I certainly took my sweet time with this chapter, in my opinion. Being busy at work and then sick for the better part of two weeks once again killed a lot of the enthusiasm I had to write this chapter, though I had the ideas planned out for weeks beforehand.
Begin!
Book I, Part IV: Mortal Conflict - Dissension in the Ranks
Chapter IX—What Lies Beneath
[Location Unknown]
"You failed."
Arragious shot a mildly-irritated look at the source of the childlike voice in the room with him, closing his eyes after a moment and taking a deep breath.
"I dispatched the one I intended to. That, to me, is the very opposite of failure."
"But you left that Grim Angel alive," the voice remarked, sounding rather critical of Arragious' actions. "Actually, you left them both alive. You should've taken care of both of them – I'm very disappointed, Arragious."
"My revenge is my own, and I'll handle it as I see fit. I helped you escape your fate; that doesn't mean I'll bend to your every whim merely for entertainment."
A pair of bright blue, childlike eyes narrowed, hardening enough to make the former leader of the Gilead Order resist the urge to flinch.
"Watch your tone, Nicholai. If it wasn't for my power, you'd still be stuck in the Ethereal Plane right now – playing with Xeios, most likely."
"I'll need your help to deal with Odin," Arragious stated, ignoring the biting statement, "if for no other reason than to prevent anyone's interference. I respect his skill in combat; taking him down will be difficult enough without his counterpart stepping in."
"You're scared," the voice said, a childish giggle following the statement that sent a chill down Arragious' spine despite himself. "Can't take on the Grand Master, so you want an adult to step in?"
"Fear and caution are two separate things," the Erudite calmly responded, not rising to the bait that his 'employer' offered. "As I said, it would be foolish to try and attack Odin with the Executor so near. One must play to their strengths as much as possible, and there is no sense in running into overwhelming odds when the playing field can be leveled. If I must put aside my pride to achieve that, then so be it."
"Suit yourself," his companion replied casually, waving one small, manicured hand in his direction dismissively. "This means, of course, that you'll do something for me in return."
"As you wish."
"Exactly. Don't forget who helped you get this far, Nicholai," the voice said, the eerily-smiling face of a young girl turning its attention to Arragious for a brief moment. Arragious held back the irritation that was building inside of him, instead offering a curt nod to his companion as he stood and made to leave.
"I wouldn't dream of it."
[July 8, 2152 | Trabia Garden, Third Floor, SeeD Commander's Office | 7:07 AM]
"This is Commander DeValle. How can I help you?"
"Commander DeValle, this is Dr. Juli Mizrahi from the Estharian Science and Technology Institute. How are you this morning?" a woman's voice said, the calm face of Odine's assistant appearing on Katanas' video screen.
"Just fine, doctor," Katanas responded, nodding. "I assume you're calling about the test results?"
"That is correct," Juli replied. "We ran a variety of tests on Mister Powell, and ran some of them twice to be on the safe side. With what you described, Dr. Odine wanted to err on the side of caution – among others, we ran two MRIs in order to check for any damage to the brain, as well as an electroencephalograph. I'm sending the results to your terminal now."
"It sounds as if you were rather thorough," Katanas said, satisfied. "Can you briefly explain the results? My knowledge of neuroscience is somewhat lacking, I'm afraid."
"Certainly. Nearly all of the tests we ran provided us with normal results. The MRIs, in particular, showed no neural damage, which assuaged some of our fears."
Katanas frowned, almost imperceptibly, as he took in the information. "I can't help but notice that you said 'nearly,' Dr. Mizrahi." Again, Mizrahi nodded, and her face took on a more concerned look as she spoke again.
"Again, you're correct. The EEG that we took showed some rather…unusual results. Among them, we saw a marked increase in beta waves, as well as a slight increase in theta waves."
"Would you explain why that is unusual?"
"Beta waves are a type of brain wave typically associated with alert and aware subjects. Before we began, as you informed us of Powell's use of a Guardian Force, we asked him to remove any Guardian Forces before any tests were undertaken. Keeping a Guardian Force active could, as shown by prior research, provide inaccurate testing results, especially for EEG readings. As Guardian Forces are sentient beings as well, they have their own measurable levels of brain wave activity."
"Which would interfere with the user's own brain waves?" Katanas asked.
"Precisely. The results, in such a case, would show a decided increase in certain types of brain waves, depending on the relative alertness level of the Guardian Force. With Powell, however, even after the removing of Guardian Forces, his EEG results showed a higher than normal level of beta waves."
"What does that say about Powell?" the SeeD Commander asked, suddenly very intrigued.
"I can only speculate, Commander – higher than normal brain activity could be caused by several things. High stress situations could trigger an increase in beta waves, perhaps. If what I've heard about SeeD is any indication, there is no shortage of stress in that line of work."
"That is certainly true," Katanas admitted, his voice lowering slightly. "And the theta waves that you mentioned? What about those?"
"Theta waves show up for a few more reasons than beta waves," Mizrahi explained. "Young children show high amounts of theta waves, as well as older children and adults who are drowsy or aroused. They also tend to spike when the person in question is trying to repress a response or an action."
"When they're trying to stop themselves from doing or saying something, you mean?"
"Correct. We saw a faint increase in theta waves during the test – he appeared to be very uncomfortable with some of the testing, however, particularly the MRIs. Odine and I both hypothesized that the spike could have been caused by anxiety."
"Do you think that is the case?"
"It's just a guess, Commander," Mizrahi said, shrugging over the video feed. "Once Odine arrives, I could have him give you his opinion."
"That would be good, yes," Katanas agreed. "When will he be in?"
"Around eight o'clock, I believe. Normally, he comes in at nine, but he's been engrossed in several projects recently on top of his normal lab work."
"If you would, see if he can spare a few minutes to speak with me once he arrives," Katanas stated. "I'll decide what to do once I have his opinion on the matter as well. Thank you for your time, Dr. Mizrahi – both yours and Dr. Odine's."
"I'm glad we were able to help, Commander DeValle," Juli stated, nodding respectfully. "I'll be sure to mention it to Dr. Odine when he arrives."
"Thank you," Katanas said again, watching as Mizrahi closed the video connection and leaving him alone with his thoughts. It seemed, now, that all he could do was remain patient until he could speak with Odine and determine his next move.
[Ethereal Plane, Upper Court, Palace of Creation, Freya's Chamber]
"My forces are sweeping the Upper Court now, milady. If the Exile is present, he will be found."
Odin's imposing stature stood in front of the Creator's throne, fully clad in his thick obsidian and bronze-colored plate armor. Nearby, Freya's other adviser stood calmly and quietly, Xeios' white robes blending with the pearlescent white color of the room around them.
"These unprovoked attacks upon Master Hirota and Praetor Minami are worrying," Freya replied. "If the Exile has returned for revenge, he has found an easier beginning to that vengeance than I had hoped."
"He will be found," Odin repeated, his voice rising. "On my honor, I swear it."
"Arragious' sudden return is…troubling," Xeios commented, speaking for the first time during the meeting. "Why now, of all times? The war ended six centuries ago – one would believe that he would have chosen revenge centuries before now, if that were truly his aim."
"You suspect an alternate purpose to his return?" the Creator questioned, turning her attention to Xeios.
"I do," the white-clad mage remarked calmly, not betraying his inward worry. "We Erudite are long-lived, that is true, but even we follow impulses, emotion…direction. As I mentioned, I believe that Arragious would have acted sooner if revenge were his real motivation; his emotions should have either cooled or festered over time in that regard, pushing him to either act quickly or not at all."
"Your words have merit, Executor. What do you believe Arragious is after, if not vengeance?"
"I do not know," Xeios admitted. "Even during the Gilead Order's existence, Nicholai's emotions were as reading a book with no words – merely empty pages to stare at, devoid of anything of value."
"Nicholai was always cunning," Odin added, nodding at Xeios' words, "and his actions here seem too direct. They are not the actions of the Captain-Commander that I watched for over a millennium."
"Vengeance can make people act against what rational thought and planning might dictate. Let us assume, for the moment, that he is acting on his vengeance. Master Hirota and Praetor Minami were both directly involved with the decision that led to his exile. Who, then, is left who also partook of that meeting?"
"Of the Masters and Praetors, none," the Executor stated, shaking his head. "With Hirota and Minami's passing, those eight who participated in that ancient meeting have all passed to Soul Society. However…"
"Yes?"
"The three of us, milady. We were also present, though I hardly feel it needs to be said."
"You think Arragious a fool enough to make an attempt on our lives?" Odin asked, his voice carrying a disbelieving tone. "Preposterous! Nicholai knows that engaging and defeating any one of us alone would be difficult, if not outright impossible! With the might of our forces behind us, even the former Captain-Commander would have no chance to achieve his revenge."
Xeios remained silent for several long seconds in the wake of Odin's statement before slowly nodding. "Perhaps you are correct," he said, looking between Odin and the Creator.
"You have something more to say?" Freya asked, noticing the hesitation in Xeios' voice.
"I merely think that something is beyond our sight in this situation," the Executor responded. "Lord Odin, you said the words yourself – Nicholai's actions appear too direct for someone of his former station and experience."
"Attempting to breed in us a false sense of security?" Odin frowned. "A possibility, but one I still believe remote. As I said, Nicholai knows that even he cannot match our martial prowess."
"Alone, perhaps, but with help? How does that impact upon your assessment, Lord Odin?"
"You suspect traitors?" Odin asked, his voice lowering slightly as the weight of Xeios' implication fell upon him.
"Sympathizers," Xeios clarified, "but yes. Not everyone reacted well to Arragious' exile, though the general populace did clamber for his deposal. He had many who respected him highly even outside the Gilead Order."
"If any aided him in infiltrating our quarters and assassinating our leaders, they will be rooted out and made to answer for their crimes," the Grand Master stated with an air of finality and determination about his words.
"I understand Lady Inihara was wounded attempting to fend off Arragious when Praetor Minami was killed," Freya said, changing the subject at Odin's declaration. "Will she recover?"
"She will," Xeios answered with a nod. "Her injuries were painful, though only one was severe. I was informed that she was brought to our healers by, of all beings, Etchel Beoulve."
"Beoulve?" Odin asked, suddenly curious. "He was a member of the Order of Grim Angels along with Inihara, was he not?"
"He was."
"I vaguely remember him," Odin said, slowly nodding. "He left following the war, as memory serves, and took up his former position when the Order of Grim Angels reformed under Lord Sovereign Kuchiki's rule. Why return to the Ethereal Plane now?"
"He and Lady Inihara share quite the history, I am told," the Executor said, amusement flashing across his features. "If she is to be believed, he visits her quite often simply to keep in touch."
"I cannot imagine the Lord Sovereign would be pleased with his traipsing between planes as he pleases."
"Possibly. Given Etchel's…unique mannerisms, however, one would think that he may have some leniency from Lord Sovereign Kuchiki in this regard."
"That seems an accurate assessment," Odin grunted, nodding. "Perhaps the Lord Sovereign merely wants him ou -"
Odin found himself suddenly and rudely interrupted by the opening of the brilliant white doors of Freya's throne room. Xeios' eyes turned sharply towards the doors to be followed moments later by his own; only certain individuals ever entered Freya's throne room without prior announcement, whether by himself, Xeios, or one of the throne room guards. The Pillars of Reality and Freya's four current Planeswalkers were among those who exercised that right most frequently, and those Planeswalkers under her control generally only did so when important information needed to be shared.
"Six centuries, and this room has hardly changed at all," a voice spoke from the doorway, causing Odin's eyes to widen briefly in surprise.
"Arragious Nicholai. I must say, I am surprised to see you here – I was not aware that you had decided to so readily submit yourself to judgment," Odin stated, turning his full attention towards the Erudite.
"I've come for nothing of the sort," Arragious remarked, his eyes narrowing at the Grand Master's words. "To be brief, Lord Odin, I come to mark the third recipient of my vengeance."
"I was also not aware that you found any honor in suicide," Odin replied casually. "You walk in, alone, and challenge the three most powerful beings in this entire plane not alone, but together? Your tactical acumen has clearly deteriorated over the years, Nicholai."
Arragious seemed, if anything, unconcerned with Odin's remark as he stepped further inside the room, eyes moving between each of the three beings present in turn.
"Who says I came alone?"
Arragious let the implications of that statement sink in for a scant few seconds as he smiled, listening to the sound of the voice that filled the air inside the throne room moments later.
"There's no one else to blame for his anger, Freya. He's here, and he wants blood. Are you ready? I've been waiting for this, and it will be delightful."
The girlish voice that had spoken broke into giggling as she finished, causing both Odin and Xeios' eyes to widen at the sound.
"Perhaps you understand now why I am…unconcerned."
Whatever Odin intended to say was stopped as light briefly flashed around both himself and Arragious, fading away as quick as it had appeared to reveal the absence of both. Xeios immediately turned to Freya, expression thick with concern – both for Odin, as well as themselves. Freya's taciturn nature seemed to melt away as she stood, facing the Executor with a commanding presence about her form.
"Find her."
[July 8, 2152 | Trabia Garden, Front Concourse | 7:26 AM]
The sun was just beginning to rise as Yuna, Rikku, and Paine sat down at one of the outside tables within Trabia Garden's front outer concourse. It was much quieter than it had been the previous afternoon, with only a few cadets and other SeeD officers out and about at the early morning hour. Rikku and Paine were scheduled to leave at 8 AM sharp, and they had decided on 7:30 as a good meeting time to allow time to talk, say goodbyes, and make any last-minute preparations before they headed out to Galbadia Garden. They'd also decided to meet out in the front concourse, instead of at the Celsius – Rikku had said that she was going to miss the atmosphere, having seen pictures and video from Galbadia Garden, and Yuna and Paine had seen no reason to object to meeting out in the open, park-like area.
"Think he'll show?" Paine asked, glancing around the area for any sign of Ben.
"He'll be here," Yuna said firmly, nodding. "He promised."
Paine didn't say anything further, letting the matter drop as she watched the sunrise. Yuna had explained about the talk she'd had with him yesterday, and Paine had agreed that she had done the right thing by saying what she had. Yuna had her doubts, as almost anyone would after a discussion such as that, but still ultimately felt as if she'd been in the right. Rikku agreed with her a hundred percent, unwilling to let Yuna's doubts get in the way of something that she believed her cousin was right in having done.
Rikku herself had gotten over some doubts of her own, mostly pertaining to the things she'd said to Ben around three months ago. Just like Yuna, she'd felt that he had been too wrapped up in other problems and not thinking enough about not only her feelings, but everyone else's feelings as well. However, she would have picked her own time and place to talk to him about it…if not for Fayt's influence. The Pillar of Fate had exerted a kind of mental dominance over her shortly before that time, not explicitly controlling her but rather bending her will, making her more susceptible to suggestion and directing. Things she had meant to keep contained had come flooding out, and before she knew what was happening, she had said far more than she ever meant to say at the time, in quite a different manner than she had intended to say it. She'd spoken with him again, after things had quieted down more, but the damage had already been done – both of them knew that, and he'd made her promise to not feel like everything was her fault. After all, he'd told her, no matter the specifics of what had been said, she was right. He wasn't going to hold that against her, and she'd done her best to believe that she'd done the right thing in the end.
"There he is!" Yuna said, pointing out towards the direction of the front entrance to Garden itself. Rikku and Paine followed her gesture, and surely enough, the trio could see the slowly-approaching form of the Blade Knight, dressed in his more casual blue-and-white attire instead of his SeeD uniform. Yuna's smile turned a bit downward as he got closer, however; he looked somewhat haggard, as if he hadn't slept well, and it didn't take much for her to notice the dark circles under his eyes as he walked up to the table, even in the dim morning light. For just a moment, she wondered if he'd been up all night worrying about meeting them this morning, or if he'd been thinking about their talk. Quickly, she forced down the guilt her mind was telling her she should feel – it could've had nothing to do with her, for all she knew, and he had said himself that she was right when she called him to tell him about the meeting time.
Tired though he looked, Ben was still awake, and offered a short wave as he approached the trio of girls. Yuna waved back, as did Rikku, but Paine just nodded as he walked over and sat down at the larger table that they had decided to occupy.
"Morning," he said, looking towards each of the three in turn and offering a weary smile. Rikku and Paine each offered greetings, but Yuna reached over and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you feeling okay?" she asked, causing Ben to shrug.
"Just a rough night," he remarked, stifling a yawn with one hand before continuing. "You know how it goes sometimes." Yuna nodded, removing her hand and sitting back in her place at the table as Ben turned his attention to Rikku and Paine. "So, Galbadia, huh. How'd that happen?"
"Apparently, Commander DeValle wants Rikku to go through some special training," Paine replied. "I decided to come along to study combat tactics."
"Tactics? You couldn't do that here?" Ben queried, focusing on Paine.
"Galbadia's program appeals to me more," Paine answered. "Trabia puts a lot of focus on incorporating magic into tactics and planning. Galbadia deals solely with the philosophy of combat and battlefield tactics where magic isn't an issue – to them, magic is a luxury that can't replace a good weapon at your side."
"Point," he conceded. "What about you, Rikku? What kind of training are you going to be taking?"
"Stealth training, I think…it seems like they don't want me to know a lot about it just yet. Almost like that's part of the training," she answered.
"Stealth training, huh…sounds like a breeze for someone like you. Looks like you get to prove to a whole new world that you're a master thief," Ben said with a laugh.
"Well…I don't know about master…"
"Oh, come on, Rikku. You did manage to steal my heart, after all."
Rikku, despite herself, felt a faint flush sweep across her face at the words even as Yuna giggled quietly from beside her.
"It must be early, for me to say something like that…I sound like a bad romance novel," Ben said, chuckling. "Remind me to write my own lines from now on, okay?"
"I thought it was sweet!" Yuna interjected, enjoying the amusing mix of embarrassed pride and plain embarrassment that swept across Rikku's face.
"Anyway…so, you're leaving at 8?"
"Not a second late," Paine stated, nodding in confirmation. "We're heading to the train station between here and Esthar, which will take us on to Galbadia."
"I'm gonna miss you two, you know that?" he said, looking at Paine. "You were the one who kept everybody in line back on Spira, Paine. What am I gonna do without you to tell me I'm being an idiot?"
"You'll be fine," Paine said, without even a moment's hesitance. "After all, it was mostly Rikku I had to keep an eye on."
"Hey!"
"Speaking of Rikku," Ben mentioned, shifting his attention over to the blond girl, "she's the one who always makes us laugh when things are bad. Who am I gonna have to do that now? Tetsuya? He's not as good at it as you are."
"Like Paine said, you'll be fine," Rikku said cheerily, grinning and shooting a glance at the stoic woman beside her.
"Doesn't change the fact that I'm gonna miss you both. All that time we spent together…guess it just means I'm going to have to visit a lot, huh?"
"And bring Yunie, too!" Rikku added, throwing an arm around Yuna happily.
"You're…not going?" Ben asked, sounding rather surprised as he looked towards Yuna.
"I…finally decided that I'd be happier here. Rikku and Paine understand – we talked about it last night."
"You're sure?" he asked, sounding as if he couldn't quite believe that Yuna was willingly choosing not to go with her two friends. Yuna merely nodded in response.
"I'll be able to fly to Galbadia with the Celsius, after all – or you could bring me, like Rikku said."
"That's true." The Blade Knight shrugged briefly, letting an almost-awkward silence drift over those gathered before Paine suddenly decided to speak again.
"We should probably get going."
"So soon?" Ben questioned, standing from his place at the table. "Well…I guess you should go ahead and make a final check of things, stuff like that…"
"Yeah," Paine stated simply. "We'll be in touch – don't worry."
"Wouldn't dream of worrying," he replied with a smile as Paine stood, followed a moment after by Rikku and then Yuna. "You're more than capable of taking care of yourselves, after all." Quietly, he stepped over and put a hand on Paine's shoulder – he would've hugged her, but he knew Paine wasn't one for such things except in exceptional circumstances. "Just don't get too overconfident out there."
"You act like we're trainees from Bevelle," Paine commented, giving him a wry look. "We'll be fine."
He nodded in response, giving her a quick pat on the shoulder before stepping past her and over to Rikku. Neither said anything for several seconds, simply looking into each other's eyes as they each waited for the other to speak.
"Wish things could've been different," Ben finally said, breaking the silence. "That's life, though."
"Yeah," Rikku agreed. "It's never easy, is it?"
"It gets easier," he remarked, shrugging. "'With age comes experience,' or so the saying goes."
"You really think we could've changed things?"
"Who knows? Maybe we could've. Maybe it would've wound up the same, no matter what happened. If we spend all our time worrying, we'll never get anywhere."
"Maybe…"
Another moment of silence passed between the two before Ben pulled Rikku into a hug, smiling softly as the blond girl placed her head on his shoulder. Yuna and Paine watched as their two friends finally seemed to reconcile after weeks of seeming to avoid each other – that wasn't the case, both knew, but it had certainly seemed that way at first look. Content to see that feelings were finally mending, Paine started to step away, expecting Rikku to follow as soon as she could.
The scream from Yuna that echoed behind her stopped Paine dead in her tracks.
Instinctively, Paine spun back, unsure of just what to expect – had a fiend gotten through the gates or over the outside wall? No, she realized, taking in the scene that met her eyes…the truth was far more disturbing.
Yuna stood with a horrified expression, seemingly frozen and stunned to the point where she could do naught but stare.
Rikku was hunched over somewhat, one hand placed on her chest as she attempted to remove a knife lodged near her sternum.
And in front of Rikku, Ben stood with an unnerving smile etched across his face and his left hand covered in blood…Rikku's blood.
(Play: Hollowed – Shiro Sagisu, Bleach Original Soundtrack 3)
"I wonder if this hurts as much as your betrayal hurt me," he asked, his voice suddenly carrying no trace of the fatigue he had showed minutes before, his eyes clear and cold. "I felt it appropriate to make your departure a bit more…lasting."
Paine, despite the anger that bubbled up inside her almost instantly at the sight, felt her blood chill at the words – the look in his eyes was one that she'd never seen him hold before, one that was almost unnatural, almost like…
Yuna suddenly rushed to Rikku's side, snapping out of her trance, and Paine realized all at once what the look in his eyes was, as well as why it seemed so wrong on his face.
Bloodlust shimmered in the young swordsman's eyes as he moved his gaze to Paine, reaching to his side and drawing one of the blades there as wisps of jet black energy swirled around him.
For a moment, time seemed to freeze as Paine's hand slowly went to her blade. In the back of her mind, she hated what she was about to do. She hated the look in Ben's eyes as he smirked at the second-by-agonizing-second descent his ex-girlfriend – her friend – was making. She hated the quiet echoing sound that her drops of blood made as they hit the ground below her that she was sure that she could not normally hear.
She hated that she was seeing the hated expression that she had once seen on Nooj's face as he had shot his allies; his friends. She despised the fact that she didn't see this coming, because every warrior instinct in her told her that something was inherently wrong with Ben. She didn't know how it was possible that Ben was acting so similar to Nooj back then, but she hated it.
She hated the fact that tears had reached her eyes and she hated the subtle quiver in her hand as she unsheathed her blade. She hated the fact that her mind was clouded so much with rage. At that moment, she hated that Benji Powell was so weak as to let whatever had happened to him happen to him.
But mostly, she hated herself because she was sure that not for a moment had she questioned him when obviously he was so afflicted.
And in that moment, Paine Zaraki saw red.
"You son of a bitch!"
[July 8, 2152 | Trabia Garden, Third Floor, SeeD Commander's Office | 7:45 AM]
"Got a minute?"
Katanas looked up from his musings and saw Liam Bayloh leaning against his doorframe. To the side of him, Ein shrugged helplessly. Angel had that way about him, and Katanas couldn't help but smile; he nodded. "How can I help you, Colonel Bayloh? " Katanas asked, motioning for him to come in and close the door behind him.
Liam walked in, allowing the door to be shut behind him by Ein before taking a seat across the SeeD Commander. "Just curious if I can ask you about Ben Powell's status. I know you probably can't tell me, but he's a friend and I'm not sure it's wise to ask him now."
Katanas considered the matter for a moment. On one side, it was a violation of every protocol in the SeeD handbook. But, his suspicions had been aroused since he'd talked to Dr. Odine's office earlier, and he wasn't sure that talking to Angel about his unanswered questions was a bad idea. Nodding, he handed over a folder to the Colonel.
Carefully, Angel opened the folder, realizing as he did so just how large of a concession Katanas was making on his behalf. Inside were a myriad of papers, printouts, and what looked like medical scans and results that had been neatly sorted and filed within the folder. The topmost was a picture, the result of an MRI scan, with various notes scribbled onto the picture in handwriting Angel couldn't read – mostly because of how messy it was. He placed that aside and proceeded to the next paper, a series of notes typed up neatly and filling nearly the whole page. A quick skim of the page revealed that it was a group of notes and hypotheses made in regards to the MRI picture and results of another test, one which referenced only a few things he fully understood. The words "Guardian Force" stood out, however, and bits and pieces of his memory of lessons into the effects of Guardian Force usage slowly came back to him as he read over the document.
"Brain scan?" he asked Katanas, not taking his eyes off the paper as he continued to read.
"Correct," the SeeD Commander replied. "Apparently, they were very thorough in their testing. Worries about neural damage, it seems, were luckily unfounded."
"What's this about 'beta waves' and 'theta waves' in the report?" Angel asked, looking up from the sheet.
"Odine and his assistant reported that Powell had higher than normal levels of both those waves in his brain activity. As they explained to me, beta waves are associated with alert subjects, while theta waves are associated with a variety of things, including response or action repression – Guardian Forces have measurable levels of both of those while junctioned, as well. They apparently asked him to unjunction any Guardian Forces he was currently using, which he did, but there were still abnormally high levels of those waves present."
"Even without the GFs?"
"Even then, it seems."
"That doesn't make any sense," Angel said, shaking his head. "Those waves from a GF would show up on the test, right? If higher amounts of those waves are caused by having a GF junctioned, and he didn't, then…what does that leave?"
"Dr. Mizrahi – Dr. Odine's assistant – said that it could possibly be caused by high-stress situations. Just a hypothesis, you understand."
"Medical tests are high-stress situations?" Angel asked skeptically. "I think that's a little off the mark, don't you?"
"I was thinking the same," Katanas said with a nod. "This situation with Powell began after he confronted Destine in the Ethereal Plane. Rubedo said that he seemed to be normal, if extremely fatigued, once the battle was finished."
"Rubedo was there?"
"He was. While Powell confronted Destine, Rubedo dealt with one of her minions; I believe you had an encounter with the Daiesthai in question some time before, in fact, at the Sorceress Memorial."
Angel suddenly stopped, dropping the file he had been holding back into the folder. "Rubedo was fighting this Daiesthai, you said?"
"Correct."
"Obviously, Rubedo won," Angel said quietly, seeming to work through something in his mind. "Did he say what happened after he beat the Daiesthai?"
"I believe Rubedo's account says that he – the Daiesthai, I mean – vanished. Presumably, to Soul Society."
Both sat in silence for a moment, each going over the information they discussed. It didn't make any sense; a Guardian Force couldn't have been there…
…but a Daiesthai could.
Angel's eyes widened as pieces started to fit together. Almost as if he was following the train of thought that the elder Planeswalker was having, Katanas' eyes narrowed. Angel spoke first.
"Katanas, find Destine. How did I not see it sooner?"
Before Katanas could ask Angel to clarify, he'd Planewalked from his sitting position. Katanas quickly moved to the door and opened it. Ein glanced up from his desk, a look of curiosity in his eyes. Katanas nodded to him. "Keep an eye on things, Ein."
Without another word, he too Planeswalked.
Paine stumbled back, her thick blade shoved aside by the thin katana in Ben's hand as if it were hollow and weightless. She was still angry – furious, even – but that anger had given way to a deadly focus that she had relied on in the past. It was a focus she needed, as she also realized that she was in a fight she wasn't sure that she had the ability to win. Nevertheless, she had to try – Rikku was in no condition to defend herself, and Yuna was busy trying to save the life of her friend, who was on the ground and slipping further towards the point of no return as the seconds ticked away. Flame burst into existence around her blade, sloughing off into a rushing blaze as she swung at Ben, only to be negated near-instantly by a blast of magical water that parted as soon as the flames were extinguished, revealing a series of knives that hurtled towards her with pinpoint accuracy. A wave of pitch-black energy erupted from her blade as she quickly swung again in retaliation, surging forward and obliterating the knives as they flew.
Icicles suddenly burst from the ground under her, and she instinctively leapt away as the ground broke open beneath her in chunks to let the magical ice manifest. Even before she hit the ground again, Ben was closing to melee range, keeping up a fast and varied assault that left her little room to attack, instead forced to block or counter.
"You save the world, and yet you can't even swing a sword with any decency," the Blade Knight commented, sword swiping across again and leaving a trail of watery energy behind it. Paine's sword burst into flame a second time, flash-evaporating the water with the sudden and intense fire and kicking up a haze of steam around them as she batted the blade aside, lunging out with a quick thrust.
"Come on, Rikku…come on, stay awake…"
Rikku was having an increasingly-harder time focusing on Yuna's words, and the brown-haired girl knew it even as she fought to keep her friend conscious and stable. She didn't know entirely how bad the wound was, but she did know that there was far too much blood on the ground, on her hands, Rikku's clothes…everywhere. Already, the girl's SeeD uniform shirt was soaked through with blood, and Yuna's hands were covered in red as she kept pressure on the wound, trying to get the curative magic she was focusing on to work correctly. Whatever else the wound had done, it seemed to be keeping her magic from healing in its entirety; the process seemed sluggish and weak as opposed to the fluid healing process she was used to seeing from Cure magic.
Behind her, she could hear Paine fighting with Ben, trying to keep him occupied while she took care of Rikku. She still felt as much in mental shock as Rikku was in physical shock, and only the thoughts of what she needed to do kept her from locking up again.
A bolt of magic went off nearby as she continued focusing on the magic, blowing a hole in the dirt and showering her and Rikku with debris. She spared a glance back, seeing Paine standing in front of her to keep her safe, and redoubled her efforts to heal Rikku.
"Rikku!"
The loud sound of her voice seemed to bring Rikku around again, if only for a few seconds, and Yuna kept speaking, trying to keep Rikku focused on the sound of her voice until she was sure the wound wouldn't turn out to be fatal.
The flat of Paine's blade smashed solidly into Ben's ribcage, dazing him for the moment she needed in order to catch her breath and reorient herself. For all her skill, that had been the first meaningful blow she'd landed so far in the short fight. A throwing knife protruded from the lower part of her abdomen, and another from the upper part of her left leg, but neither wound was serious – she'd suffered through worse before, she knew.
"Lucky shot," he growled, holding one arm across his ribs as he pulled wind back into his lungs. "I guess without skill, you have to have something to help you."
Red energy suddenly flared up around him, and Paine had an instant to realize that she was in trouble right before Ben's form blurred and shot forward, the hilt end of his sword cracking her across the side of her face and sending her sprawling to the ground.
Paine went to bring her sword up, only to have one foot come down on it and pin it to the ground. In the next second, the blade of Ben's katana was pointed directly at her face, an amused grin on the face of the one holding it.
"Hm…this will hardly be any fun at all."
Ben suddenly disappeared from Paine's vision as something – someone – crashed into him from above, bowling him over and to the side, away from Paine and her friends. A brief glimpse as she took up her sword again revealed Angel grappling with Ben for his own blade, an interruption that she was eternally grateful for.
"Yeah – for you," Angel quipped, grabbing Ben by the front of his shirt with one hand and effortlessly lifting him into the air before throwing him away. He spared a look back at Paine and the rest as Ben slammed into the ground several meters away, thankful that his Planeswalk hadn't taken him too far off-target – just a couple feet in the air as opposed to on solid ground.
"Ensign Zaraki, get Ensigns Katsuragi and Kaname out of here; I'm counting on you to get them to safety. I'll handle things here." Paine began to say something to object to Angel's statement, but Angel cut her off before she could get the first word out. "Don't worry, Paine. I'll dish out enough vengeance for all three of you. You kept them safe, and I'll ensure this day won't be forgotten."
He turned his attention back to the person in front of him, who had yet to get back to his feet fully – apparently, the throw had been much stronger than he had intended. Unexpected, but it gave him time to take care of one more thing. Reaching into his pocket, he took out his GLD and clicked it on; in a few short words, he had sent a message informing the general populace of Garden that the front concourse was off limits by order of the SeeD Commander's office until further notice. Thankfully, it was still early enough that the concourse was effectively deserted in the general area – everyone was either in early morning classes, having breakfast, or waking up for morning activities or meetings.
"So, it's come to this?" Angel asked, watching as Ben finally made his way back to his feet and back towards his position.
"You always knew it would, vampire," he replied, his tone icy. "I was hoping you'd show up a few minutes earlier, though. I would have really liked you to have seen the look on Rikku's face as my knife entered her chest."
Angel's teeth gritted at the words, but he refused to rise to the bait; anger, no matter how deserved, wouldn't help him here. "This is your last chance; I won't hold back. We both know you've got a problem."
"We fought in Spira, didn't we?" Ben asked, starting to pace slowly in front of Angel while keeping his eyes trained on him all the while. "Maybe I want to finish that fight. Maybe I want to show you once and for all that I'm better, faster, and stronger than you."
Angel sighed, simply shaking his head as he watched. "Okay. Sorry for this, Ben."
No further words were spoken, by either Angel or Ben, as the Vayash Moru unsheathed the cerulean-colored blade from his back and charged into the fray.
Until next chapter...