Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ephemir gazed in wonderment down the long dark hall of the third story. An ancient feeling permeated throughout this place, bombarding Ephemir with memories of times before the Last War. How wonderful they had been. A particular memory held him longer than the rest, the memory of...

How I loved her. How I fought for her. I fought for her to live. Crystalline Mari. Oh Mari. Are you happy in Heaven?

Instantly, Ephemir recoiled into a corner and huddled there, shivering. What was that? What had happened? What was it about this place that...that made him think...

About her?

He rushed down the hall, fleeing from the memories that jumped at him from all sides. Flashes obscured his vision: of his blade slicing through necks and of a beautifully golden place he will never see again. An ocean. A bright, clear blue sky. Snowcapped mountains and emerald fields. Then the sky and the earth ripping open, vomiting black and white into the open air where they clashed and erupted and consumed the globe. Her. He saw her most of all, her image slicing his ripe heart open.

In his rush, he floated unknowingly into a room. He didn't stop to consider what caused the memories to stop. He fled to the darkest spot of the room and stooped there, covering his face with his hands. Stale tears traced the same lines down his battered, broken face and dropped uselessly onto the sheets of the large bed he had curled up on.

It was then that he noticed he was not alone and indeed, that he had found Hakuma quite by accident. But there was no rejoicing, no hope in his newly cut heart. He continued to sob tears that hadn't been seen, heard, or felt in centuries out of something entirely new to him: fear. How he wished that, if only for a moment, he would get some of the comfort that he had been graced with all of those years ago by the very person whose memory plagued him.

Mr. Hurzt approached the Dojo cautiously, even though he was being escorted by three of the Society's most top-notch guards: one on either side of him and one following behind. He knew how the Shiragiku functioned, and kept the emblem on his ring perfectly visible as they wove through the barren hills towards the place. Luckily, the setting sun sent sparkles of pink and orange light onto the ring and it glimmered openly on his hand, glaring against his dark suit.

"Wait here," he told the soldiers about a hundred yards away from the Dojo. "Don't follow me or else they'll kill us all."

The guards nodded obediently. They knew that one of two things would happen: the Shiragiku would accept him and welcome him and they would have to wait until he came back out, or they would kill him on the spot and they could return home. It's not hard to guess which one the guards both expected and hoped for.

Mr. Hurzt climbed the path up to the Dojo slowly and with both hands out in front of him, the ring's light dancing wildly.

"I'm here to meet with Hakuma. I'm Mr. Hurzt. I have no weapons." he announced. Unfortunately, this was his first time going directly to the source of the Dojo and though he did a good job hiding it, he was nearly peeing his pants.

Mr. Hurzt sat in the traditional japanese manner, both legs folded underneath him, and very erect. He was in the heart of the volcano, in the heat of it all. A sprinkling of nervous sweat sat on his brow.

"Hakuma-sama," he said, his voice shaking very slightly. "My new alliance with the Virulent Society is more beneficial than anything. I can sell you more food and more furs at a lesser price, and quicker too, as opposed to the months it took to obtain the items before. Do not question my loyalty to you sir. I am entirely faithful unto you."

"However," he continued somewhat warily. He felt the eyes of the soldiers crawling all over his face, his arms, his hands. They'd be on him in an instant if they saw so much as a suspicious twitch of his fingers. He gulped. Had this really been a good idea? "I have a favor to ask of you. You need not oblige it, but, you see, the Virulent Society has quite the informant by the name of Kirjio Merita. He's a crafty devil and I have no idea how he knew of the raid that was to commence tonight, but he did, and he threatened to inform informants of other gangs of it if I did not obtain from you..."

Here Mr. Hurzt hesitated. He thought of Matilda, safe in her manor, quite out of the frying pan and next to the pool, one might say. Oh how he wished he was there with here, watching the sky darken and night fall! And he'd heard a rumor somewhere that Hakuma was very opposed to genetic testing..

"I...Kirjio wishes for some...test subjects...test subjects...for genetic testing." he finished.

And it was then that he realized what Kirjio had planned all along.

He remembered what the b*****d said: "Tell them it's for genetic enhancements...I'm sure they'll find that interesting."

The tricky b*****d.

Upstairs, completely alone and ignorant of what was going on downstairs, Ephemir continued to shiver and cry. Hakuma had acknowledged him, yes, but he hardly even heard the words that sailed in his direction. Fear clouded his mind, pushing everything else out of the way, even his duty. Otherwise he would be spying on the conglomeration below, noting everything that happened. The being was so distraught that he could not move and would remain on Hakuma's bed until he returned.

This left Kirjio, still twisting and screaming and thrashing in agony, without hope to meet up with the correspondants of the other gangs that night and either confirm or abolish the truth of the raid. And so the correspondants would be in the dark about what to tell their gangs and their reputations would be besmirched. All the better for Kirjio, or else all the worse. She didn't care which one it would be at the time.

Luckily for her, the pain would lessen the longer Ephemir was gone. His body would adapt to the new distance. There would be the occasional throb the farther he got, but otherwise there would be no pain. That is, until he began to return. Then it would be searing pain all over again.

Kirjio tore a pillow in half and slashed at the storm of feathers. <******** you, Ephemir!" she screamed.

Ephemir felt Hakuma's fingers slide gently through his exposed back, for he wore little besides a flowing white sheet that draped about his waist and trailed to his ankles. The perpetually gaping wounds where wings should have been marred the otherwise flawless flesh. He was still curled on the bed, shivering, sobbing, when Hakuma chanced to stroke him. Ephemir's dim gold eyes opened at the touch. Finally his anguish began to receded and he slowly regained his senses.

"Y-you can see me..?" he said between sniffles. "No...it is just my imagination. My hope getting away with me. Too long have I been nothing more than a wondering visage on this blank, forlorn earth. Has the glorious One forgotten about his ever faithful---"

The memory cut through his heart again and he began to cry once more.

"No...no...I'm sorry...I deserve this."

He curled up tighter and gave one more shuddering sob.

"Oh," he whispered. He was too accustomed to talking to himself by this point, after so many years of only hated Kirjio for company. "I'm such an idiot, such a fool. To think there is hope for me. I'm here for a reason and that reason is a terrible one...a terribly good one. I'm an idiot. Such...such an idiot."

Valentine had, by the time he got to the mansion, fallen twice, and ran into three people. His limp was very apparent from the amount of running he had been doing, and he silently struck down the idea of wearing heels to the ceremony. He ran to the entrace, and almost straight into Hori. "H-Hori!" He was panting quietly, and put his hands on his knees. He could feel his left leg quivering, and quickly shifted his weight to his right leg. "I...hff...I need to go get ready..."

[ Message temporarily off-line ]

Ephemir smiled brilliantly. The radiance that filled his face contrasted starkly with the empty, miserable visage he had been donning just two minutes ago.

"Oh, oh my sweet one," he said. "There is too much to me to explain what I am. Right now, I suppose you could call me a lost soul. But you, you are a wonderful human. A lovely human."

Ephemir inched closer to Hakuma, his withered wings rustling slightly from the movement. Gently, Ephemir brushed a stray strand of golden hair from his face and peered closely at Hakuma. The being's eyes were a glimmering golden brown and they gazed deeply at Hakuma, peering straight into his soul.

"Fascinating. Humans are delightfully readable. You...you are frightened of closed spaces are you not?" Ephemir chuckled. "Wonderful. Flaws make humanity all that they are. I love them."

He paused and scooted even closer, glowing more brilliantly with happiness every second. "Can you really see me? Are you truly my savior? Oh sweet rapture. Oh joyous day!"

Unfortunately, Kirjio could not share in Ephemir's delight. She was back in the room in her manor, screaming in agony even still. A servant passed by without a second look. They were only far too used to their master's strange behavior, and knew the punishment for being curious.

Ephemir reached out and stroked Hakuma's cheek. "Call me Ephemir. You are Hakuma, yes? Oh, I shall call you reverent, call you exquisite and delight! I shall call you savior and saint! You are the pinnacle of good, the wielder of hope."

Ephemir giggled to himself and preceded to wiggle in place from happiness that threatened to make him explode.

Ephemir shook his head. "No, I have not been hurt..I have been murdered. All that I was once is lost to me. My great Father no longer cares for me. I am tainted to him. I am nothing to him anymore."

He paused and seemed to darken with a growing sort of sorrow, but he warded it off with another shake of his head and smiled brightly once more. "Of course I shall attend your ceremonies, dearest Hakuma. Valentine and Kouji, elite ranks? Why, that's wonderful. The Shiragiku are to be envied in their formalities."

Ephemir had completely forgotten the purpose of his departure from Kirjio's side: to obtain information about the Shiragiku's nights plans and to tell her of them. No, he was distracted now, far too glad to be seen at last to care about the consequences he may receive at Kirjio's hands.

Perhaps he would have gotten away with it, had it not been for Turigano peering at the pair from his hiding place in the wells of a shadow. He blended in perfectly, completely invisible.

"Ephemir, eh?" Turigano thought to himself. "That's the ticket. I shall use him to render this disgusting place and its filthy Shiragiku rats to dust. All's I need is Jack to stay deluded...and a little bit of help from Kirstek."