Ok Sea Monkeys! Next chapter is up! Fast huh? Told you I had all of it written out! Hehe. Read up, cause there aren't many chapters after this one!

I don't own FF X-2 or anything to do with it other than my ideas. There is a little Babylonian mythology here, but it's not the exact thing because I just wanted it to be different, but yeah. I don't own that either.

"Huh?"

There was something up ahead. Something that wasn't stone. Something that made a 'whrrrrrrrrr' sound and had light coming out of it. Whatever it was, it was in front of a huge, immense, BIG wall. The wall was kind of iridescent and swirling. Like water in a lake. That kind of swirling. Anyway, this wall was sparkling with a net of what looked like electricity.

And the electricity was coming from the thing in front of it.

I got closer, and it turned out to be a machine! A machine! Down here, where there was NOTHING and NO ONE to keep it running. I'd never seen anything like it. And I've seen a lot of machines. It wasn't really that big. Only chest high on me. (Uhg, you guys are sickos! I'm exhausted, dirty and NOT in a good mood. Don't stare at my chest! Geeze Louise…) The same energy, (cause its not electricity, electricity doesn't make me shiver,) that was on the wall was coming from the machine. (Think Mad Scientist Lab here, kay?) All these wires and metal bits covered the the tops and edges. The sides were for the most part smooth. Except for some weird carved symbols on any flat surface. They gave me the willies. Bad juju there, I'm telling you. Major bad juju. I really, really didn't like the machine. It made my skin crawl more than Via Infinito.

I heard a yawn, and I tore my eyes away from the Creepy Machine to look at Damon. It was only for a second, because then, all the ghosts appeared again. All the buildings were whole and perfect and lights were everywhere. The 'stars' on the roof (Do caves have roofs? I always wondered what you called the roof of a cave.) were shining brightly, the constellations unwavering. It looked just like the night sky. Just without clouds. Over all, the creepy-ness of the city was gone. No gloom and doom here. Just a huge, underground city with mossy stuff instead of lamps. Ecologically friendly.

It was just a trifle different from before though. The people were all gathered around the machine, which was silent, and a man was standing beside the soon-to-be-Creepy Machine. You know how sometimes you just get a feeling about people? The gut feeling that tells you whether you can trust the person or not? My gut was saying 'That's a Bad Person!" He looked normal enough. He was young, but his hair was white and long like an old man's. Sure he was hot. But my gut said 'Bad Person! Bad!' and I always listen to my gut so I didn't drool over him like all of the other women.

It was a little weird that the guy didn't notice. The women I mean. Most guys would be preening and flirting, not ignoring them. Getting laid is one of the major tasks men have. Something is definitely wrong with this guy if he doesn't have that as a high priority.

Everyone was talking, making enough noise to drive the fayth nuts. All of them pointing at and talking about the machine and the man next to it. The jabber stopped when the guy looked up at the crowd. His eyes were amazing. Blue, pure blue. Like the blue in your crayon box blue. They would have been beautiful if they weren't so cold. I shivered when those eyes passed over where I stood. It didn't matter that he couldn't see me. I didn't want him looking anywhere near me. I felt like crawling under the covers and hiding. At least that way I wouldn't have to look at him looking at me.

"Gather round, friends!" The man's voice was powerful, commanding. The herd of people got closer, as ordered. No cattle prod needed. I was already right up next to the machine, so I didn't bother to move. I just didn't want to get any closer, to tell the truth. I got a front row seat for this little spectacle. "This machine, this glorious machine, will be your salvation! It will cease your suffering, and stop the coming Darkness."

"Yes, friends, the Darkness, prophesized by Ea, the Avatar of Tiamat, is coming! War will rage, cities will burn into ashes; the dead will walk the earth, their skeletons crushed by the boots of soldiers! From the heavens the Child of Darkness will sail forth, dooming this world into its thousand year penance!"

and the crowd utters a gasp

"Unless…we stop it here and now! The Darkness need not come, friends! You're children's children need not fear its arrival! I can prevent the coming Darkness!"

cue another gasp

"Tiamat, one of the great Creators, tell us through Ea that the Darkness comes! But where is the solution? Is not Tiamat omniscient? Is not Ea the god of wisdom and magic? Where is our path to Salvation? We are given nothing! Tiamat remains silent, and so His Avatar does. Do they not hear our pleas for wisdom, for guidance? Why do they damn us to a fate not of our making, yet give no ray of hope for us to cling to? Are we to await the Darkness, walk to it like lambs to the slaughter?"

chorus of 'why' and 'but!'

"They remain silent, these eternal beings, because they have no care for the world they created! No care for us, who were created in their image! We must find our own Salvation! This city will be saved, all of its inhabitants relieved from worry and pain! Let the fools build their cities Outside! We shall be safe here, forever! And my beautiful creation will make this happen!"

The Bad Man caressed the machine before hitting buttons and flipping switches, not stopping to answer the crowd's questions or to acknowledge those who ran. The machine came alive, the symbols glowing with a nasty yellow light.

"There! Our suffering will end here and now! The entrance to the Otherworld will be sealed! No longer will Tiamat control us! The very souls He created will be his tomb! Your deaths shall save the world from the Darkness!"

All of the people who hadn't run away were standing there dumbstruck. The machine 'whrrrrrrrrrr'ed for several seconds before erupting into light. The blast of hot air came out, and the light rushed forward before anyone could even blink. It engulfed the herd of people, sucking the light back into the machine before engulfing the city. The last human voice heard was the Bad Man cackling. It reminded me of Seymour.

At least I didn't get thrown back by the light this time. I stayed standing up. With Damon right beside me. He was looking at me. I could see him out of the corner of my eye. I was still staring at the Creepy Machine in shock.

'This is the reason the city died? A machine? It had to be more than a machine. No machine could do that…'

"Here…here…our Mother! Our birth…our …our birth…our death!…our…"

"Wha-"

'Our…death…birth…beginning…the end…end of…end of everything…everything! Everything…destroyed! The screams…lovely screams…too long without…long without them…no screams…screams…AHHHHH!"

I was screaming with them. This wasn't wind; this was a whole bunch of people. All that was left of them, anyways. It turned oily, the wind I mean, swirling around me with icy tendrils ripping at me, trying to gouge out my eyes.

"NO! NONONONONONO NOOOOOOOO!"

I grabbed my sword in both hands, and still screaming, I brought it down through that wretched wind and hit the machine with it.

Soooo…whaddaya think? Interesting no? I think so at least. Hit the 'GO!' button and make tagg a happy person! I like being happy!