Part One
Standard disclaimers
Thanks to JP for betaing
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The little boat bobbed at anchorage among the rocky islets.
It was made of welded aluminium, and contained but one occupant, a tall man dressed in black with long red hair.
Kaze heaved in his nightline. Today was a fairish catch. He removed a small fish. The next two hooks were untouched but the third held a fine cod. Kaze grabbed it by the tail; braining it with a swift blow of the Magun, holding the fish down with a foot he removed the hook and threw the catch into the basket.
He paused, a decent haul. There would be fish soup for everyone tonight. Kaze wound the line round the wooden holder and continued to pull in. Four medium fish later he reached the end of the line. Kaze tided it away under the bench and getting out the freshly baited line began to let it out. Yu had gathered limpets and mussels and baited up the hooks for his hero, saving Kaze that fiddly task.
He threw the weight of the second line overboard, attached the buoy, a water can too beat up to contain liquids topped by a flag. Kaze had no real liking for the sea, but he had taken this task on after going out fishing with a few Comadeen. Being stuck in a small boat with other people was irksome to his solitary nature. At least on the train he could have had a carriage all to himself.
Things had been quiet for months and without an enemy to fight, The dread Demon Gunner was very much a supernumerary.
He seldom took much notice of other people, but was aware of their gossip, -Kaze had very sharp ears, he knew that certain of the Comadeen regarded him as an idle guzzler. In fact at one point Ai had turned on an offender savagely. "Mister Kaze has done an awful lot for us! He's entitled to laze!"
So the redundant Demon Gunner had found a task that provided much needed food, got him off base, it also proved he could do manual labour. (Heavens knew he could hardly do mental!) Nav tended to excuse him because of his one hand. But Kaze could perform most tasks, if not with one hand, with the assistance of his teeth, feet or Magun.
He was thankful for the adaptations Cid had made to his equipment though. It was Cid who had fitted his Winchester with magazines. He had several spare on his belt, ready loaded with bullets. He could change them while the gun was holstered.
Cid had also experimented with different types of bullets; Kaze now had shotgun cartridges, also fragmentary and explosive bullets. Cid was currently making some flares.
Fishing finished, Kaze wiped his hand on his cloak. After checking the anchor was secure, he settled back in the boat to rest; no need to return to base yet.
Now Kaze could have a little privacy.
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Kaze was Comadeen now it seemed. Not that he ever had intended to join up. The Demon gunner was happiest wandering, as he will, fighting Chaos whenever he ran across it.
He wasn't named Kaze for nothing.
But his wards, Lisa and the Twins had thrown in their lot with Nav's underground organisation and so he had too.
Kaze knew he was a liability to the Comadeen; Chaos had singled him out as a target many times. His very power attracted their unwanted attentions.
This also included Makenshi, it seemed.
Kaze gave a dire grin; while he was with the underground movement he did not have to go hunting round for his best enemy; Makenshi came to him.
Fighting and defeating Makenshi was Kaze's one great solace in life.
Kaze sighed. He pushed his hand under his cloak and stroked the sensor on the top of the Magun thoughtfully. The man who had destroyed his world, the man who he had once called Little Brother was going to die a final death.
"I have chosen the Soil for the likes of you!" He said to no one in particular
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But the Comadeen were very kind to him. They had taken him in, fed and clothed him. Cid had made fresh ammunition for his sawnoff. They asked no questions of him, knowing that he was a sworn enemy of Chaos was simply enough.
Kaze was happy there, in spite of the small annoyances of having to mix with others, something that he was very poor at. He felt wanted, and above all, safe.
He was also very pleased that Lisa and the Twins were happy and safe.
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He did not know exactly why he tagged along with Lisa and the twins.
But there were a lot of things he didn't understand, or simply couldn't remember.
Kaze knew his mind was very limited, he could recall virtually nothing of his life prior to waking in the City of Roots. What little he could remember was horrifying and at times he hoped never to regain his memories. Trauma at times made him unable to react. He had no idea of his name. The twins called him Kaze, wind because he was both aimless and powerful. The Death lords called him Demon Gunner after the magic demon summoning weapon that was attached permanently and often inconveniently to his right arm. Makenshi called him Kuroki Kaze Black Wind. All these things were fine by him.
To compensate he had very sharp senses, particularly for detecting Chaos and strong instincts to survive.
Another thing he could not do was socialise; not only were his communication skills limited. (When Kaze spoke, which was seldom, people looked around to see who was speaking.) He had no concept of getting on with people.
Kaze had no real friends in Wonderland; He associated with the Kigenjutsu Master Lisa, and the Twins she had taken under her wing. But though Kaze had often saved them with his Magun, they tended to ignore his moody presence.
He followed anyway.
They had been the first things he had seen when he had awoken. Perhaps he was imprinted like a chocobo chick on its mother?
Kaze had some instinct to need to protect someone from Chaos; also part of him admired their extreme bravery to give up a safe place in an Outer world to come to the Inner in search of their parents.
There was also a very vague hope that they could lead him back to the Outer world, when he had awoken Kaze had known in his horrified mind that he had come to Wonderland, a fate that he knew he had fought hard to avoid.
Now Elizabeth the Inter dimensional train had been destroyed by Omega, Kaze wasn't sure there was any way of getting back to the Outer world.
He wondered if Lisa realised this.
He had decided not to voice his fears on this. They had enough worries without that particular one.
Kaze shut his good, right, eye and opened his left, the one that was wired to the Magun.
One of the few memories of his life before his awakening in the Inner world was of being trapped in his Master's massive body, seeing though his eldritch eyes.
He had seen a land of island and sea. This was not Wyndaria; Kaze was unfamiliar with the sea.
Where am I?
CHAOS INCURSION IN NEW WORLD. Bahamut had told him, somewhat angrily.
Kaze scanned around. He sensed many things, the great energy of tectonic plates rubbing up against each other, but also much human activity. He looked down, he saw a land of forests and great technology based cities.
He kind of liked the feel and look of the place. Soil was strong here.
He could be happy here.
If only he wasn't currently in a humongous demonic form.
Also there was this small matter of a gathering task force.
Kaze noted with growing alarm the appearance of more military might than he imagined could exist. They were aiming their guns at him, and Kaze had no intention of standing still and being shot at.
Trouble. He muttered as a couple of jets buzzed him. Kaze batted at the sparrowlike jet fighters with sulky claws. Where's Chaos?
Bahamut was lost in thought.
I don't like the look of this. He drew his Masters wandering attention to the assembled unfriendly military might.
RELAX, THEY HAVE NOTHING THAT CAN SCRATCH ME.
But the destroyers and jet fighters shot at him anyway.
Don't shoot Kaze! Warned Aura and Moogle who so far had been hiding in a quiet corner of Bahamut's body; neither of them were used to the Greater Demons presence like he was.
Kaze freaked; he was confused by the sudden massive planar shift and frightening disappearance of Chaos...Not to mention Makenshi in the glorious silver body of Ittouju.
He took aim with the Magun, now the size of a Wyndarian rail gun and firing unthinkably powerful lasers and blasted the toy ships in the bathtub with it.
KAZE! warned Bahamut.
Kaze snorted. (No easy task when the Magun is on you nose.)
It was then Ittouju came bursting though the Chaos pillar.
Both Kaze and Bahamut roared with unholy delight at their old rival's appearance.
Get back in the pillar! Yelled Aura but to no avail.
Both dragons were already powering up their magical weaponry.
The first blast had no real effect, but the second was much stronger.
Bahamut and Ittouju destroyed each other in a mutual killing.
Kaze's last memory was of his Master screaming in triumph as he was dispelled back to the void he came from.
Kaze was unceremoniously jettisoned; His last memory was of feeling very tired and human again, as he fell though the planes.
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Kaze frowned. He had just remembered his nemesis, Lou Lupus.
Lou Lupus was a girl in her early teens. like Kaze Lou was a wanderer, for good reason. She was an outcast because she was a werewolf.
But there was no Chaos in her, and so neither Kaze or Lisa were afraid. And the twins were positively delighted.
However Lou had some attachment to him. He was not sure what. She had said she would fight at Kaze's side, they could have a wonderful time saving each others lives.
This in itself was fine by Kaze. He knew that the Magun took a painfully long time to activate and load up. Hadn't she saved him when Pist had ripped the living weapon off of his very arm? (Kaze shuddered at the memory.) And later when Oscars mechanical creation had pre empted him.
Yes, Lou was a good girl in a fight.
But Kaze had some feeling it would not stop at that.
Lou had an unseemly interest in physical contact. She had pounced on him after he had fallen from the sky into the Desert of Lost Souls. Kaze had been gathering his scattered wits when this thing had leapt bodily onto his back and gathered him up in a death grip. It was the wolf girl.
Kaze shunned touching; it brought horrible flashbacks. Not a lot of his skin was exposed. His left hand and arm was protected by a leather fingerless glove but sometimes even that failed to protect him from his past.
He had let her cootch up to him on the train after the fight with Pist in the Desert of Lost Souls. As long as he had sufficient warning of intent he was reasonably safe. Not all his memories were painful. In fact, some were quite nice...
Inevitably it was Ai who had said something nasty.
Ai was the evil twin. She always had something biting to say, also Ai could swear like one of the Death lords, though she was unfailingly polite to Kaze, almost always calling him Mister.
(And what had she been up to in that cave with that boy who was an embodiment of Omega? Kaze really didn't want to know.)
Ai thought there was something between Lou and Kaze...And Lisa was involved.
Lou was suspicious of Lisa too. Lisa didn't seem to care.
(Kaze cheerily imagined a big battle over him between Lisa and Lou...No doubt it would be spectacular, for both had psychic powers.)
Kaze did not feel that way about either of them.
Lou reminded him of Aura, one of the ghosts of his buried past. Lisa he was not sure of. She was attached to him, hadn't she tried to rescue him when he was defeated by Fungus, when she could easily have got to safety?
Kaze knew nothing about relationships. He sometimes wished he was free of all ties, able to wander like the wind again. But he also knew that even with his powers, he would not last long without some backup.
However Kaze did know all about sex.
Bahamut had told him.
He had used the word kegare (uncleanliness.)
Kaze smiled in contentment. He was safe, Bahamut was always right.
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Now Kaze was trapped in Wonderland. The one place he had not wanted to end up. Chaos was stronger here, controlling the worlds on the inside. It would be harder to defeat than the weak entity he had failed to destroy back on Wyndaria.
There was also the small matter of Omega, whom Kaze had no real defence against.
Chaos was using Omega for power.
Bahamut knows what would happen if Omega was reassembled...Or maybe he didn't.
Kaze was now in big trouble.
He was trapped in his limited mortal body. True, he still had the Magun but experience had shown Kaze that though it could defeat the Death lords temporarily, and even drive off a piece of Omega, it could not kill them. (He had been credited with the demise of the foolish Fungus; Kaze knew Fungus had only died because Earl Tyrant himself had willed so.) It was useless on anything tougher.
Kaze hoped it could obliterate Makenshi...
And his even more limited mind...
And his own occasional Hell.
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Kaze wanted a secure home for Lisa and the twins. This was something he could not provide. Kaze's bed was the stony ground; that is, when he could sleep more than a catnap. Normally it was he who watched over the Twins at night. (Giving the equally sleepless Lisa a chance of her own rest.)
His food and drink was whatever he could find, sometimes even the remains of slain Chaos creations, (Kaze retched at the thought.) and frequently nothing. He lacked even a home in his head. He could offer no moral comfort, no succour other than what his illegally customised Winchester provided.
That and the Magun...
Kaze shook his unkempt head. The Magun...
He pulled it out from underneath his cloak and gave it his customary disbelieving stare.
Kaze had borne the Demon gun for as long as he could remember (which was admittedly not long, but his few fleeting memories of his previous life had included it.) His very being was in that living weapon.
It had several abilities other than that simply of summoning demons. It helped sustain him even if he got no food or rest; it could sense danger and assess an unfamiliar enemy. (Such as Omega; who was new to Kaze.)
Another one of its abilities was to transport him from world to world, -essential when at ground zero of a demon summoning.
He had been a little angry at it when it dragged him several fathoms under the ocean though...
He had lost consciousness, secure in the knowledge that it would take him back somewhere which hopefully had air.
When he had come round, he found himself lying in a big puddle on the deck of the Comadeen submarine, Lisa, Nav and the others all arguing as to how to give CPR to a man who's heart was in the Magun...
The Magun had known where to find Kaze's allies.
Cid had said, "everything's all right now?"
But of course it wasn't.
The Death Lord Pist, one of Kaze's most infernally annoying opponents, had got them trapped in some outlandish Chaos contraption called the Ocean Puzzle.
They had spent what seemed like the next two months (time was very vague in the Inner world) wandering around this inter dimensional maze.
Nav and the others treated it like it was a big deadly game.
Kaze knew better.
He knew that any game played by Chaos was loaded wholly in favour of Them.
Kaze had tried to tell his friends this several times, that Earl Tyrant was a cheating little bastard, but they took little notice of him.
He was only a living weapon after all; useful to defeat the baddie, then replaced back in the hold.
But in spite of the fun and games they had eventually got to Telos, the world of fuel water.
Earl Tyrant had blown it up in their faces with an Omega crystal.
This did not surprise Kaze, no, not at all.
Kaze nearly didn't make it.
He had been fighting Pist's aquatic servants, they had jumped him and the gunner had been hopelessly outclassed; he got mauled and was loading up the Magun, preparing to sell his life as dearly as possible. Then his arch enemy had brained him with a tactical smack of the flat of his sword and helped an equally surprised Yu load him on Chobi.
Kaze spent a frustrated week helpless in Jane's sickbay while his many wounds healed.
In that week a lot of important things happened.
Now they were out of danger.
Salvation had come from a not very expected source.
Shiroi Kumo had saved the hapless Comadeen and the equally clueless Kaze from the machinations of Pist.
He had gone to Pist's underwater residence and after giving the far too clever Death lord a good thrashing. (Rumour said Pist was dead; certainly after that even no one had heard anything of him. But Death lords were notoriously hard to destroy; Kaze had proved that many a time.) Had overloaded the Ocean puzzle with Chaos energy and destroyed it entirely.
Nothing more had been heard of him.
That worried Kaze; He liked to know what the dreaded Makenshi was up to. Makenshi was acting very funny too. Why had he saved Kaze's life?
Cid had sighed over his loss of the crucial fuel water. He wouldn't now be able to complete his airship And take the war to Chaos very doorstep now.
They had set off back to the main base where they were living now.
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Anyway Lisa and the Comadeen had rescued Kaze.
Nobody had minded when he dripped water all over the main deck for the rest of the day. They were too busy arguing over the import of Pist's message.
When the watch had ended Cid finally noticed his foundling.
"What are you doing sat in wet clothing like that?"
Kaze had said nothing. What was there to say?
He had risen from the new sea he had shed on the decking and meekly let the Inventor lead him into the bowels of his female monikered creation.
Right into the med bay.
Kaze had a great suspicion of Doctors; they always asked him really stupid questions about the Magun.
But he was very tired and knew he could trust the Comadeen not to try to remove his weapon with a saw...
He shrugged his soggy cloak over his head and began to remove his combat vest and ragged t-shirt.
"My, you're starved." Said the Comadeen who was orderly.
Kaze looked at him. He looked down at his jutting ribs. This was normal for him, surely? "I have a serious parasite problem."
"We've got something to worm you."
Kaze shook his head, he was pretty sure that a simple vermifuge wouldn't help him. The Magun was not only an essential tool; it was wired every which way into his body. It could not be removed.
Not that he could bear to part with the magical weapon he had sacrificed so much for.
Including much of his mind, it seemed.
The orderly reached out for Kaze's bullet belt.
Kaze paused in sudden alarm. He did not let the Soil charges be taken off of him.
This was his big nightmare; that one day he would face his ultimate enemy...And no soil charges.
But the doctor let him keep his bullet belt by the bed.
The orderly took a towel and rubbed Kaze's long hair dry.
He had relaxed at that lulling operation. Kaze had sunk down into a blessed sleep...
...And nightmares...
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He is looking down upon a strange land of forested islands...This isn't Wyndaria.
Where is he?
Where is Makenshi?
But wait! This isn't Kaze's body...It's far too big.
And what is the Magun doing on his nose?
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Lisa is stood in front of him "Bad Kaze, don't shoot!"
Kaze shakes his unkempt head in sorrowful disbelief. Here is Shiroi Kumo all waiting to be killed and Lisa tells him no?
Doesn't she realise what Makenshi has done?
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He is stood, Magun activated.
"The soil charge to use against you has been decided!"
And all Herba does is laugh.
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Kaze looks with horror at his reflection in the mirror; Bahamut his patron demon has finally accepted him as the lowest of his slaves. He touched his new possessions face with an iron claw.
Now Kaze himself has the face of a demon...
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A horrific insectiod dragon is before him; this is Chaos personified. Kaze has the Magun thawed and running with unusual perfection for the often fractious weapon...But he has no ammunition.
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A girl with plaits is holding his hand. "I'm worried you have let Chaos into your heart, Aniki" she tells him.
Kaze looks thoughtful, What has gotten into his sister? "I have not, Aura."
She pats the Magun under his cloak, Kaze flinches. He is very discrete about his demon gun, he never reveals it unless it's going to be used, and he lets no one touch it.
But Aura paws it any old how. She has none of his reverence for his patron. "You have long been obsessed with the notion of the Magun, dearest; you have lusted after it since you were a boy. " She rudely taps it again. Kaze gives a warning glance. "Now you have it!"
"I now have the power to destroy Chaos!" He snaps a little harsher than his normal tone with Aura.
"Chaos has entered your heart."
Kaze pushes her away, a thing he has never done before.
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Kaze kneels at Bahamut's taloned feet.
"I had a disagreement with Aura today..." He whines.
His Master says nothing but deals Kaze a painful swat.
Kaze tearfully crawls off to make it up with his sister.
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Kumo is sat by his side. "Aniki" he murmurs into Kaze's black clad shoulder. Kaze looks down upon the swordsman with protective love.
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Kaze opens his eyes.
Where is he?
He is sat propped up against a wall, one leg stretched out, the other achingly curled under him. He has been seated that way for a long time, he is covered with dirt and twigs, and there are roots growing over his lap and chest.
"He's alive!" In front of him is a girl in an orange dress and two kids.
Kaze blinks. He's alive.
How many times has he died?
He doesn't know...He knows nothing.
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Kaze is on a train, in spite of the free seats; he is sat in his habitual stance, on the floor, wrapped up in his cloak.
The twins are talking with this strange grey haired girl. Lisa is watching warily, she doesn't think this stranger is human.
But Kaze has given her his lightning glace, nope, no Chaos there.
He goes back to his own brooding thoughts.
And the interdimensional train is attacked by this horrifying destructive being Kaze has never seen or sensed before.
The girl is frightened and angry, she has met this spirit before and her encounter wasn't good...
She has lost her homeworld too.
Kaze has a sudden sympathetic thought; he relives the destruction of his world constantly.
This girl has great power in her; she transforms into a wolf and goes out to try to drive off this being she calls Omega.
But there is something familiar about her...
Kaze shakes his head. "Aura?"
Omega knocks her off of the train and sucks her in.
Lisa turns on Kaze. "She wasn't human but she acted more like one than you!"
The Twins give him a look of pure hatred.
Kaze is in trouble again.
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Kumo is running though a destroyed city, brandishing his spirit sword, now in broadsword mode, he is bellowing his war cry with frenzied delight
"Makenshi! Makenshi!"
Chaos has conquered another world thanks to him.
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