The remaining members of the Eighth had returned to their Fire Cathedral and quickly dispersed leaving their frusrated, worried, and irate Captain alone in the garage.

"Dammit!" Akitaru Ōbi bellowed, slamming his fist into the concrete wall leaving behind a fist sized crater.

Shinra was left at Company Six, still unconscious and in critical condition. The boy is stubborn as hell and has too many reasons to live to die. He needed to get his brother, and now his girlfriend, back from the White Clads. He is quite safe in the capable hands of their Captain Dr. Kayoko Huang, but Akitaru Ōbi will worry just the same.

Phoenix had been left behind in the Nether with the White Clads. They had no choice. Not only had it been necessary to get Shinra out of there fast, Phoenix had been transformed into - something. At least she was still alive. But they had no idea what she had become or if deep down she was still the same Phoenix they knew.

Vulcan chose to stay behind at the hospital as well to be near Lisa. At least they had been able to save her from the White Clads. Hopefully she would be able to regain her mental and emotional health from the years of abuse and brainwashing the crazy cultists subjected her to. It would be a long hard road but Vulcan would be there for her every step of the way.

Akitaru Ōbi had lost several members of his crew in one day. Their being out of commission was a major blow to their company manpower wise. Considering his personal relationship with his subordinates, he found it positively devastating on an emotional level.

"How the hell did they get their hands on Phoenix in the first place?" he mumbled, punching the poor unsuspecting wall again, removing another chunk of concrete that dislodged with a puff of dust and fell to the floor with a clunk.

He still needed to call Captain Burns and tell him what happened. Damn! How am I going to explain what happened to his daughter to him?

~\'/~

Viktor stood in the middle of his first floor office staring in disbelief at the disarray. Shards of glass from shattered beakers and test tubes littered the floor. Shiny medical instruments, contaminated and dirty, lay scattered on the tiles amid the bits of glass.

Her blood! He opened the small refrigerator under his desk. The tubes were still safe and unharmed inside where he left them. Although he had lost access to Phoenix herself, the most important specimen, at least he still had her blood to run experiments.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Viktor went to the windows he had left unlocked. On the sill of one he found scratch marks and flat indentations. It looked as if the kidnappers had slid a crowbar or some other flat object under the window to push it open.

Viktor nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard another dull thud from the garage as if a car had ran into the building. He gulped. He needed to tell Captain Ōbi about this. Lucky for him, the inept White Clads who abducted her had made quite a mess.

He was off the hook. He nearly fainted with relief. The seeming forced entry along with his office being in shambles would throw suspicion off of him and easily explain how the White Clads got their hands on her.

Captain Ōbi entered the building, slamming the door behind him. Viktor would swear the whole Cathedral shook. Gingerly backing up, being careful not to step on the glass or disturb the medical implements, he exited the room to stand in the hall.

Ōbi was red faced and sweating, his taut skin straining over his facial features. Viktor did not envy the man's next task of informing Phoenix's father of the debacle with the White Clads; how they had taken his daughter and achieved their goal of transforming her into their touted Avenging Angel.

"Hey, Captain," Viktor Licht called, fearful to disturb the incensed Captain about to walk into his office and make the important phone call.

"What, Licht?" he growled, casting the fluffy haired scientist a scathing glower. "This really isn't a good time for any of your nonsense."

"I know it isn't, Sir. But there's something you need to see," he said.

Licht sounded so serious, so lucid for once, Ōbi continued down the hallway to his office. The mad scientist kept a first floor office separate from his underground basement lair. None of them liked to go down there which was fine with Viktor.

Ōbi walked in, glancing all around. The glass crunched under his boots when he stepped into the middle of the room. The instruments clanged when accidentally he kicked them as he proceeded to the open window.

"How did they know she was here?" Captain Ōbi pondered aloud, examining the sill.

Viktor began to sweat. He had already guessed how the White Clads knew she would be alone and vulnerable when he saw Phoenix being held prisoner in the Nether. Apparently the White Clads still had dedicated members of their group acting as moles at Haijima. Those spies had gotten wind of the Haijima people coming to pick her up for further experiments, intercepted the men, then informed their comrades of her location.

More importantly, they knew she would be sedated and unattended. The White Clads finally had the opportunity they had been looking for. The feisty and combative Phoenix would be incapacitated, unable to defend herself. Therefore, she was an easy target who would fall prey to them at last after several failed attempts to get their hands on her.

And it was all his fault the White Clads finally succeeded in obtaining their Avenging Angel.

Viktor nervously glimpsed at the massive Captain looking around the room. The man's face was almost purple with rage. He swallowed several times in an attempt to dislodge the lump choking him. If that man found out what he did, he would be torn limb from limb.

Adding insult to metaphorical injury, Viktor had lost access to the most important scientific experiment of his life.

~\'/~

Phoenix had no idea where they were. She and Shō along with his comrades had ran through what seemed like miles and miles of underground tunnels. Pipes ran along the walls in some of the corridors and across the ceiling in others. The only light was an anemic yellow phosphorescence imparted by bulbs behind little cages attached to the walls at twenty foot intervals.

This place was like a sewer but cleaner with no standing water and no awful smells apart from the faint scent of burning wood and sulphur from the furnaces located in the occasional open cavernous spaces they ran through to get to yet another corridor.

She and Shō had been left in a damp and gloomy room. There was two sparse cots in the room sitting across from each other. Water trickled down the black stone walls. An eerie greenish flame burned on the torches held in metal holders mounted on the walls making the place look like a dungeon. Although there were no metal bars holding them captive, this place still felt distinctly like a prison. There was no where for them to go anyway.

Whatever their specific location and its name, there was no doubt in her mind they were officially in hell.

The other White Clads that had fled with them directed them to this open cell then immediately disappeared to go somewhere else. They most likely went to see the Evangelist to gloat about their success of acquiring their Avenging Angel.

They might be surprised by achieving their goal and are being forced to figure out what to do with her, and Shō Kusakabe for that matter. It was obvious something had changed in him after his encounter with his brother. The White Clads needed to plot their next move.

Phoenix held Shō's cloak around her tightly as she paced the small area. He gave her his cloak during their great escape when he noticed the flames around her body were dying and disappearing. She was grateful for the kind act that would prevent her from being naked.

Neither one of them had spoken a word to each other. Phoenix still did not know if she could speak. Her throat felt raw and sore as if it were still on fire.

Catching a quick glimpse of Shō as he sat on his cot, she noted the strange green light glimmering off of something on his chin. A tear. The tear fell and absorbed into the white apron he wore bearing the cross of the Knights of the Ashen Flame.

Shō's eyes were unfocused; his mind faraway going by the blank look in his eyes. His vermillion irises shone brightly, a fine sheen of tears covering them before they began to leak from the inner corners of his eyes. During his encounter with Shinra, he had cried when his wounded brother embraced him and spoke to him as they shared an Adolla Link.

Phoenix wondered what kind of memories he had seen. Had he revisited their childhood? Seen glimpses of his mother? Whatever he had relived, Shinra had gotten through to him.

Weary, achy, and frightened, Phoenix gave up the useless pacing and lay down on the other cot. She hoped the others would bring her some clothes when they returned since hers had been incinerated. Water would be good too.

Closing her eyes, she tried to take her mind off of her present pathetic state of being thirsty, naked, terrified, confused, and more vulnerable than she ever had been in her entire life - including her childhood. She formed a picture of Shinra in her head, avoiding thinking about how she had seen him last, mortally wounded and bleeding.

Please, be okay. You can't die. You can't leave me. I'll find a way back to you. I love you, Shinra, she thought, willing her words to reach him.

Phoenix. His voice spoke her name, echoing inside her mind.

There was a popping sound in her ears, then she found herself in a bright white space. She slowly turned in a circle seeing nothing but white around her. This must be one of those in between spaces, a separate plane of existence like the one where Shō had visited her. But this one was different than where he took her. She was naked but not cold here.

"Phoenix," Shinra said, his hand touching her shoulder.

She gasped and spun around to see him standing behind her. He was not wearing clothes either. Her eyes gravitated toward the sealed but still healing wound at the uppermost part of his abdomen. Her fingers shook as she extended her hand to touch the three inch long slit where the sword had impaled his body.

"That's going to leave one hell of a scar," she remarked, her eyes raising to meet his. "Seeing you here...does this mean you're alive?"

"I am," he confirmed, his hands reaching for her face.

Shinra cupped her jaw with both of his hands. His eyes held hers, memorizing their new pale blue color. His fingers pushing into her pure white hair, combing through the length to rest on her waist where the ends stopped.

"You look..." He paused, at a loss for words, his eyes skimming over her face and hair.

"Different, I know," she interrupted him, her eyes skipping back and forth between his. "But I haven't changed on the inside."

He smiled, a sweet, comforting smile which she really needed right now.

"I was going to say beautiful. You've changed on the outside, but you're definitely still you on the inside. I can see it," Shinra assured her, gazing deeply into her eyes to look straight through to her soul in order to see the truth for himself.

"I'm still me," Phoenix said, her eyes drifting closed as he lowered his face toward hers.

"I'm so glad," he whispered after their brief kiss. He pressed his forehead to hers in an affectionate gesture they often shared. "I don't know what I would have done if I lost you."

"I know exactly how you feel," she returned, spreading her fingers and pressing her palms flat to his chest.

Phoenix could feel his heart beating strong under her palm. Their heartbeats synced, connecting them despite the distance and circumstances separating them. They both recognized the love they knew so well in each other.

Shinra enclosed her shoulders, pulling her close to his body. She felt so warm, so real in his arms, as if they were really together and this wasn't all in his head. He kissed her forehead. He could feel her body shivering. Her fear filtered into him, filling him with a sense of dread.

"When I get out of this hospital, I'll find you. I'll save you and Shō both," he swore, embracing her tightly.

"I know. We'll be waiting," she rejoined, leaning her head back. "Kiss me and tell me you love me."

Shinra fitted his mouth to hers for a chaste kiss. His belly tumbled with apprehension. Another good-bye kiss. He did not want to leave her, but he had no choice.

"I love you," he whispered, keeping his eyes closed.

"I love you too," she rejoined.

Then the beautiful lucid dream was over for the both of them.

Phoenix awoke with a start. Her face felt wet. Had water been dripping onto her? The little bed was located awfully close to the wall. But no. There is a far simpler explanation for her damp cheeks and burning eyes. She had been crying.

"Are you all right?" Shō asked her.

"I'm fine," she croaked, surprising herself. At least she could finally talk again. She strained to swallow, but her sore, sticky throat made it difficult.

"Did you see Shinra through an Adolla Link?" he questioned her.

Phoenix glared at him as if he had eavesdropping on her while she was having a private conversation. This excessive inquisitiveness is very much not like him.

"You were calling out his name in your sleep," Shō said to explain himself.

Phoenix closed her eyes to recall Shinra's face and the sound of his voice.

After a few minutes of a very awkward silence, he asked, "So he's going to live?"

"Yes," she answered curtly.

"Good," he sighed, laying down on the cot and closing his eyes.

Shō's genuine concern and relief took her by surprise. The thick layer of ice around the little Commander's heart seems to have melted. Her eyes opened to see him curled into the fetal position on the cot.

"What did you see when the two of you formed your Link?" Phoenix asked, doubting he would actually answer.

Shō did not open his eyes. For several long minutes he said nothing. All that could be heard was the steady and annoying drip of water. When he inhaled, her ears perked up.

"I saw how Shinra suffered because everyone blamed him for our mother's death...and mine as well. They called him a devil."

Shō paused, the drip echoing.

"Shinra never once believed I was dead. He never gave up on me," Shō murmured, marveling at his brother's tenacious belief that he somehow survived the fire. "I saw our mother. We looked so happy back then. We were a family. I saw..."

He stopped speaking again to inhale a shaky breath. He opened his eyes to meet hers.

"I saw how much my brother loved me."

Did he just call Shinra his brother and mean it?, she wondered, doubting her own hearing.

Another tear trickled from Shō's eye, but he did not bother to try to wipe it away.

Phoenix blinked rapidly to hold back her own tears. She closed her eyes in hopes that would hold them at bay.

"I saw another memory. I was a baby. The wind blew a newspaper over my face. I was so scared. I screamed and cried. But Shinra was there. He promised me then he would always come running to save me when I called for him," Shō said, pausing to take another deep breath. "Shinra saved me from the darkness once. And he will do it again."

~\'/~

Akitaru Ōbi stared at the phone sitting on his desk as if it were a lethal object. He had worked out, taken a shower, drank a beer, eaten dinner, then drank another beer. He had procrastinated as long as he could. Picking up the receiver, he dialed.

"I need to speak to Captain Burns immediately," he gruffly told the woman with the nasally voice who answered. Before she could reject his call, he added, "It's about his daughter. It's an emergency."

"Just a minute, Sir."

Seconds later, Burns was on the phone.

"What happened, Ōbi?" he asked, his voice tense with worry.

Akitaru gritted his teeth, inhaling deeply.

"They have her, Burns. The Knights of the Ashen Flame have her," he blurted. There was no way to soften the blow. "They turned her into..."

His words trailed off. How does he explain her transformation? Despite seeing it happen himself, he had no idea what the hell he saw.

"Their Avenging Angel?" Captain Burns helpfully filled in the blank.

"Yeah. How did you know?"

Although confused, Ōbi felt relieved Burns knew about the whole Angel thing since he had no clue how to clarify something he did not understand himself. He was also glad the man did not go ballistic like he had been assuming he would. It had been difficult to control his temper, and he isn't even her father, only her Captain.

"Phoenix discussed it with me," Burns admitted. "She tried to tell me..."

Burns' words died away so Ōbi thought he lost the connection.

"She tried to talk to me about how scared she was, but I wouldn't listen," Burns confessed guiltily. "What do you mean she's changed?"

"The commander of the White Clads ran her through with his sword, but it didn't kill her. Her flames changed color, becoming white and blue. It's like they burned away what used to be her...at least on the outside. Her hair turned white, and her eyes became a clear blue," Ōbi said.

The Avenging Angel will be found when that person is baptized by fire. When their human shell is burned away to reveal their true celestial identity. Burns' own words came back to haunt him. He held his heavy head in his hands.

"Dammit," grumbled Leonard Burns. "But she's alive?"

"Yeah, she's alive," affirmed Ōbi.

"Did she change in any other way?" the distraught father asked.

"I don't know. She never spoke to us." He audibly gulped to clear the emotions clogging his throat. "Then she was gone." After a long pause, Ōbi asked, "Burns, do you know what the hell is going here? Can you explain to me what happened to her?"

"I have an idea. But you're going to have a hard time believing it," he warned his fellow Captain. He leaned back in chair, inhaling and exhaling a deep breath. "I just can't believe those crazed religious zealots were right."

Right then Ōbi knew he was going to be in for quite a story. "Hold on a second. Let me grab a beer."

"You're going to need it," Burns said. Although he indulged in the occasional glass of wine, he was not really a drinker. Tonight would be an exception though. "I think I"ll grab a drink myself."

The Avenging Angel, the harbinger of demise, the right hand of destruction of the Evangelist. The Angel would announce to the coming doom before igniting the Eight Pillars to set the world ablaze for the Second Cataclysm. Then the Evangelist will purify the earth, ridding it of the human infection.

Once Burns gave Ōbi the quick overview of the Knights of the Ashen Flame's beliefs about the Avenging Angel, he refilled his glass with wine and waited for questions. When there were none, he went on to tell him the same thing he told his daughter when she had come to him with her concerns seeking his help. He regretted dismissing her so quickly.

"Honestly, Phoenix was nothing more than an accidental success in the lab giving the Knights this mythical Angel they so desperately believed in," he said, swirling the wine in his glass.

"You know all this because...?" Ōbi questioned him.

Leonard Burns guzzled the entire glass of wine. "Because her mother was among their believers. She was a Knight of the Ashen Flame."

"That explains so much. Shit."

"Yep. We're in it deep."

"We have to save her," Ōbi said despite the obviousness of his statement. "We also need to save Shō Kusakabe."

Burns nearly fell out of his chair. Before the wheeled office chair toppled over backwards, he put his feet on the floor and leaned forward.

"Shō Kusakabe is with the White Clads?" he inquired.

"Yeah. He's their Commander. He was the one who stabbed Phoenix. He's with her," Ōbi explained.

Leonard Burns clearly recalled the child being carried away by the Demon Infernal that was his mother. She took him to the Evangelist. He pressed his hand to his forehead.

"Ōbi, I need to go. I have another phone call to make," he said, hanging up the phone without waiting for a good-bye.

His head ached as a fog filled his brain. He called Dr. Kayoko Huang.

"He's going to live, but Shinra Kusakabe is still unconscious. There's no reason to come visit him yet," she said after he inquired about his condition.

"As soon as Shinra Kusakabe wakes up, please call me doctor," Captain Burns requested.

"I don't think you should - ."

"Dr. Huang, it's very important I speak with him," he stated sternly.

"Fine," she sighed in exasperation. "I'll let you know."

The doctor hung up abruptly so Burns dropped the receiver back down into its cradle.

He poured himself another glass of wine, already attempting to assimilate his thoughts as to what he would tell Shinra. He owed the young man a long overdue explanation of what really happened to his little brother twelve years ago.