AN: So many wonderful reviews from my wonderful readers! Oh it means so much to me and gives me such inspiration. CYBER COOKIES FOR EVERYONE!

Anyway, since you all were so lovely as to leave me delightful reviews I pumped out this chapter with as much haste as I could without sacrificing quality. I hope you enjoy this epic, extra-long chapter!

This was actually supposed to be much longer, but it proved to be a little too long so I split it into two chapters. ENJOY!

Review my pretties! REVIEW!

Chapter 4: Salvation, Part 1

The children stared at the men, horror in their eyes. Everything they had done, all the effort, all of it was for not. Link felt hope strangled within him, and once more felt the Fire of Faith dim in his heart. The grinning man before them reeked of death. He seemed to exuded it in a detestable aura, pouring from every fiber of his being. His black eyes leered at them, mocking them.

'We are forsaken.' thought Link with a chill, for what other explanation could there be. They were forsaken at the moment of their salvation. The Gods had abandoned them to this hell, and this demon before them.

"You have been naughty, naughty children." said the man, wagging his finger at them. "And your trying to escape is most unfabulous and ugly. What am I going to do with you?" he said clucking his tongue.

Link felt tears brim in his eyes. They had failed. Somehow or other they had failed, and this, for lack of a better term, man had gotten wind of their bid for freedom. Now they were doomed. An unending sea of hard labor, empty stomachs, and the lashes of the whip lay before him. But that wasn't what had truly upset him. Here, you were told how to do everything. When to rest, when to work, when to eat, nothing was up to you. Everything was decided for you, everything was ordained for you. Hell, they even told you when to piss. That wasn't living, it was existing. Living was being able to decided what to do and when. Being able to eat and sleep when you chose, that was living.

Suddenly, a ray of life had broken through the curtain of despair that his existence had become. A glorious chance to escape this drudgery and misery, a chance to be free. To be free to live and die as he chose. A chance to be a free man, a chance to do as he pleased. And now, it had been brutally ripped from him in a single harsh tug. And it was making Link mad.

Very, very mad.

"Oh children," said Ghirahim, his smile twisting into an ugly grimace. "you're just like un-potty trained mongrels." he sneered. "You need to be broken and repaired, again and again until you understand the way of things. It's the only way you get messages through those thick little melons you call skulls. It's unfabulous work, but someone must do it." said Ghirahim with a shrug and a sigh. "All that remains is how to do it." he said, his sick grim returning with a vengeance.

Fear crept into Link's heart like a demonic parasite. What punishment did this whack-job have in store for them? What brutal horrors would he subject them to as a consequence for running. Link looked at each of his friends and felt fear for them well in his heart. Jellal, who's inner fire had inspired him with it's courage and strength. Sho, who's innocent cleverness had given them all too brief moments of light in the darkness. Milliana, who gave them the comfort and kindness of a little sister, much like the one he had lost. Simon, the quiet and steadfast boy who had become their rock. Wally, dear Wally who's pranks could light up anyone's face with a smile and a laugh. Erick, who had become the brother he had always wanted and so desperately needed in this time. And Erza, sweet, kind, compassionate Erza. Erza, the one link he had left to the life he had once had. Erza, who had become his guiding light and had weasled her way into his heart in a way he did not truly understand.

He loved them all so dearly, so deeply that it hurt. They were his friends, his comrades, his strength. They were the source of his faith, the people whom he had come to love from the bottom of his heart.

They were his family.

In that moment Link knew he could not simply let them suffer. He could not stand idly by while this... this... this evil piece of shit hurt them! In that moment he knew finally what his answer to Jellal's challenge was. In that moment his courage shone through, and his love conquered his anger, and his heart conquered his fear. The Fire of Faith roared to life in his chest and his courage reared back it's head and roared like a lion in defiance.

Before he could stop himself, before his courage gave out, he stood. He held his head high, marched forward, and looked Ghirahim directly in his lifeless eyes. "Don't punish them!" he cried. "I planned all of this, I forced them to come along, I did it all! They had nothing to do with anything! It was me! ALL ME!"

"Link, no!" cried Jellal.

"It was me." he said firmly trying to squelch his fear of the pale man before him. "I forced them to come with me, so punish me, not them." he said, fighting back the horrified shiver of fear going up his spine.

Jellal was aghast. Not only had the plan failed, but now Link was trying to take the punishment himself, trying to protect them from the pale man's wrath. Jellal couldn't believe that his friend was doing this. Doing something so unbelievably brave and insane on their account. Jellal looked at the others, saw the fear in their eyes. He knew that Link was trying to protect them, trying to keep them alive.

But Jellal knew he couldn't stand back and let his friend do this alone. He couldn't let Link face the tide of evil alone. He couldn't lie down and let Link take the pain alone.

He didn't have it in him to die like a coward.

"He's lying!" cried Jellal walking forward, anger in his eyes and defiance blazing from his body like heat off of the sun. "It was him and me! We forced the others to come with us, so punish both of us!" he declared standing beside his alarmed friend.

"Jellal..." said Link, horror in his eyes. "Don't."

Jellal turned to his friend. "We do this together." he said firmly. "You and me... brother." he said grinning.

Link nodded. "Together." he said finally.

Ghirahim's eyes went through a rapid metamorphosis of emotions. First came surprise, then amusement, the confusion, then finally recognition. He knew that he knew the little blonde boy, he just couldn't place where. The face, the eyes, the demeanor, everything about the child was hauntingly familiar. It was only when his friend came forward that he understood, for when the blonde boy was joined by Jellal a light so powerful and intense shone from the blonde's soul that Ghirahim knew instantly who the child was. For he could be none other.

When this finally registered to Ghirahim he began to chuckle, a low dark chuckle that was reminiscent of a hyena's cackle. it slowly began to grow, gaining strength and power with every passing second. It continued to echo forth until it boomed out with the force of a thunder clap.

"HA HA HA HA HA!" he cackled. The soldiers behind him began to shiver slightly, knowing full well that when the Prophet laughed like that nothing good came of it. It was the laugh he sounded when he was about to inflict some sort of sick atrocity or had reached something he wanted. Either way, when that laugh came out it was never good, not for anyone involved.

Link and Jellal were thoroughly alarmed by this turn of events. Both had anticipated some sort of reaction from the pale man, but this was not one they had thought of. All they knew was that their antagonizer was looming over them, smirking and laughing at their defiance. Link felt frightened by this, but Jellal was mad. It was like they weren't worthy of true recognition, worthy only of mocking.

Finally Ghirahim's laughter subsided, and he looked down at the two boys, amusement in his eyes. "Oh dear me, you have no idea how amusing this is. Here I have been searching for you for months and at last you deliver yourself up to me like a Christmas turkey." He leered down at them, his grin splitting his face in half. "It has been a while... Link."

Link felt the blood leave his face and his courage weaken. "H-how do you know my name?" said Link.

"Oh dear me little Link, we know each other so well. We have such a fabulous history together." he said walking forward a couple steps. Link backed up as Ghirahim approached, his valor leaving him. How could he have been so stupid as to challenge this creature, this demon. This was no mage, this was a monster vomited up from the depths of Hell. A being of unspeakable malice and evil. "Our fates have been intertwined since the dawn of Time little one, since Time, and beyond."

"I- I don't understand." said Link in a nervous tone.

Ghirahim let out a dark chuckle. "You will little one, in due time." He leered down at Link. "With every turn of the Wheel of Time our fates have been tied closer. And you will learn the truth of it soon enough." The pale man turned to his guards. "Men, take our little blonde Hero to my office. As for the rest of them..." he turned to the group with a critical eye. The others had huddled together in a tight bundle as though it offered some sort of protection from the nightmarish man before them. "Take that one," he said pointing at Erick, "to the Laboratory. Doctor Sherrick can use him for the little "project" he's been working on. And take the red-head to the Tank."

"Wait! No! They had nothing to do with this!" cried Link.

"Yeah! Don't punish them, punish us!" yelled Jellal. Both boys felt the dread in their hearts growing. Why were Erick and Erza being punished? Why single them out?

Ghirahim turned his sadistic smile onto the two of them. "Oh but if I were to simply punish you two then you wouldn't really be punished now would you? No, your friends need to pay the price as well."

"You... you inhuman freak!" screamed Jellal.

"What are you, my driver's license?" sneered Ghirahim with a chuckle. the pale man turned to his guards. "Take them away, while strut away fabulously." And strut away he did.

'Dammit that's fabulous!' thought Wally furiously.

"FUCK YOU!" screamed Erick as the two guards muscled him into the room. When the guards had gone for him to this so-called Lab for whatever sick and inhuman experiment they were planning he had had a choice to make. Either he could be led away meekly or he could fight tooth and nail and make the bastards suffer for what they were doing. The choice had been obvious, at least to his mind, which was why one guard had a black eye and cut lip and the other's balls were still tender from no less than three consecutive kicks.

"God dammit you little freak, stop struggling." snarled one guard as he and the other guard dragged him through the doorway.

"Never you pieces of horse shit! Go and fuck your mothers a little more you inbred cocksuckers!" he screamed at his two captors. With those words off of his lips Erick spat in both of their faces, his lips curling into a defiant sneer.

The room they had taken Erick to was a rather large and sprawling thing. While the rest of the tower was made of stone, this one seemed to be covered in a layer of stainless steel creating a warped reflecting effect. The room was rimmed with counters, each one holding a variety of test tubes, vials, and jars holding preserved organs floating in some unknown liquid that Erick didn't wat to go near. The air stunk of chemicals and the unmistakable metallic scent of blood.

Three lab tables were spaced throughout the room, two being occupied. The closest one held a small female child, a dead one. At least Erick hoped that she was dead for her own sake. He'd hate to think that she was. The other was occupied by a fully grown minotaur, and this one was very alive. The beast's chest had been cut open, it's ribcage forced open while it was very much awake and alive. the monster was screaming in pain, straining against it's magical bonds, while a little bald man in a white lab coat dug around in it's insides.

"No..." whispered Erick, his eyes widening in horror as he saw he was being taken to the empty table. "NO! FUCKING HELL NO!" he screamed in terror instead of defiance. He renewed his struggle, straining against the guard's grip.

"God dammit you little brat. SHUT! UP!" screamed one of the guards as he grabbed at his neck.

Quick as lightning, Cubellios shot from Erick's shirt, sinking her jaws into the guard's offending hand. The effect was quite immediate as the highly potent venom entered the guard's bloodstream. The unfortunate guard screamed in pain and yanked his hand away from Erick, Cubellios still hanging on. The guard yanked Cubellios off and hurled her against the wall, clutching his bitten hand to his chest. Cubellios hit the wall hard, and fell to the ground with a hard thud.

She twitched once, then was still.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed Erick in despair. He threw his weight from his captor as hard as he could, trying vainly to wrench himself away from the man. The guard growled in frustration and grabbed Erick up by his waist and carried him to the lab table, "Let me go you piece of shit! CUBELLIOS!" he screamed out as the guard pinned him to the smooth steel table. "CUBELLIOS! LET ME GO! THAT'S MY FRIEND!"

The other guard, the one that Cubellios bit marched over and bound his hands and legs with magic. "Little shit." snarled the guard. "I hope this hurts you little bastard." he spat on Erick as he placed a note on the table beneath Erick's feet. The two men walked away, leaving Erick alone with the screaming minotaur and the little man digging through the beast's stomach and intestines.

Unable to yell anymore, Erick merely lay there crying to himself. He wasn't sure how long he lay there, but it seemed like an eternity against the cold metal and the feelings of despair and grief that clouded his thoughts. Gods knew what was happening to Link and Erza now, he could only imagine that they were undergoing similar fates. He swallowed to himself, doing his best to choke back the tears to keep from sobbing.

With a sudden wet snapping sound the screaming of the minotaur stopped. Erick glanced over to it, alarmed by the sudden change in volume. He nearly vomited in horror when he saw the bull-like head twisted at an unnatural angle, it's death apparent in it's glassy, lifeless eyes.

The little bald man who had done the snapping pulled of his blood-stained gloves nodding to himself. "Most interesting." he said adjusting his goggle-like glasses. He glanced over at Erick and smiled a creepily pleasant smile. "Ah, you must be my new subject. Well my name is Dr. Valerdous Sherrick. We will be getting to know each other very well while you're here, and I expect you to be cooperative."

"Fuck you." snapped Erick between sobs, trying his best to sound intimidating. He wasn't doing a very good job of it given the amused look on Sherrick's face.

"So, you're going to be one of those patients are you? Good, I detest boring patients." he said with a chuckle. Sherrick walked over to the table and picked up the note left by the two guards. He read it over quickly, and a smile came over his face. "Ah, finally, one worthy of my greatest experiment!" he exclaimed, kissing the paper in glee. "Zeref bless you oh holy Prophet." Sherrick exclaimed. He turned to Erick and gave a grin that made the blood in his veins turn cold as ice. "You are about to become one lucky, not to mention very powerful, child." he said with a chuckle.

Fear overriding his senses, Erick mindlessly struggled against his bonds. Using every muscle in his small body he attempted to wrench himself free of the table. He had no success, but didn't stop trying. Every instinct in his body screamed at him to run for his life, and he wasn't in a state to listen to any higher cognitive functions.

While Erick struggled, Sherrick waltzed over to one of the counters, whistling merrily to himself. He crouched down as he pulled on a one-inch thick set of rubber gloves. He pulled open a cupboard and gingerly reached in and removed the object from within.

It was a box of rowan wood, about two feet wide and one foot long. Locked shut with a small golden lock the wood was covered with slightly glowing runes of warding, runes meant for sealing objects of great power.

Sherrick held the box in front of him like he was carrying a bomb with a lit fuse. He slowly walked over to where Erick lay who had stopped struggling out of sheer exhaustion. His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as he saw the box. "What the Hell is that?" he demanded. When Sherrick didn't respond he demanded again. "What the fuck is in that thing you senile fuck! Answer me!" he cried.

Sherrick gingerly placed the box on the table and smiled down at Erick. "Now boy, this is going to hurt a little bit."

"WHAT THE FUCK IS IT!" screamed Erick.

Sherrick undid the lock and opened the box, careful to keep his face from over the opened containment unit. He stuck both his hands in, and gently took something out of it, careful not to make any sudden movements.

Erick was confused by the sight of the object. It was a small orb, about the size of a softball. It was filled with swirling colors of richest crimson, and purple so dark it could have been mistaken for black. Hushed whispers emanated from the orb, like demons offering deal on your soul. A strange sort of malevolence seemed to radiate from it like heat off of the sun, and the sight of it sent a shock of fear up Erick's spine.

"Now boy," said Sherrick, "this is Lacrima, pure magical energy. But it is very special Lacrima. And you get every bit of it."

Erick shook his head furiously. "I- I don't want it." he said in a terrified tone.

Sherrick clucked his tongue. "Oh poor boy, you don't get a choice in the matter." and with those words he brought the orb to Erick's chest, and gently placed it over his solar plexus. Where it touched him through his thin rag of a shirt it felt not cold, but warm. Warm like red blood freshly spilled.

"Boy, this is going to be like jumping into the ocean on a cold day." said Sherrick in a patronizing voice, "It will hurt a bit at first, but then it will be fun." he smiled down at him. "And if this works, you will become a warrior of legend," with that he leaned over Erick and grinned down at him, "You will become, a Dragon Slayer." With those words he pushed the Lacrima down into his chest and it slowly began to enter Erick's body, passing through his skin like a ghost.

Erick screamed in agony, the sound tearing through his vocal chords like a tempest. The scream was long and unending, trumpeting forth in an unending cacophony. The pain was intense, worse than a thousand lashings and a thousand beatings put together. It spread to every corner of his body, fast like a cancer. His body thrashed about involuntarily, seeking relief from the pain. Colors swam before Erick's vision, dancing about and twirling in the air. The world spun and soon all sensation was lost except for the pain.

As the Lacrima entered his body, Erick was dimly aware of something changing. The deeper the Lacrima got, the deeper his scream became. As it went further and further into his chest his voice went from shrill terror to a deep, savage vibration. When at last the damned Lacrima was done, his voice had completely changed. No longer was it a scream for help, a scream of pain. It was a cry of rage, of vengeance, of hate. A roar that echoed forth from his soul, booming with the force of a thousand thunder claps.

It had become a dragon's roar.

The world went black, and he knew no more.

Link was dragged into a spacious room and the door slammed shut behind him. For a moment he lay there, indulging in his misery for a single moment. Allowing his despair to wash over him like a wet blanket. He felt like a hundred anvils had been tied to him, weighing him down. Oh he was tired, so tired. He longed for nothing more than to let it keep him there, to simply give up and allow the despair, the pain, the failure to win. He wanted so badly to give in, to stop fighting, to simply let the world overtake him.

But no, in his heart he knew he could not. He had to stand and press forward. It was his responsibility, his burden to continue. Maybe he would live, maybe he could even save his friends. But if he wanted a single chance, he had to stand up and fight.

So stand up he did. He stood and drew his arms around himself in an attempt to ward off the chill in the room. He looked about the room, well hall was a better word, in order to assess his options.

The hall was about eighty feet long and thirty feet wide. A long red carpet stretched from the heavy oak double doors to the other end of the hall, which held a large cedar desk and high-backed chair that resembled a throne. Doric pillars lined the carpet, carved from white marble in sharp contrast to the obsidian stone that made up the rest of the hall. Between each pillar, attached to the wall, was a burning torch.

At the far end of the hall, opposite the double doors and behind the desk, was a massive floor-to-ceiling window through which one could see the stars and the moon in the darkened sky.

'Well, maybe I could break the glass and jump to freedom.' thought Link halfheartedly as he walked towards the window to get a closer look at it. Once he got there though he knew that it would be folly to jump out it, for the floor he was on was hundreds of feet above the ocean and if he jumped he was sure to be ripped apart by the force of landing on the water. And Link wasn't ready to commit suicide...

...yet.

"Enjoying the view are we little Hero?" asked the sneering voice of the pale man. Link whirled around to see the tall man emerge from the shadows like a wraith out of one of the stories of the heroes. With his presence the temperature in the room seemed to drastically decrease, almost as though it were afraid of him.

Almost as if his soul were as cold as ice.

"What do you want with me." said Link quietly.

"Just to speak for a brief moment." said Ghirahim soothingly in a false sweet voice, like poison in a sweet drink. "And based on that, we shall see how our relationship progresses, shall we?" he asked as he sat down behind his desk.

Link glared at Ghirahim, attempting to muster up some defiance, but it seemed that whatever effect he was having on the temperature was also affecting his courage, sapping it and draining it away like one would drain blood from a rabbit freshly killed. He nodded meekly and sat down in the chair across from Ghirahim, cursing himself for cowardice. 'I should run, make for the door. So why can't I.'

"So little one, we have so much to discuss." he said leaning over the desk, giving his sweet and dark smile. "What would you like to know?"

Link glared at him, trying to muster up what little courage remained in his heart to face the man, no, the demon before him. "What I want to know?" he echoed back in a hollow voice. What a ridiculous question, he had no say in anything hear, why would this interrogation be any different?

And why was the man prolonging the inevitable? He was going to die, why prolong the torture? Was it simply his sick desire to see Link suffer, or was it some deeper thing, some ancient grudge against him. Link could see something in his eyes, some dark brewing hatred thinly hidden by a veil of amusement. It was like the worlds' biggest typhoon hidden in a bottle.

And when the bottle broke.

"Oh my goodness gracious yes!" exclaimed Ghirahim clasping his hands together. "I'm sure you're simply brimming with questions my boy, you usually are when we meet." he clicked his tongue and shook his head. "Such a droll and unfabulous business this reincarnation affair is, so tiresome in my opinion."

Link's head shot up. "Reincarnation." he asked, the icy feeling of fear growing in his gut. The words sounded insane of course, but something in Link knew them to have a ring of truth to them. But it was nonsense, what would reincarnation have anything to do with him.

So why was he afraid.

Ghirahim grinned an unholy grin. "Oh yes, reincarnation. Tell me Link, what do you know of the Heroes of Old?" he asked.

"What I've read." he said quietly.

Ghirahim chuckled darkly. "Oh but it's more than that isn't it." he leaned towards Link, making the blonde feel very small. "You know the details don't you. You know the nuances, the little bits of the stories that escape the history books and the religious texts."

Link swallowed past a lump in his throat because it was true. Every bit of what Ghirahim was saying was true. Whenever his grandmother read to him of the Heroes of Old he always made corrections. He knew the order in which the Hero of Time awakened the Sages. He knew the pattern which the Hero of Twilight used to solve the puzzle which led to the Master Sword. He had never questioned it, never thought twice about it because it felt so natural. It was like knowing that he had a stomach, or knowing he could breath. He knew those stories, they were simply a part of him.

It had never occurred to him to ask how he knew them so well.

"Oh yes, and I bet you dream as well." said Ghirahim interlacing his fingers. Link looked at him, alarm in his eyes. "Oh yes, vivid dreams. Dreams of fighting monsters, dreams of loving women, dreams of death. Oh yes, many dreams." Link said nothing, merely looked at him like a deer caught in the headlights. The fear in his gut growing like a virus. "Just nod, a simple little nod will do." said Ghirahim.

"How... how could you possibly..." said Link.

"Because we've met before Link." said Ghirahim. "Many times in one form or another." the pale man's expression grew dark. "The last time we met you stabbed me in the heart and flashed me a peace sign as I returned to the Underworld."

"How... how..." stuttered Link, fear filling him to the brim, it's icy touch infecting every part of him.

Ghirahim glowered at him, rising from his chair. Gone was the amusement, and in it's place was a sinister and terrible rage as old and dark as anything Link had ever seen before. "Is it not obvious you stupid little hick. Did you never once pay attention to those silly little stories you know so much about? Is it not abundantly clear you idiotic scamp." he snarled, anger radiating from him. When Link didn't respond Ghirahim slammed his hands on the table, the cords in his neck standing out. "YOU ARE THE HERO REBORN YOU LITTLE MORON!" he screamed at Link.

With those words the fear in Link's gut boiled over and he made a break for it, running for the door. It all was too much for him, the anger in Ghirahim, his intimidating presence, even his eyes had proven too much for Link. He had to run, to get out of this place. The primal, reptilian part of his brain had kicked in, and all he knew was running. It was his only option, to run for his life.

He was close to the door, so close, when the unthinkable happened. In a flash of orange and black Ghirahim teleported in front of him, arms crossed over his chest. Link skidded to a stop, his eyes huge with fear.

Ghirahim looked down on Link with contempt. "Pathetic." he said simply, and backhanded Link across the jaw. Link was sent flying with a audible crack, and he landed hard on the stone floor, felling his jaw burning in pain.

He was dimly aware of Ghirahim marching over to him as tears coursed down his face. "You may be the Hero, but you lack his Heart. Don't worry, you will be put out of your misery soon."

Link faded out of consciousness, despair overtaking his senses.

It was white, the world was all white. It appeared as though it were a world made of mist. It drifted everywhere, blown by some unseen and unfelt breeze.

He stirred in the mist, slowly awakening after years of slumber. Every fiber of his being sang the truth, the holy and sacred truth that he knew in the depths of his soul.

"It is time." he said to himself.

Indeed, it was time. After a thousand years, it was time.

AN: Alright, if I had put this entire part into one chapter it would have been like twelve thousand words long, so I'm dividing it into two. In the next chapter shit REALLY hits the fan so stay tuned.

REVIEW! PLEASE! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!

Please guys, I'm an artist, don't make me beg. REVIEW!