One Year Later

It was a bright shiny day…inside the room, that was. Here, the windows were running a program of a bright blue sky. Outside, it was pitch black, just as it had been for months. They were in the middle of an Ettecan night, currently. Bahamut soon saw an effect that spanned across this half of the world. It seemed that all Ettecans at this time became somewhat more sluggish and sleepy. In addition, their skin peeled very easily, and came off in thick strips. This was part of their ancestral function of chrysalis making. Bahamut himself had to deal with this, being in an Ettecan body as well. However, once exposed to a few minutes of solar radiation a standard day, he and the rest of the Ettecan race found themselves well able to function normally.

Things had changed, just as Bahamut requested them too. It turned out that Shinza caved in fairly easily once she had any reason to stay on Etteca. He was glad for it. She cancelled the program, and three days later she moved in next door to the esper. Since then, they had been meeting on an almost daily basis, and spending almost all of their time with each other. Bahamut still had to attend lectures and now things called "book signings" every now and then, as well as science conferences, but it was like old times now. Shinza always came along and was waiting for him back stage. That was how he liked it, as did she. He only felt comfortable around her, and she only felt comfortable around him.

However, there had been one major reversal. Now, Shinza was the one coming over and doing all the talking. Bahamut didn't claim to be a psychologist or therapist of any sort. The only esper who could probably fit that bill was Leviathan. However, he had lived long enough to know much about mentality and the nature of others. And he did feel that talking about what had happened to her in the past would help her in the end. He knew enough to know that emotions bottled up inside gradually ate away at a person. After all…he had a very personal experience with just such an individual… He didn't want to see anything like that ever happen to anyone else, let alone his only friend on Etteca.

Shinza was reluctant to start. However, he didn't push her. He let it come out in its own time. He tried to create an open, free environment for her. He stayed in Ettecan form. She didn't mind it when he was a male, and it also seemed a much more vulnerable and less domineering body for him to move around in. He believed, in the end, it encouraged her. After a time, she gradually began to talk about emotions that she felt during each day, and things that had set her off. As she opened up about that, she gradually began to go back in time and talk about general trends of feelings and behaviors. She talked more and more about that, and eventually started to speak about her troubled past.

Bahamut was a creature of nobility. To see an innocent person suffer at the hands of a deranged madman boiled his blood. If it had been a bit earlier in his life, he might have brought Shinza, without delay, the head of her father on a platter. It would have been a pleasure to kill him. However, he was more civilized and controlled now. It wasn't as if her fatherwas running free. He had been arrested years ago on an aggravated assault and battery charge on a co-worker. He had been intoxicated at the time. He was currently serving 3 day cycles, of which he had only completed one and half thus far. However, Shinza had never gone to the trial. She never took the opportunity to bring up his past crimes either. On that note, Bahamut especially wanted to spare him. So long as he was alive…then there was a chance for Shinza to see him again.

A chance for her to put closure between them.

"So…did he ever find out about the first time you ran away?"

Shinza swallowed where she was. She drew her legs in close again, and twisted on the couch. She had done this a lot since they had begun. She currently had the couch of the comfortable living room to herself, while Bahamut reclined in the same chair he had sat in when they met again a year ago. He watched her keenly now, as she wrapped her arms around her body and looked away. She was putting herself into a fetal position again. Bahamut could smell her anxiety level rise, and could sense the fear coming off of her. It was fear located in the core of her body, which she tried to protect now with this new change. She stared off into space for a short moment, but then slowly exhaled. Her voice quivered, as it usually did, when she spoke again.

"No…he didn't." She continued. "He…he was out that day. It was just…after that night…after what had happened…I didn't want to stay. But I wasn't that old. I didn't know where to go or what to do. I tried just leaving and running off…but I was scared. There were so many strangers around. And I didn't know where I could go. I tried hiding somewhere…but then I got hungry and lonely. So I went back."

"And you didn't have anyone you could turn to then? Ask for help?"

Shinza shook her head. "No. The truth was…I wanted to go back…"

"Why?"

"…Because despite all that he did to me…I didn't have anyone else. I thought he loved me. I thought he was the only one in the world who loved me. And I thought I would never find anyone else who did. He did feed me and shelter me at the end of everything… And he made me feel bad when he said those things…said that if I loved him I'd do it. He made me be the one who felt bad… And I only felt worse later, when I felt horrible after it was done. He made it look like I should be happy it was happening to me… But I knew enough to know I felt bad. And I thought it was wrong for me to feel bad about it… That only made things worse."

Shinza bowed her head at this. She looked on the verge of tears again. Instead, she struggled to swallow to bite it back. As for Bahamut, he calmly looked her over for a moment. He folded his hands in front of him and stayed perfectly still. He watched her for a little while longer as she did this…but then decided to at last break it.

"Shinza…you remember what I told you a few months ago, right?"

The Ettecan slowly exhaled, as if remembering. She gave a nod. "Yes…yes…I know. I'm sorry-"

"You don't have to apologize to me."

Shinza winced again and nodded. "You're right. I know. I'm sor-" She cut herself off this time, and sighed again as she bowed her head.

"Shinza, don't be angry at yourself when you don't remember this." Bahamut replied. His voice was strong, but it was also smooth and calming, the reassuring quality he possessed. He used it on Terra's children years ago, and he used it now. "You don't need to beat yourself up over this. I know…and, more importantly, you know…that you are an excellent woman. You're smart. You're fun to be with. You're kind. You are enough. You don't have to impress anyone. You don't have to be perfect to have people love you. The fact of the matter is…if you are required to do anything to win a person's love, then that person will never truly love you. They're making a deal. An arrangement. Some acts of emotion for so many acts of compliance. That's not love. True unconditional love is just that…unconditional. Keep remembering…you do nice things for people because they love you…not the other way around."

Shinza hesitated again at this. She slowly exhaled once more. She sniffed once, and managed to raise her head. Grudgingly, she managed a nod to this. Bahamut sighed inwardly a bit himself. She was coming to terms with much of what had been haunting her, but she was a woman of no self-esteem. Bahamut was attempting to teach her how to love herself again. However, the going on this portion was slow. He couldn't tell her positive things about herself and hope to give her self-esteem. That would only make her dependant on him. She had to say and believe them about herself.

It was a little hard to do that. As the months had gone on, and Bahamut spent more and more time as an Ettecan, he realized that Shinza had been telling the truth. She was a very attractive woman. Somehow her long ears and mismatched eyes made her more appealing to him. Not only that, but she did have a very nice figure, smooth, unblemished features, and despite her timid nature, she had a great smile. She was also quite an intelligent woman. What she lacked was confidence. If she could only believe in herself, she'd find that she was all that she needed to be. There would be nothing to stop her.

But for now, Bahamut believed they had to postpone their trip again. He had wanted to take her to see her father in prison for a while now, simply to put an end to the unresolved conflict between them. For right now, however, he didn't think that was wise. A subconscious part of her was still too influenced and controlled by him, was still not free from his shadow. She had to grow more confident with herself first. She had to gain strength from within.

At last, the esper exhaled slowly. "All right." He announced. "I think that's where we'll stop for today."

Shinza continued to cringe a moment longer. However, as the danger passed, and the difficult time ended, she quickly began to regain her confidence. Bahamut could already sense her fear subsiding, and she loosened her arms and looked up to him. However, her face was full of puzzlement again. "Stopping? Don't we usually go for another hour?"

"Yes…but not today." Bahamut answered, his voice still calm. He leaned back slightly in his chair afterward. "I'm expecting something to arrive shortly."

This intrigued the scientist. Bahamut rarely had any contact with the outside world, save through her. She finished loosening up and put her legs over the sides again. Her body leaned inward toward the man. "Really? You didn't tell me anything about that. What are you expecting?"

Bahamut hesitated a moment at this, folding his arms across from him. "…Do you remember the attack a year ago? The one that I intercepted?"

"Of course."

Bahamut inhaled slowly, and turned to level his gaze steadily at her. "I haven't told anyone about this. Probably because I didn't believe it myself. I had to think about it for a long time, but now I'm pretty certain. That day…subconsciously…somewhere in my heart…I knew that the Yalorian battleship was going to be there. I knew it was going to attack."

Shinza's face turned to confusion at this. She leaned back up. "I…I don't understand…"

"Remember when I received that sedative during the first operation? The Sominoft?"

"Yes…"

"Remember all of the crazy hallucinations I saw? All the strange things?"

"Yes…"

"That ship…" Bahamut spoke with a hard note, emphasizing this point. "That battleship… The moment I saw it, I knew I had seen it before. And I remembered where. It was in my hallucination…my dream…my vision…whatever. Only it wasn't a ship there. It was that giant fish-frog thing I was telling you about, the one that everyone in my dream called Sin."

Shinza hesitated when she heard that. She looked at Bahamut a bit uneasily, taking this in. "Are you sure?" She asked after a moment. "You didn't just see something that reminded you of it?"

Bahamut shook its head. "I swear it was the same thing. It wasn't alive in real life, but it was the exact same shape. I felt the déjà vu looking at it. That wasn't all. Before I even saw it, I saw a kid in the crowd with a balloon. That was what set it off. I remembered him from a crowd in my dream. That's why I paused at the beginning of my speech, because I had seen that before. And when I attacked the battleship…I didn't know what I was doing when I attacked the fins. I did it because I had seen some strange colorful ship attack them in the same way when I was dreaming."

The Ettecan looked at Bahamut silently for a moment. She took in these new facts, and began to realize what they meant when considered together. She trusted Bahamut. If he said it was the same thing, she believed him. However…if it was true, then what did Bahamut see?

"…What does it mean?"

Bahamut inhaled and leaned back, slowly exhaling as his expression grew thoughtful. He raised a hand to his mouth and stroked his chin slowly.

"…I didn't know for months. It seemed ridiculous. I thought I was imagining the whole thing. After all…how could it be true? How could I have seen in my delusion things that were real? The rest of my dream wasn't real…and as chaotic as it was, how could any of it represent reality? And yet…I couldn't dismiss it as a coincidence. Having seen all three events before…and seeing them repeat themselves…it had to be something. But I couldn't figure out what…or how it was possible.

"Then I began to think of myself again. My increased mentality. I had never truly meditated since I had gained my Neo form. But on gaining it, my mental faculties increased tenfold. My senses became much sharper and more defined. If I honed myself enough…I could see the nerve impulse leave a person's mind and react before it even reached their muscles. I could sense the thoughts and actions of a person a world away. I even was able to transcend time once in my old body, once it was reinforced. I was able to see into the distant past. But now…I needed no reinforcement. I was already equipped with the mental power and faculties.

"That's when I realized it. I have been developing my mental powers for centuries. And now, my 'hardware' has been maximized. I'm one of the greatest telepaths in the universe. That made me think… What if somehow my senses were able to go beyond their limits? I was already great at empathy and mind reading. Precognition is also theoretically possible. What if I achieved it? What if…I had actually seen into the future?"

Shinza's eyes widened. She didn't say a word. She stared blankly at Bahamut for a moment. The esper looked back at her, his own eyes wide. In truth, it sounded incredulous to him. Even in the world of espers, there was no such thing as an esper that could see the future. There was none who could make predictions about how things would be. Yet now…Bahamut was beginning to wonder if that was a universal truth. Perhaps yet another thing once deemed impossible was now possible. Perhaps he had awakened a new chapter in biology yet again, especially now.

"Do you actually think…that's possible?" Shinza asked.

"I don't know. And I won't be able to find out unless I investigate the matter further." Bahamut answered. "That's where today comes in. I have to try again to see if I can get a similar effect. I ordered a large shipment of Sominoft."


"I wish you wouldn't do this…"

"I'm going to need your help." Bahamut simply answered. Standing against a wall nearby was Shinza. She was holding one arm nervously and anxiously staring at the esper. She hadn't liked the sound of this plan since Bahamut announced it. However, the esper had been thinking of this for some time. He rarely acted without giving much consideration to anything. And he was certain that this was what he had to do. And so, he continued to move around the center of the room, making his preparations.

"Can't you meditate to achieve that state?" Shinza asked him anxiously. "It would be safer…"

"I agree." Bahamut replied, as he easily shoved a couch out of the way. He wanted the center to be clear and uncluttered. "But I've already been trying to achieve that for months. What happened to me when I was under the influence was an awakening of a new part of my brain, I believe. The same thing happened to me thousands of years ago when the Cetra gave me a drug to awaken another part of my mind. I'm so used to what I've been doing that I lack the youthful plasticity to investigate new areas of my mind now. I have to experience it again before I even know where to look. And this is the only way."

Shinza still looked uncomfortable about it, and rubbed her feet against the ground. As for Bahamut, he shoved the last article of furniture out of the way. The center of the room, the part that descended through tiers into the floor, was now clear. A comfortable pillow for sitting was already placed in the center. At this, Bahamut turned to the window, which still projected a bright, sunny day.

"Image off." He ordered. Immediately, it vanished. The black night sky came in instead. After that, he began to walk out of the pit and around the room, dimming the lights as he did so.

"You know…Sominoft is addictive." Shinza warned yet again. She was kind of earnest to say anything to get him to reconsider. "Some people get hooked on it. And it has side effects too…"

"Yes, yes, I've read about them long before I ordered this shipment." Bahamut answered, sighing a little in irritation at how Shinza was still pestering him about this. He continued to dim lights as he spoke, not looking to her. "It's a risk I'm going to have to take at least once more. I need to try and see this. I have to see if I'm really detecting the future. Besides…I'm not even going to go as severe as the last dosage that was prescribed to me. I'm not just planning on going on some sort of bender and then seeing what images come up. I'm going to have this structured."

Bahamut finished dimming the last light. When he did so, he turned and began to make for the center of the room. He only paused to look to Shinza and give a nod. The Ettecan opened her mouth to protest again, but then sighed. Much as she disliked this, she knew that Bahamut wasn't going to reconsider. There was no stopping him once he had his mind on something. Groaning a little, she turned and began to walk to the edge of the pit. There, sitting in the freshly opened case, were dozens of bottles of Sominoft. They had come with a hypodermic gun. To this, Shinza reluctantly approached.

Bahamut reached the center of the room by now. He had already changed into something more loose and comfortable. Now, he began to lower himself onto the pillow in a meditative sitting posture. "I'm only going to be out for one day. That's how long the typical dosage lasts before they have to renew. For a person of my power, I read they gave me 5,000 microunits for one day."

Shinza wheeled around to him in surprise. "5,000! They only prescribe 100 for us!"

"Well, I do have an improved anatomy." Bahamut simply answered as he adjusted himself. "In truth, my new body should treat it as a toxin. I'm tempted to go to 10,000."

"That's suicide!" The woman cried.

Bahamut sighed and groaned again. "…That's why I'm not doing it. But if this has no effect, I'm willing to try that next."

Shinza was very uneasy now. She looked over to the drug and gave it a downcast look before turning back to Bahamut. This all was bad to her. She tried one more time. "But you were out for three months last time, and you only received so many visions. What difference could a day make?"

"That's why I'm making sure I'm in a meditative trance before I go this time." Bahamut answered, placing his hands in the right position. "Hopefully, this will help me not only better isolate what part of my brain is becoming active so I can repeat it without the drug, but it will also help me to better focus on the visions I'm seeing, so I can get a more conclusive prediction."

Shinza frowned yet again. She winced and shifted again in her place. But in the end, she groaned and turned to the gun. 5,000 was a sure OD for one of her race, assuming they didn't die instantly. She hated the idea of giving this much to anything. Yet…she did trust Bahamut more than anyone else. Very slowly and reluctantly…she felt herself reach down and grab one of the bottles. She slowly turned it around and fixed it into the end of the gun, and then adjusted it to deliver a 5,000 microunit dose. That was as high as the gun went, she soon noticed. And it would drain the bottle she had just put in. None of this made her feel any easier.

"Now, I should be out for one standard day." Bahamut continued. "When it gets close to this time tomorrow, get a writing tool and some paper out here and place it in front of me so I can use it the moment I wake up."

Shinza slowly raised the gun, and turned to start walking to the esper. "What for?"

"I'm going to draw as many of the images as I can in as much detail as possible." Bahamut answered. "That way, I'll know for sure I wasn't seeing just a similar object, but that I was actually seeing the future."

The Ettecan continued to approach, until she was right in front of him. At that, Bahamut began to take in a few deep breaths and raise himself up a little. On doing that, he turned over to Shinza. The woman anxiously leaned down next to him, and her hand holding the gun quivered.

"Alright." Bahamut spoke. "I'm going to start now. Stay very quiet and don't disrupt me. I'm going to hold my hand up…" Here, he raised the front part of it off of his knee. "Like this. When I lower it, I'm ready. Inject me."

Shinza groaned. "Can I at least have a medical team ready for you in case something goes wrong?"

"You can call them, but I don't want them around here." Bahamut answered. "Remember, I can read minds. I'll pick up on their anxiety and thoughts and it will disrupt me. You need to get away from me too after you inject me."

The woman frowned again.

Bahamut managed a smile to her. "It'll be alright. I've never given you reason yet to doubt me, have I?"

Shinza didn't answer, but after another sigh she began to form a look of acquiescence. That was enough for Bahamut. He turned his head back out a moment later. His smile faded as his eyes closed. After that, he began to draw in deep breaths again, and started to relax himself.

Bahamut hadn't meditated in a while. However, he was as good at is as he ever was. In no time at all, he began to detach himself from his surroundings. The world became more malleable and distant around him. He began to feel himself dive deeper into his mind, clearing himself of all of his cares and worries, and reaching another state of being where he was more connected and transient. The world grew quiet around him, and everything that lived near him became more vibrant and alive. It became more distinct…more separate…individual and unique. He soon reached his center. He was away from his body, and deep within his mind. With that, he sent only one last signal to his body…making his hand fall. A few moments later, he felt something cold…and then it came.


The effect was instantaneous. It was like a flood of color pouring over him. Vibrant hues and curves came over him. He was twisted in and out of existence again and again. The world turned and warped around him. Yet somehow, this time…he directed his course through it. He pushed on, and struggled to see more…

He saw Shinza again…this time flanked by two shadows…one light and the other darkness. He saw explosions and faraway lands… He saw great beasts rise and fall. He saw cats that walked like men… He saw great ships of color running through the sky… He heard voices come again and again, fading in and out into a cacophony of sound. Images of these three women…they kept returning and fading again…but never could he see their faces. He saw only Shinza…and the dark and light on either side…

Then he began to see it. In the pit of the world…far below in its Lifestream…surrounded by energy…there was the thing. It wasn't Sin. It was something else…like some gigantic cicada from Hell. It had the face of death, and when it spoke it destroyed half of the world. It crushed cities beneath it as it walked… But it kept fading and returning…and he saw more yet…

He saw chocobos running on a long road…and ending in its mouth. He saw strange men and women guarding a door that opened up into its heart. He saw the three women working their way through a great mass of tunnels that made up its brain…

Then he saw it. At once, a great colorful world spanned beneath him. And above it all, like gods dividing the planet amongst themselves, he saw a vision of three men. One was the engineer, who built the great works and weapons of the world. One was the monk, who guided people through wisdom and order. One was the leader, who fueled the hearts of his people with passion and determination. Together, they were invincible. But apart…they tore the world asunder. And through it all…he saw the thing…the great insect from Hell…

And deep within its heart…he saw something else.

He saw…himself.

He was just a child now. Little and inconsequential…and human. But when he gaped, it gaped. And when he reached out, it reached back to him. Then he became aware…that he wasn't seeing this world through his eyes. He was seeing it through another's.

As soon as he realized it, it started.A voice cried out in desperation begging him not to wake up…not to let it cease to be… Not to send it back into the realm of nothingness… The chorus of the world joined it, and soon all voices began screaming out their own voices. But above it all…the One Whom He Saw Through cried loudest of all…clutched at him…tried to drag him back into the world. But he was already leaving… Fading away…


Bahamut's eyes opened in a flash, and he gasped. He felt like he had been holding his breath the entire time he had been in the vision. He buckled, and nearly fell forward and swooned. He didn't remember where he was right away. Reality, coming back to him, was too harsh and sharp to focus on. It overwhelmed him. But as he fell…the hand of a woman came out and grabbed him.

"Bahamut!"

The voice…the real voice…not a vision…somehow brought him out. His heart, racing until now, began to calm down. He started to breathe again. He blinked and let the sweat run off his brow. It all started to come back. Reality…touch…sight…smelling… His room…he was back in his room. He was back in the center, down where he had been meditating. The lights were still dim. Night lingered outside. He began to feel cool and warm again. He continued to breathe and steady himself for a moment, looking around and gaining control. Then he remembered. He had a vision, but it was over. He was back again.

The esper steadied himself a moment longer, and then turned to who grabbed him. It was Shinza. She held him now, again more conservative and contained than she had been in his dream. But she still braced him, as if somehow her hug was holding him together. He looked to her a moment, and blinked. He swallowed once.

"I'm…I'm alright now, Shinza."

The Ettecan held him a moment longer. But then, she leaned back and let him go. She looked up to his face, and stared longingly at him in fear. Bahamut blinked and looked back at her, still a bit muddled. The visions were still fresh in his mind…still circulating around and giving him thoughts and perceptions he never thought possible…

Then, he remembered.

The paper.

Suddenly, Bahamut snapped out of it. He wheeled his head in front of him. The jolt was so strong, Shinza recoiled and gasped again, thinking Bahamut would do something. However, that wasn't the case. He merely looked in front of himself, and saw they were there. A small table, and paper and writing utensils. He didn't waste a second. Suddenly, he was like a man possessed. Fumbling over his fingers, he reached forward and seized the paper. He scattered most of it, but he managed to grab five sheets and nearly slam them down in front of him. After that, he reached over for a writing utensil. He fumbled through most of them, scattering them as well, but then he grabbed one. He quickly brought it back and began to sketch on one piece.

"I knew this was a bad idea…" Shinza slowly remarked. Bahamut didn't answer. He continued to work. After he had just begun to get a shape on one piece, he turned to another and began to sketch on that as well. "Toward the end…you changed. You started panicking. Your heart rate went through the roof. You started breathing heavy… I was afraid…"

Bahamut didn't answer. He turned to a new piece, again not finishing the other, and sketched on that as well.

Shinza began to notice this at this point. Seeing as Bahamut was ignoring her other concerns, she leaned in a bit. She was seated next to him right now, but still at a distance and letting him work. "What are you doing?"

"My memories are fading quickly." Bahamut answered in a hurry, as he moved on to the fourth paper. "The distinctions are vanishing. Already, I can only remember five. I need to put something down real quick before I forget all about them. Hopefully, they will remind me of the truth. If I don't do this now, soon my brain will start filling in the holes in my memory with false visions, and I won't remember accurately what it was."

Shinza blinked at this, but then drew back. She made herself relax a little, and let Bahamut continue. He moved to the fifth sheet, and after drawing a bit on that, he returned to the first. After adding a few details here, he moved on to the next and repeated the cycle. He continued to go around his drawings, each time adding a little more detail to each one of them. Shinza, on her part, soon realized that Bahamut's dream had to have been very vivid. She could never remember the amount of detail that Bahamut soon began to add to his drawings. To tell the truth, it wasn't really a dream though. It was a hallucination. And those could be far more monstrous and shocking. Slowly, they began to take shape as he went on. Shinza looked over them all, and looked to the first at last.

She pointed to it. "What is this…?"

"Don't tell me about it!" Bahamut, to Shinza's shock, nearly snapped. "If I focus too much on one, I'll lose the others!"

Shinza nearly recoiled at that, hearing the sudden viciousness in Bahamut's voice. After that, she calmed down and went quiet again. She didn't like this. She didn't like the change that was happening in Bahamut after this had happened. It made her fearful. However, she wouldn't leave now. She watched as Bahamut continued his movements of adding to each drawing. Over time…he began to slow down. And he added less and less with each pass. After a little while longer…he began to start looking confused. He winced a bit and furrowed his eyebrows, and tried to concentrate before drawing something else. However, that too passed as well. After about thirty minutes, it was done.

Bahamut slowly exhaled at that. Much more calmly, he put the writing utensil down, nearly drained of its fluid at this point. After that, he reached up and grasped his hand. It was sore and throbbing now from all of the drawing he had done. He held it for a brief moment, relaxing. But then, still holding it, he turned and looked to Shinza. She was calmer now, but she still looked to him anxiously. He exhaled, and then bowed his head slightly.

"I'm sorry, Shinza." He finally apologized. "It's just…my memories were fading rapidly…and I had to get as much detail as I could…to prove to you and to everyone that I saw the future. I shouldn't have yelled…but I couldn't tell you anything about them just then. I can tell you now, though."

The Ettecan stayed back a moment longer. However, she soon calmed down. She could understand what he was saying. And now, he was sounding like his old calm, controlled, and wise self again. That reassured her. With that in mind, she leaned back and straightened herself somewhat, and then pulled herself in closer to the table. Bahamut was glad for that, and turned away and back to his sketches as well. The truth was, he hadn't much time to focus on what he was drawing. He was focusing too much on the individual details, trying to preserve them and copy them. In the end, he would analyze more what he had seen. And that time was now. Both Bahamut and Shinza turned and looked to what Bahamut had done over the past half of a Gaian hour.

Five drawings rested on the table. Shinza looked over them for a moment. At first, she could make out little. But then, she saw something else. Three of them appeared to be in some sort of set. The other two were all on their own. She turned to the set first. These she looked over, while Bahamut slowly inhaled and folded his hands in front of himself.

"I saw many things this time…and they were different." Bahamut explained. "I tried hard to focus on where I was…and I tried to see as much detail as I could. I tried to make out the words…but they were all so confusing. And everything…it was warped. It had too many curves…too much light. I think that's the side effect of using drugs to get these visions. I think somehow reality is distorted. That's why I can't see these things exactly as they will appear, assuming I can see the future.

"One thing I really couldn't reproduce was the image of the three women. You were there again. You were dressed differently this time…somewhat more adventurous and bold, it seemed. But there were two people at your side… They were women too, but I can't remember much. All I can definitely recall is that one was light and the other was dark. I have no idea what they mean, and because I could never see their faces I didn't reproduce them."

At last, Shinza spoke. She pointed down to the set. "Who are these three?"

"People from my vision." Bahamut answered. "Leaders…people who dominated the world. Each one championed his own cause. This one…" Here, Bahamut pointed to the first. It was a somewhat wild and carefree looking man. The most distinctive thing was that he had a large, black patch over one eye. "He was some sort of engineer. The world's greatest weapons and discoveries belonged to him. This one…" He pointed to the next. He was far more reserved, his hair tied back behind a headband, and his eyes calm and cool. "He was a spiritual leader. People looked to him for wisdom and control. And this one…" He pointed to the last. This one was the oldest. His hair hung in a tail behind him with one strand in front of his face, and he wore a distinctive set of glasses. "He was the great hero. He was the man behind the great armies, and he had the character to drive people on. They were dividing and fighting over the world. Have you ever seen them before?"

Shinza frowned and shook her head. "Never. You didn't get any names did you?"

Bahamut groaned. "That was impossible. I couldn't make out anything over the din."

The Ettecan looked around for a moment, to the other two pictures, trying to make out what they were. She looked confused at the first one. "What is this?"

Bahamut sighed as he turned to it. It was mostly just a dark silouhette. The outline of some hair and clothing was present, but the face was gone. He shook his head at it. "This was the weirdest thing. You see…I wasn't the one living out these visions. I wasn't the one last time either, I just didn't notice it. I was seeing myself and the world through the eyes of this person. And when I was about to leave…you know, wake up…he actually begged me to stay. He said he wouldn't exist if I woke up."

Shinza hesitated at that, and grew a bit unnerved. "That's…a little strange. It's like your dream is taking a life and personality of its own."

"It could be a product of hallucination." Bahamut replied. "However…I think, for some reason, it is important that I saw him and interacted with him. I don't know why, but if it wasn't, I don't think I would see the world through his eyes and keep experiencing him. Something about him…draws me to him. I don't know what. Unfortunately, like this picture suggests, I never see his face. Just bits and pieces of him from time to time. I am seeing the world through his eyes, after all."

The esper and Ettecan went silent for a moment. They looked a bit longer at this picture, and mused over these new facts. After a moment or so longer, however, Shinza looked to the last one. On doing so, she grew a bit white momentarily.

"What…what is that thing?"

Bahamut turned to the picture. He too hesitated, and swallowed. "This was something I saw everywhere. It wouldn't stop coming. It appeared throughout all of my visions. I think that means it's something important…but I have no idea what. It looked like some gigantic demon cicada. It was destroying the world the last I saw of it. And it moved around underneath the other three as they bickered over the world's fate."

Shinza blinked. It was a ghastly creature to be sure. She began to hope that Bahamut didn't see the future…if this thing was in it. Especially if it was destroying the world.

"Do you…know anything else about it?"

"Actually, yes. Because I saw it so much, I tried harder than with anything else to hear its name. I managed to hear the name of Sin last time, so I tried to hear this one as well. It took me quite a long time to sift through the noise…but it's name was shouted or screamed more than once. And in the end, I did actually manage to catch what they called it."

Shinza looked back to the esper at this. As for Bahamut, he drew in a deep breath, and stared hard at the death's head at the front of the creature.

"…Vegnagun."


"…Is a failure!"

Bahamut had no idea at this point in time that the nightmarish insect from his vision was actually a reality. Far on the other side of Ettecan, five miles below the ground, contained in a great metallic sphere much like the one that Bahamut had seen in his vision…it rested. It was every bit as horrible and evil-looking as it was in his vision. Only now, it had lights and a shine to it. It was real here, and not merely the stuff of nightmares. Its dead eyes glared out at all that passed in front of it as its wings and legs rested against it.

However, this Vegnagun was not a living, breathing demon. Even now, Ettecans encircled it, welding some points, adjusting wires, or doing other operations on it. Ettecans in white coats ran around its legs and conducted tests. Every so often, a limb would move slightly as a joint was adjusted. It was no beast from the inferno…it was a machine. A giant, fearsome machine, but a machine. And yet…at the same time…the workers looked at it nervously. Every time it made the slightest unexpected move…hissed steam at the wrong time…or had a light flicker…they froze and recoiled from it. They would gaze at it in fear for a few moments, before slowly leaning back in and resuming their work. Everyone was far more delicate with it now than they had been.

A catwalk stretched in front of it with a metal support railing. This was where the latest yell had come from. In a decorated suit, towering over everyone else with his massive bulk and height, was a Yalorian officer. He appeared to be a very high ranking individual, and his face suggested he was one who ruled through his emotions and temper, and that it had been very effective in the past. However, it was not working now, and that only boiled his blood. He had a head of dark green hair, so green it was almost gray. A thick, bushy beard stretched down over his chin and face, but he had no mustache. His large mouth and heavy-set jaw, however, were dark and foreboding enough to look at, especially as he gnashed his teeth. As a fashion statement, and a trend among high Yalorian officers, he had his incisors sharpened into fangs.

Had Bahamut been here, and had been seeing him, he would have stared in puzzlement for a moment, before recognizing who this person was.

He was, in Ettecan form, the most aggressive of the cat-people he had seen in his vision.

Opposite him, perfectly calm and controlled, was the scientist he had yelled at one year earlier, when he originally commissioned the behemoth's construction. He was unmiffed by the anger of the officer. He simply stood straight and tall, and endured this latest insult and argument. To him, the whole affair was tiring at this point. In response to the accusation, he merely shrugged.

"You couldn't expect me to have success with a prototype, could you?"

"You stupid asshole!" The officer yelled in his face. "Vegnagun was worthless! You're damn lucky my commanding officer never showed up today! The damn thing blew away half of the testing field! It killed seven of my own men! You're damn prototype cost me an additional two billion and probably a court martial! You were supposed to perfect this with Bahamut!"

The scientist calmly sighed and rubbed the space between his nose. "There were…complications. Unforseen problems. With Bahamut, we had a brain to work with. Building one from scratch was more difficult than we thought. Artificial Intelligence is still a science in its infancy, after all."

The officer looked ready to boil over. He seemed like he would seize the man's head in a moment and rip it off his shoulders. "Do you have any reason…any good reason at all…why I shouldn't hand you over to your government to be tried for treason?" He nearly screamed.

"You mean other than the fact that I could hand you over to your own government to be tried for treason as well?" The scientist calmly answered.

The officer grit his teeth and boiled again, struggling to keep from screaming.

"The moment you signed on with me, our paths became intertwined, Garock." The scientist continued. "Don't ever forget that. We fall together if the other one does."

Garock tightened his fists and glared at the calm scientist for a moment longer. In the end, however, he straightened himself up and decreased in volume a little. "Fine. In that case, how about a reason why I should let you build another huge, embarrassing failure? Keep in mind that if I don't pull this off, we both crash whether I want you to or not. Next standard year, my department is being audited."

"I'm sure you'll find some way to continue to fund me." The scientist went on. "You military types are always so good at finding the money you need when you need it. I wish we scientists could be half as resourceful. At any rate, I can still deliver. We'll just have to make some changes to our initial plan."

Garock continued to glare at him a moment. At last, he snorted and crossed his arms. "You have five minutes. That's all I can spare before I have to go back to trying to save my job and salvage something from this mess."

The scientist smiled widely in response. Confidently, he took a step inward while continuing to beam, and slipped in closer to Garock to speak in a quieter voice.

"Although, from the start, I never had full confidence in my ability to build a machine from scratch, I was absolutely certain I could build one from an existing body plan. I did so with Bahamut, didn't I? What we need now is another body from that world. Another esper. One that we can use as a building block to complete a new design."

Garock gave a snort in response, but then spoke more quietly. "And how do you plan to get one?"

"Quite simple." The scientist calmly answered. "You see, I read, unlike you. I've been an avid fan of Bahamut's novels. And I read in detail the reports from Dr. Shinza. And I'm not alone. As of 0300 this morning, my staff, working in a correlation with astrologists from my university, managed to take clues from the nature of how Bahamut was found in addition to how he described his last thoughts before death, and managed to calculate where he came from."

"Coppa shit." Garock spat back.

"We already confirmed it." The scientist calmly answered. "We managed to calculate a 95 confidence interval on the location where he came from. On using long range scanners to sweep that area, we found one planet capable of supporting life like Bahamut's. There wasn't any other likely candidate for parsecs, even when we increased the confidence interval to 99.9999. There is little doubt that we found Gaia."

Garock stared at the scientist for a moment. His face turned to some disbelief, but also to intrigue. He held for a moment, thinking about this. In the end, he frowned again and spoke out. "Alright…so you found it. What makes you think you can find another esper like him?"

"I already told you." The scientist coolly answered. "I read. And I've been paying attention to Bahamut's accounts. I think I've already found just the specimen we need…"


To be continued...