, which she immediately recognized to be different. It finally connected in some slight way that this Barrett was her brother… But at the same time, it wasn't.
"I love you, sis'." Barrett smiled a little to her, brushing his hair away from his eyes. "Stay safe in here, okay…? I'll see you in a few years. Oh, and don't let anyone catch you like this… I don't even want to think about what might happen. If anything does though… tell me in a few years, I'll beat the snot outta them."
Barrett stepped out of the room then and closed the door. He looked to the left, then to the right. Then he thought. He stood in the hallway, armor shining, sword sheathed, face revealed, rubbing his chin. What was he to do then? He pondered for a while, his mind at east, knowing his sister should be all right… He could erase that memory from his mind and think on other things… Other things he wanted to change… He thought, and thought, until finally, something struck him. He slammed his fist into his palm in a sign of it just coming to him. He took off down the hall then and to the window, where he screeched to a halt and silently slid it open. He then took a deep breath, and leapt out the window – falling straight into a pile of garbage. He groaned, sliding out of the garbage and taking off down the night streets of Prontera.
He ran through the streets, looking left and right. In the night, Prontera was almost empty. It was strange, seeing the city so quiet and calm. Usually, it was bustling with activity, and there was barely enough room to think. But he was running down the street, as fast as his legs and armor would allow, panting. His blue cloak with the silver linings fluttered in his wake, revealing his oriental sword to any who looked upon him. He didn't care about the rules of being a Knight just then. He only cared about whether or not he made it in time. He ran quickly to the northern exit of the city, spotting someone who made him smile. It was a Kafra Employee, just leaving her post to head home. Though, her work wasn't done yet, not until he was done with her. He stopped when he reached her, panting a little. He then demanded a teleportation to Glast Heim. Kafra's weren't issued to give teleportation to such dangerous places, so she offered to send him to Geffen, the closest remote place to the Cathedral of Glast Heim. He agreed, and was sent off immediately, after paying the woman of course.
… Meanwhile, back in present times, Barrett's three companions Jinx, Mystic and Cloud were patiently waiting for his return with a strange, mysterious Seer, and the three teens were worried. They discovered that Barrett only had three to four hours left before the machine became inoperable. The time machine that Barrett used to ravel back in time would malfunction, and possibly explode, trapping the young man in the past. If that happened, the fabric of time would become so distorted with there being two Barrett's alive, that a part of it would be torn. This could have resulted in a permanent loss of somewhere in the timeline, and possibly compress events closer together to possibly fill this void. This would have sent the world into chaos, and everything would have become dysfunctional, and fail. It would have ultimately caused the world's destruction – or close to it.
"Leave it to Barrett to risk something this big." Cloud grumbled.
"Why didn't you tell him that before?" Mystic looked to the Seer, who had his body hidden beneath his cloak now.
"I've no need to explain." The Seer responded.
"Stop being such a jerk!" Jinx shouted at the man, moving over to him and grabbing his cloak. "Why would you do something like this? The world could be screwed up, just like you said!"
"… I do not care." The Seer pushed Jinx away with relative ease. "Although I live in this world, I do not care of its destruction."
"But…" Jinx began to argue back.
"Silence, boy." The Seer cut him off sternly. "I can sense the flow of time… I will know just when to return Barrett Wingfoot to this time… But if he fails to do so in another… Three hours, then he shall be trapped in the past. The world will turn to chaos, and possibly be destroyed by this sad, sad race that inhabits it. Pitiful."
"Mr. Wingfoot can do it, can't he?" Mystic turned to Cloud, her eyes reflecting her worry. "You've known him for a while, do you think he can do it? Would he be able to go fast enough?"
"… I really hope so." Cloud sighed. "Barrett… As far as I know, isn't too bright. He might not be reliable."
"I think he'll do it." Jinx walked over to the two of them. "No matter what this jackass Seer says, I think he'd be able to do it."
Mystic turned away from them, looking at the eerie machine that towered before them in almost defying stillness. It held the power to destroy the world, and yet it did nothing to provoke it. The three teens could almost feel the irony of the world being destroyed by the human race set upon them. They felt strange, just standing there, unable to do anything to stop the world's destruction. All their hopes rested on one man's shoulders. They didn't know if he could handle it, but they had to have faith in him, whether they really believed or not. Mystic closed her eyes and folded her hands together, the two male teens blinking at her.
"… I'm praying for you, Mr. Wingfoot." She spoke softly.
Barrett was still running. He had a great distance to travel before he would reach Glast Heim. His business was strictly in the interest of a Knight's Chivalry. With the new ease at knowing his sister was safe, he was able to think more clearly, and he was able to push himself to travel that distance. He ran through thick forest, batting branches aside as he ran as fast as he could. He could feel the strain in his legs, and his footing faulted from time to time, but still he ran. He ran for quite some time. He ran for several minutes, maybe an hour or more. He couldn't say. But his lungs wouldn't handle any more. He ran mostly uphill at one point until finally, he collapsed at the top of that hill. His chest was heaving, sweat trickling down his face, as he looked on to Glast Heim in all its frightful glory. He didn't know whether to think back on the place as something horrible, or something that was slightly beneficial.
He remembered while looking at the place. The place that used to be a tall, freestanding structure of greatness dedicated to the justice of Rune-Midgarts. What used to be a grand palace was now ruin. Only the darkest structures still stood. The prison, the god-forsaken cathedral, the dark towers, and the eerie graveyard… All else stood in marble ruin, tangled vines growing in masses along the surface. It was the place where his confidence was taken away, where his sister was murdered, where countless souls turned against those they loved and cared for… But it was also the place where his confidence returned, and a new era of peace fell upon Rune-Midgarts thanks to his friends, The Child of Prophecy and The Equivocator. Sacrifice was plenty for such an era… The Equivocator disappeared, and Nale's eyesight was lost… some of his friends even lost their family, or the ones they loved. Some even lost their humanity, and their sane minds. Barrett wanted to keep one person from suffering at least.
He regained his breath and stood again, racing down the hillside towards the tattered ruin. He never expected the hillside to slope dangerously steep, though, and as soon as he took that first step, he nearly lost his footing. He found himself struggling to keep his feet, running down the hillside. But gravity wasn't his friend, and he soon fell, tumbling down the hillside. He rolled, his arms and legs flailing, but he didn't make a sound. He just let himself tumble until he hit hard ground harshly. He laid at the bottom, regaining himself for a moment before slowly standing up, wiping some blood from his lip. He sighed, knowing he was in Claud's sights now… But he needed to continue. Even if there were countless slews of monsters lurking about, he had to continue. He drew his long blade, which gleamed in the moonlight, preparing himself before he charged in.
"Artemis!" A man, fairly tall and well built, hurried about through the darkness of the Cathedral. He was in pursuit of a monstrous creature. It was at least ten feet tall, with long purple hair, and bright yellow eyes, which had no pupils. Its form was muscular and strong, and it had two wings sprouting from its back. Its skin was green and scaly, and its left arm was horrible deformed. It was much larger than its right, and instead of a hand, it dawned the head of a dragon… A dragon that was alive. It had the same bright yellow eyes that struck fear into anyone, and razor sharp teeth that could tear most metals to shreds. It was wearing shredded blue jeans on its legs, and was rampaging about as this other man chased it down.
The other man looked to be in his thirties, but it wouldn't show. He kept himself in such good shape, that he looked to be in his mid-twenties. He had short black hair, though the hair before his ears hung down to his chin. He wore a red vest, with red shoulder guards on it. He wore a studded leather belt with a silver skull belt buckle, and black pants the covered his long legs. On his feet, he wore brown shoes. Spiked black wristbands were on his wrists, and a weaved bamboo sakkat rested on his head. His speed was incredible, but he couldn't keep up with the monster and soon stopped, clenching his hands into fists. His face had a large scar running from his lower left cheek up to above his right eyebrow, and he was missing his right ear. There was another scar from a deep gash across his abdomen, and his upper right arm had a small scar from a stab wound on it.
"Damn it!" He shouted and threw his dagger at a wall, where it got stuck in. "Damn it all!"
"Ayndi!" Barrett's voice came echoing through the hallway.
"… Barrett…" The man froze and grinned to himself, turning only to be surprised. He blinked at Barrett, looking at his face and his attire. "… You're not Barrett."
"I am, Ayndi." Barrett said as he stepped up to the man, still having to look up at him.
"Well, have you come to face me like a man?" Ayndi smirked, his adult features radiating with insanity. "It's about time you grew a spine."
"I'm not here for that." Barrett spoke grimly. "I know what will happen to you if you die. I don't want to kill you again."
"Kill me?" Ayndi let out a booming laugh that mislead from what used to be a cold, quiet tone. "You'll never kill me, boy!"
"Ayndi, my friends will be here tomorrow." Barrett crossed his arms, looking to the floor. "We'll sneak into the Cathedral, and we'll go through some funky visions. After all that, we will find you."
Ayndi raised an eyebrow as asked, "Are you betraying them?"
"When we find you," Barrett continued. "It would be after Nale shot some monster's eye. You hurt his eyes after that, and make him go blind. After that you would have killed my sister… But I made her stay back. You can't get her now. Then you and I would have fought… But I've come to stop that as well. The last time we fought, I killed you… And you exploded. You pushed me into safety, saying you envied me, and that I was lucky, and then you exploded. I know about the energy in your mind…"
Ayndi was slightly shocked at this, his eyes going wide. But his features formed into a twisted grin, and he lunged at Barrett, pushing him against the wall and grabbing the scruff of his muffler. He moved in close, laughing a little in his lack of sanity.
"You are an idiot! I don't envy you!" Ayndi shouted. "And you wouldn't kill me. A mere boy like you could never kill me… I won't die, I promised I wouldn't die…"
"You're not listening…" Barrett spoke.
"You're not listening!" Ayndi mocked him, reaching over and pulling his dagger out of the wall. "I'll make things easier on your useless life and kill you right now… Then I'll go kill your sister… I'll kill that pathetic little girl… Her brains will be splattered on the wall! And you won't be able to do anything to stop me… You…"
Ayndi was cut off when Barrett drove a fist into his stomach. His eyes widened, and he gasped for air, stumbling back a bit. Barrett moved it; metal-clad hands balled into fists, and continued the assault. He drove a fist into Ayndi's cheek, sending the Rogue back further. Barrett simply followed in his wake. Barrett had his fists raised, and Ayndi couldn't get leverage. Barrett sent another punch flying into his jaw, following by another into his cheek, sending Ayndi's face to the left and to the right. He then grabbed Ayndi's vest and held him firmly, thrusting a knee into his gut. Ayndi was winded again, and couldn't find his breath. He fell to his hands and knees on the floor, blood dripping from his mouth… black blood that charred the floor. He quivered as he searched for his breath, but Barrett gave him no time. He kicked Ayndi hard in the ribs, sending him to the floor. Ayndi laid there, a blank look in his eyes.
"Wh-What are you…?" Ayndi muttered. "You're not Barrett… He could never…"
"Slow down and breathe, you crazy old man." Barrett kneeled down to him. "I came from the future… I am twenty-two years old now. I came to stop my sister from being killed by you… But I also came to take you away from all of this. I know just what will happen… The Child of Prophecy will kill Claud… your master will die. I was told all about it from the Child of Prophecy himself… Claud was… or is, the Dark Lord. He came from the super-scary place of the Underworld."
"… It makes sense." Ayndi spoke after a moment of thought.
"He made you lose your sanity." Barrett said. "And I know you want to escape… Come with me, to the future, and I'll get you out of here."
"But I can't… I won't!" Ayndi stood slowly. "He killed my family… He killed every chance I had at a family… My wife… My unborn child… I cannot have a future without them…"
"I won't!" Ayndi shouted as he threw a punch at Barrett, who caught it and gripped his fist tightly.
"Settle down." Barrett spoke calmly. "… You can go back too. You can use the same machine I did to go back into the past and keep all of this from happening. You can have your wife, and your child… You can have it all back."
"I… I can have it all?" Ayndi blinked in disbelief. "I can have them back…?"
"Yes, you can have them back…" Barrett smiled brightly. "You can be happy."
"Barrett…" Ayndi shook somewhat as he dropped to his knees. Barrett let his fist go, and Ayndi brought his hands down. He was on his hands and knees before Barrett, his head bowed. "Please… I want it all to end… eternal damnation… a hell of a thousand needles… it all must end. You could kill me… I admit that you could end my life in an instant! But please, do not… Please. I beg of you… Take me back to Rosaline… Take me to the future… I'll do anything."
"Alright…" Barrett extended a hand to him. "Then take my hand, we'll go."
Ayndi looked up at the younger man, a little hesitant. His unsound mind wouldn't let him say no, though. He reached up and took Barrett's hand, and Barrett helped him up. Barrett and Ayndi both blinked and looked at the ground at their feet, a magic circle appearing there. Both of them looked to either side of their feet, at each other's feet, and tried to look behind themselves – they were confused. Both looked to the other for some explanation as to what was happening. Neither had an answer. Suddenly, a light emitted from the magic circle, coming up around them in sort of a column. Everything went black.
"Mr. Wingfoot?" Barrett heard a voice call him, and a hand shaking him. "Mr. Wingfoot?"
Barrett opened his eyes slowly. He saw Mystic staring down at him and smiled a bit. She smiled back and he closed his eyes again, taking a deep breath. He then sat up in a flash and cheered to himself, his arms straight up in the air. He looked around, being at the fourth floor of the clock tower all over again. He looked to the left and spotted Jinx and Cloud as they helped Ayndi to his feet. Ayndi looked about in a flash, pushing the two boys away, seemingly in a panic. He slid his hands over his face, and waited. Nothing happened. He looked confused and frightened, but the Seer walked over to him and rested his hand firmly on the Rogue's shoulder. Ayndi froze as the Seer whispered something to him. Ayndi seemed to calm down a little, his eyes still wide as he nodded.
"Time has been changed." The Seer announced, his eyes glowing a pale blue. "The past has been altered, and with an hour and a half to spare…"
"Way to go Barrett!" Jinx grinned. "You did it… Whatever it was!"
"She's…?" Barrett looked to the Seer.
The Seer nodded.
"Wahoo!" Barrett sprung up to make a mad dash to the door. "We gotta leave, right now!"
"Wait!" Ayndi shouted to Barrett, making him pause.
"What?" Barrett raised an eyebrow.
"I… I want to go back." He looked to the Seer. "… I want to go back in time. I have something I need to fix…"
"Certainly, if it will be quick, Mr. Hakimashi." The Seer nodded sternly, and Ayndi nodded.
The Seer moved to the terminal again, repeating the process yet again. Ayndi was transported back in time, and the three teens were left with their new friend, asking him bundles of questions. They asked him what it was like to travel back in time, and who the man he returned with was. Barrett explained the situation to them, what had happened, and what he changed. He also explained Ayndi, as much as he could. The three teens felt that Ayndi was not to be pitied. But Barrett in his own right thought that whatever happened to Ayndi was out of his own control, and that he was innocent. The three of them were shocked to hear such kind thoughts about a man who killed another person out of spite. Barrett just left it at that with a grin.
Around an hour later, Ayndi reappeared in the room. A bright flash of light blinded all who were looking after the Seer gave the command for Ayndi's return. Ayndi was unconscious, lying on his stomach on the floor. Barrett stood from where he was sitting and walked over to him, kneeling down and shaking him a little. It took some time before the man responded, but he finally stirred into consciousness and started to get up. Barrett helped him get up, and Ayndi looked around. He was awkwardly quiet. He also seemed to have lost all the scars on his body. Each one had disappeared, and he showed now signs of having them before. Even his ear had returned. It was as if he had never received the wounds in the first place. Ayndi wouldn't respond to a word, so Barrett suggested they leave.
"Barrett…?" Ayndi spoke quietly to the young man as they walked through the dark corridors of the tower. His voice sounded calm, collected, and cold.
"Yeah?" Barrett looked at Ayndi.
"… Have you ever done something you ever lived to regret…?" The older man asked. "But… you knew it was the right thing to do…?"
"Well yeah!" Barrett grinned to him. "There was my girlfriend in the second grade… But I'm not even going to get into that!"
"Please don't." Ayndi said bluntly. "… Did you get over it?"
"Yeah, she wasn't very nice…" Barrett spoke with some thought. "I can definitely live without her."
"… I see." Ayndi stopped speaking there.
When they got outside, it was raining. Mystic sighed, hugging her arms around herself to keep warm. Barrett just blinked, holding out his hand and watching the heavy rainfall drip onto his gauntlet. Ayndi had his eyes closed, his head bowed, not speaking a word. Jinx looked to Mystic and slid off his robe quickly, showing the shirt he wore beneath. He then draped it around her shoulders to keep her arm. She smiled a bit as Cloud was left to mumble to himself in the rain, complaining about how cold it was. The Seer was gone. Barrett was the first to notice, aside from watching all the busy activity even in the rain; he noticed that the Seer was nowhere to be seen. He shrugged it off with a smile and spoke to the group.
"It's a new day!" Barrett proclaimed.
"It's the same day, you idiot." Cloud mumbled.
"Well, it's later in the day then." Barrett said flatly. "Whatever."
"Barrett?" A voice shouted out over the rain.
The group looked over to see someone holding an umbrella. They stormed over to Barrett, and the Knight smiled. Green hair, blue eyes, smooth skin, orange tube top, orange miniskirt, white shoes, orange knee-high socks, a frilly headband, a nametag with their name, and one heck of an attitude – this was without a doubt his sister. She walked right over to him, not looking to be twenty years of age, developed and aged accordingly. He smiled and gave her a big hug, getting her all wet as he smiled brightly.
"You're alive!" He cried in happiness.
"Yeah, I'm alive, and I've been waiting out here for hours! What took you so long?" Amy glared at him even though he was hugging her.
"Oh, well… I'll explain it later." Barrett chuckled. "Let's go back to the inn… Nale will be waiting for us. But fist, lets get some doughnuts!"
"Alright!" Jinx and Mystic spoke up at the same time.
"Humph…" Though, Ayndi and Cloud had a different reaction.
They started off towards the inn, Barrett blabbing on in exaggerated detail about what happened. Amy was shocked to find out that she died because of Ayndi, and tried to lash out at him. But Barrett restrained her, and allowed Ayndi to apologize, which he did. He apologized to the young woman with a sincerity that was almost uncharacteristic of the thirty-year-old man. She said she'd let it pass, since her brother was so nice as to rescue her. But everyone could sense a bad aura from the Kafra towards the Rogue. Ayndi just shrugged it off and kept going, being quiet the entire way to the inn where the group met Nale. They went towards Barrett's room to tell the tale of what happened, and to enjoy their doughnuts. But Ayndi stayed behind, sliding his hands into his pockets with a slight sigh.
"Excuse me…?"
Ayndi turned as a voice spoke out to him, and he gazed at a woman for quite some time. His expression showed great surprise. This woman that stood before him was only slightly shorter than his 6' frame, and gazed up at him nervously through deep green eyes. Her black hair framed her face, falling down in straight, shining tresses to her waist. Her skin was pale, her complexion being smooth. Her age was undeterminable, but from inspection of her lithe form, she appeared to be in her early twenties. She was wearing a black dress that fit her form, ending at her feet, on which she wore black high-heels. Ayndi raised an eyebrow, looking down at her, his gaze reverting to a cold stare.
"Yes?" He responded.
"Um… My name's Rosaline, and my family is here because my aunt just passed away." She spoke nervously. "But… we don't know where the funeral home is. I came out looking for it, do you know where it is…?"
"… Yes I do." Ayndi smiled lightly. "Rosaline…"
"Oh, can you tell me where?" Rosaline asked, smiling to him.
"… I think it would be better if I showed you." Ayndi moved towards the door then, going to open it.
"Wait um… sir." Rosaline hurried to him, stopping him.
"You may call me Ayndi… Ayndi Hakimashi." Ayndi spoke as he gazed down to her. "What is it?"
"Mr. Hakimashi… forgive me, but I don't have an umbrella with me. It just started to rain and all…" Rosaline explained.
Ayndi shook his head with a smile, reaching up and removing his sakkat. Rosaline blinked in surprise as he moved in close to put it on her. He rested it on her head, moving the shin-strap under her chin. His hand lingered a little on her cheek as he gazed calmly down at her, and her cheeks flushed a light shade of red. He took his hand away then and opened the door for her, offering her out before himself, politely. She just looked at him, surprised herself. He kept his gaze away from her and silently waited.
"Mr. Hakimashi… Are you sure I can? I mean, this is yours…" Rosaline began to protest.
"I'll be fine. I assure you." Ayndi responded. "Now come on… Ladies first."
Barrett came hurrying down the stairs just as Rosaline was going through the door, saying, "Hey Ayndi we've got dough – Oh…"
Ayndi just smiled to Barrett, giving him a "thumbs up", which Barrett returned. He then stepped outside as well, the door closing behind him. He smiled to Rosaline and left with her, talking idly with her as he went towards the funeral home. He was calm as he spoke, but on the inside, it felt as if the sun had just melted away all of the ice around his heart. He was overjoyed to see her. She may not have known why, or was even hinted towards Ayndi's feelings, because Ayndi had altered time. At one point, Rosaline was his wife… she was pregnant with a child. But the Dark Lord killed her, and took Ayndi as a lackey. Ayndi had made it so that he never met Rosaline in the first place. And yet there she was, in the flesh, simply several years older.
"Where's Mr. Ayndi?" Mystic asked as Barrett returned to his room.
"… You know Mystic, you can love a bird, and set it free…" Barrett responded with a smile. "… And if it really, really loves you… It'll come back to you."