Zidane put his hand on the handle, feeling it suddenly warm up and glow. He could hear the lock start to turn. All of the butterflies in the world must have gathered in his stomach. He gave the door a shove and it opened easily.

Zidane wasn’t sure what he expected… light to stream out, noise, something… but nothing escaped when he opened the door. It wasn’t any different than if he were walking into a room.

“Mh!” Drake made a disgusted face.

“What?”

“It smells… old.” Drake informed and backed up a step, “Dusty.”

“Been sealed for… sheez, who can tell how many years? Maybe hundreds…”

“…” The two boys stared into the dark room, unable to see anything inside.

“… So…”

“… Maybe let it air out a bit?”

“Good plan.” Zidane agreed, nodding.

Drake bolted out of the room. Zidane could hear him gagging right as the scent caught up with him and he, too, left the room… though that was partially out of the desire to escape whatever was in there… he still felt reluctant about all this. He was just thankful that nothing living crawled out. He’d been so worried about what would be inside… some poisonous gas that only Terrans were immune to. A mechanical being set to annihilate Gaia upon being turned on…? One reason he wanted Drake there was incase they had to stop whatever was inside the door from leaving Oeilvert.

“That smells bad!”

Drake eyed him a minute then looked back toward the room they had just fled. “… Doesn’t that other door unlock with the first one?”

“… The one leading to the stairs? Yeah.”

“Mh. So it’s unlocked now.” Drake crossed his arms, again.

“This just got even more dangerous. Ugh… and Kuja’s gonna get here… and he’s going to be pissed.” Zidane sighed and walked back into the room. He glanced at the door to the stairs before slowly making his way to the other door… the door that held The Secrets of Terra.

It… wasn’t what he expected. The walls were lined with what looked like blue, crystal honeycombs. In the center was a statue that resembled Terra, but made of brass. As he got closer, though, it glowed with a faint gold light.

Drake followed Zidane a second or so later and together they walked over to the sphere.

“… So now what?” Drake asked.

Zidane looked around and then at the sphere. “… I guess we touch it?”

“…”

“In all the play scripts I’ve read or been in, that’s what they do. They touch the weird glowing object and get super powers.”

“Or explode.”

“… Read Calibus, too, hm?”

“Mmhm.”

“… To be fair, the bad guys were the ones to die. The good guys got super powers.”

Drake just stared at him. “… If you didn’t know me… what side would you think I was on?”

“…”

“Uh hu.”

“What choice do we have?”

“Going home is a choice.” Drake noted, eying the sphere.

Zidane shook his head. “There is something I learned the first time I fought to save the world… there’s no time for turning back once you reach a certain point, and that’s long past now. We’ve come too far. We came too far the first time we staged a fight.”

Drake glanced down a bit. There was truth in that… “Sometimes things become greater than you planned.”

Zidane shook his head again, this time giving a shrug, holding his hand out. “There would be no point in lying and saying we didn’t know we were in over our heads from the start… but we took this task. It’s up to us now, because we can do it where the others can’t. You’re right, sometimes things do become greater than you expected… but that doesn’t change the fact that you took that first step, and one way or another you must accomplish the task. Even if the world hates you for trying… you have to remember that the fates chose you for a reason, and try not to question their decision.”

There was no reply to that. Silent compliance as the Dark Prince thought it through. He was stronger than the World Heroes… but he wasn’t at the same time. He wasn’t one of them. Had he known about the jeopardy the world was in… he wouldn’t have cared. It wouldn’t concern him enough to act. Someone else would handle it, he’d figure. Daguerreo would have debates. Why send people to fight when so many might die? Why not just talk? Why weren’t we civilized enough to prevent war?

Now he knew better… Sometimes evil can only be silenced with death. Sometimes you have to fight. There was no way he could sit down with Eclipse and talk this through…

“Alright, Eclipse, so you seem hell-bent on world domination and I’m afraid that just greatly conflicts with the plans of the majority of the world. See? We have this petition… we’d all greatly prefer not to die. Moreover, you have killed a great number people, which we also… well, I hope you aren’t offended by this, but we just find that distasteful, given the anti-murder society we were raised in. Now, we understand you were trying to make a point and didn’t know how else to make it… you had goals, you knew a strong statement had to be made, we fully understand… besides, who is even sure to say it was you? Who is to say that someone on our side actually did it and you’re a scapegoat? … Of course, you’ve admitted to it… it is so clearly you every time. Ah, well, I’m willing to forgive and forget. You killed a countless number of people… men, women, children… but that’s in the past. We need to move beyond that. You did some things you thought were right at the time, so did I, and I’m very sorry about that. Is there a way we can, say, compromise?”

“No.” BANG! Yes… that would go splendidly.

The Dark Prince chose this battle. He’d had enough; he’d seen the evil that monster of a man caused, and he wanted to end it… but he was also selfish. If he didn’t think there was such a connection between himself and Eclipse, would he still care? If the guilt wasn’t involved? If the voices would go away?

… He was no hero; they were. The World Heroes. That was so evident now. What was he afraid of? The odds are he could survive anything this day threw at them. Zidane was the one truly risking anything… yet Drake lingered, stalled, avoided… because of something he didn’t want to share. One more secret he was trying to keep from someone who was giving up all his cards, showing his hand and saying “I trust you” to the person hiding an ace up his sleeve and saying he had nothing.

… It was time to stop acting like a coward and really accept that he was on a team.

Drake circled the sphere and Zidane caught himself doing the same. Slow, deliberate steps. Searching this object for a hint that would tell them what do to… Letting instincts take over.

Drake stopped by the north facing side and Zidane by the south. They looked at the sphere in front of them for another moment, then at each other with a quick, silent communication. They were both worried, they were both so unsure… but seeing that seemed to urge them on, and the two took a step toward the sphere, reaching for it.

There was a flash and the blue crystals that lined the wall suddenly became reflective, like mirrored eyes. It caused both boys to give out stifled gasps and recoil from the sphere as they looked around at their own reflection… The room was split in two this way. Half the room showed Zidane clearly in their crystal eyes, while the other half showed Drake… but not a single one showed them both…

Zidane looked around, unnerved by this sudden event and feeling foolish for being so startled. Drake’s lip twitched and his eyes rolled, disgusted with himself for being so timid. He shot Zidane one last glance and then charged forward.

Zidane did the same, marching toward the sphere with a new determination. At the same time, the two reached out and placed their right hands on the brass sphere.

It was… electric. Magnetic. The moment their flesh met the brass they lost the ability to remove themselves. One would have thought their leather and steel gloves had instead been formed using magnetic stone. There was a burning that no fire could match. It was more friction than flame and it went through them from the palm up! It made it hard to move, to think, to even breathe!

Zidane pulled, trying to get away. This was a bad idea! This was a stupid, stupid idea! How could I have been so foolish? How could I have gotten us into this!? He saw Drake snarling, also trying to get away, but it was useless.

Zidane looked back at the sphere as a loud whirling sound came from it, as if something heavy were spinning inside or as if it were some sort of engine stating up. He was starting to panic and worry about what was going on. What if he was wrong?! What if this was some reaction caused by having someone other than an Angel touching the sphere?! What if he had just caused something horrible to happen!?

There wasn’t much more time to dwell on it, though, as in the very next instant the sphere began to glow brighter! Brighter and brighter, it shined as if it were a Bomb! The glow flowed up from the sphere until Zidane could no longer see his own arm! He would not even see Drake’s black gloved hand anymore! The noise was deafening and it made his teeth chatter and every bone in his body vibrate. Zidane was full of such surety and such dread about what this would lead to, and his fears were confirmed as in a brilliant blast of light, the sphere exploded, throwing both boys against the walls behind them!

Drake hit the wall and was shocked at the force… He’d hit things harder. Hell, Eclipse had thrown him through walls and closed doors! This time… it wasn’t even that it hurt… it was simply that he felt so weak. His back hit the wall, which did not give, and he should have been able to slide down and support his weight on his feet… but he felt like a rag doll. Unable to control his own body as it fell to the floor and the world went pitch black.

His dreams were full of darkness, too… Darkness and lava… fire and screaming. Sinners shrieking out about their crimes and how they weren’t bad enough to force them to be here.

Why did they always feel the need to tell him? They attacked… He ran down that same, sickening path of heads and arms came out, grabbing him, slowing him down.

He screamed, too. Begging, pleading. “Let me go!”

He was always supposed to listen to them, but they never listened to him. He had to agree or he was punished… and Eclipse marched forward. Every time that horrible man’s foot landed it killed whoever he landed on, ending their misery, yet the face around them screamed in fear and pleaded to be passed over. “Not me, her! Him! Not me!” Why? Wouldn’t they prefer to be released, even if it meant death?

Drake fought and fought, but the filthy, disease ridden hands always grabbed him, pulled him down… pinned him and trapped him and held him so he could hardly even breathe.

“Let go! Let go! Let me go!”

And Eclipse caught up. He always caught up…

He walked over and looked down at him. “Drake, what is it you think you’re going to do? You’re going to kill me?”

“N-no! I never thought such a thing!”

“This is a perfect place for liars, Dragon. You think you’re going to defeat me? Look around you. All these people… death would be a blessing to them, but they fear it. So do you. Death would get you out of this, for a while. If you want a break so badly, there’s always an escape, but you’re too cowardly for that.”

“That’ll land me here, too!”

“Nonsense. You’ll be here regardless. This is your end, Dragon. You’re not a person. You’re not even a proper soul. You think there would ever be a Heaven for you? How? You’re not one of His creations, you’re one of ours.” The man circled around, seeming to enjoy the terror he caused despite the stolid look on his face. “We only really get to chat like this here, so I might as well be honest. If you hate your life so much, end it. You’ll get a break for who knows how long and then come back with even more knowledge.”

“Why would you tell me how to escape?”

“Escape?” Eclipse shook his head, mockingly “Boy, there is no escape for you. You’re mine. You were the moment you were created and you will forever be mine regardless of what you do. But I can be merciful, when it suits me. I’d rather you be over your tantrums rather than having to deal with them, so if you’re not mature enough to accept your fate yet, I’d much prefer you disappear for a while and calm down.”

“I don’t want to disappear! I want you to!”

Eclipse have a faint smile… he must have been really amused by that statement. “You can’t kill me, Dragon, I made you. Why would I have been put in charge of someone if I couldn’t control them? I can take anything you try and you know that.”

“Maybe not!”

“Oh, these new allies? New powers? You think that’ll do it? You could send all of Gaia after me and I’d still win. You know that. Why don’t you just give in already and be a team player? I am the King and you are the Pawn. It’s as easy as that.”

“I’d rather die!”

“Fine then, Dragon, die.”

… At first, Zidane wasn’t sure if he were asleep… but in his dreams, Garnet was there. That was how he knew it wasn’t real… in reality, he wasn’t allowed around her.

“Zidane?”

“Mh? What is it, Dagger?”

“… I miss you.”

“You don’t need to. I’ll be back soon.”

“Everything is going to be good again?”

“Dagger, I swear it. I’ll get our friends back. I’ll get our life back.” Zidane swore it, “I’ll win this one.”

Garnet smiled. “But I still miss you…”

“I’m coming home soon.”

“I think I’ll be happiest then. You make me so happy… I can’t wait for this to all be over. I can’t wait to tell everyone everything… I’m just worried.”

“Worried?”

“What if something goes wrong?”

Zidane shook his head. “I won’t let it! I’m going to win this one, for us!”

“Well then I know you can do it… you always accomplish what you have your heart set on.”

Zidane grinned, “I’m stubborn like that.”

“And I am so thankful you are. I’ll see you soon, Zidane. I love you.”

Zidane woke up in far less pain than he assumed he’d be in.
He rubbed his head, sitting up and realizing that doing so was… difficult? He felt heavier and lighter at the same time, as if he were only half-awake. It felt as if something was pulling at him from behind. Zidane looked around and down at himself, lifting his hand to see it better, and saw that his armor had changed colors. It was so much brighter and it seemed to shimmer and create its own light source.

“Huh…” It felt like he was Tranced. An internal surge of power, but he didn’t feel the usual time limit. His whole body felt lighter, somehow… He pulled off his gloves to see that his skin seemed to glow, too, but it was such a faint light while he was used to the bright pink and purple Trance usually gave him. Now his flesh was the same color it was out of trance, just… brighter, somehow. It held a faint shimmer.
Next, he saw his tail… it was a brighter yellow and… the tip was blue and… fuzzy. “…Uh.” It wasn’t until he tied again to get up and caught sight of his reflection in the crystal eyes which made up each honeycomb piece that he saw the wings and the soft glow his blue-green eyes now held. They caused him to freeze in place and stare at them in the mirror-like crystals.
…Were those real? Were they his, or was someone behind him? The wings were huge… white, but with a faint blue tint to them that radiated from each feather. He reached back and… oh, they were so soft. They gave a bit as he pressed down on them, in a way he always imagined a cloud might. Pillow soft, but with a velvet feel. They were so big, he had to spread them in order to be able to sit up, and he was amazed he could do so. Controlling them was… strange. He had muscles growing out of his back that had never been there before.

How could this be? He tranced and grew wings? He could feel them the same way he could feel his arms… they didn’t feel like costume pieces thrown on for rehearsal, they felt like… well, like his tail, when people asked what it felt like. It was almost as if he didn’t know how else they should feel… far lighter than expected. Shockingly so. Zidane couldn’t stop looking at them. A person’s arms… they could be anywhere from five pounds to thirty, but you wouldn’t feel them. That was how the wings felt. He knew that there had to be weight there and that is should be forcing him to lose balance, yet it did not. He found himself moving those magnificent wings even when he didn’t intend to and marveling that it did not hurt to do so. It was all so new! This was the Secrets of Terra? But it was so amazing… and I felt so amazing, he felt so… good! So just and right and peaceful.

So this is Holy magick? Light? It’s so amazing. I feel like there’s nothing wrong in the world… This is what The Secrets of Terra was designed to give—? Zidane’s thoughts were interrupted by that.

There had been two powers. He had gotten Light and it had caused this to happen to him. Something that was so apparently Holy magick, so what had darkness given…?

“Mm…uh…” Drake moaned, waking up.

Zidane looked over in the direction of the sound, grabbing the broken sphere and using it to pull himself up and keep his balance with the new weight behind him that he knew he was trying to overcompensate for. “Drake—?!?”

Bat wings… no… demon wings. Black with red lining the bone structure. That’s what Zidane saw first and it nearly caused him to choke. They were reflected too clearly in the crystal eyes. For a split second, he had the hope that an Ash had gotten in and it’s wings were what he was seeing… but the size and the colors were all wrong.

Oh gods… what have I done? Drake hated being associated with Eclipse- he called the man a monster… people called Drake a demon behind his back… and now he had demon wings! Zidane had been so intoxicated with the feeling of the Holy magick; he hadn’t stopped to consider what the reverse would look like.

Drake spread his wings and sat up; rubbing his eyes and Zidane leaned back a bit, staring. It was worse than he thought. The wings were bad, but on his face… around his eyes and across his forehead, just under his hairline… were scales! Thick, dry, heavy looking scales; as bright as his eyes usually were. Now those red eyes were even brighter, as if they glowed on their own volition. Zidane wasn’t querulous at all, but even he could find fault with all this!

“My head…” Drake moaned. “One f-cker of a hang-over or I got run over by a Grand Dragon…?” He looked up at Zidane and his shining armor and coruscate wings. “… And yet I don’t recall drinking anything.”

“…” Zidane stared, noticing that Drake now had… fangs. He always thought… every once in a while he would have sworn Drake had fangs, but now they were unmistakable. His voice, which usually gave away a slight accent was now heavy with inflection. His face... This was bad. The wings… well, they could figure out a way to explain them. It was bad, but not the worst thing in the world… but how do you hide scales on your face?

Drake moved, pulling his wings back and Zidane’s eyes latched onto a new set of scales. Black scales, with red spikes. Dry, just like the scales on Drake’s face, but much thicker, much larger. They formed a thick, long… tail, that narrowed down a bit as it reached the triangle tip, which was black as well, but outlined in gold… bone? It was the same material as the spikes.

Drake looked over Zidane’s wings. How ironic that the Angel got angel wings, he was just missing the halo. That thought got him thinking over the fact that if Zidane had changed in such a way… he probably had, too.

“Now, don’t freak out.”

“Freak out?”

“No! No! Don’t freak out!” Zidane instructed, raising his hands to chest height as Drake scrambled to his feet and looked in the crystal eyes. “It’s going to be f—!”

“What? Nothing?”

Zidane was rather shocked by that reaction. “… Huh?”

“Well, you look like that. Obviously, there should be changes in me. So why didn’t— what the hell is—?… Eww, do I have a tail?”

“And wings…”

“All I get is a tail?”

“… Am I still asleep?”

“You dream of yourself looking like a pixie monkey—? Your tail has a puffball on it!”

“Okay, so… I hope I’ve just Tranced… But I’ve never Tranced like this before.” Zidane finally explained, “But you seem to be very resigned about all this, and it’s not making any sense He st, and it’s freaking me out a bit.”

“Why? … … Did you actually get taller?”

“Little bit, I think, why does this not freak you out?”

Drake thought for a bit… not on how to explain. Mostly on how to keep avoiding explaining… and how unfair it was that Zidane got wings, glowing armor and skin, height, brighter eyes… and all he gets is a tail? An annoying, heavy tail? … The only justice was that Zidane now had a puffball on his tail.

“I don’t want to get into this now.” He stated, honestly.

“I think you’re blocking things out, Drake…” Zidane shook his head. “Look, I’m sorry! I didn’t know this would happen, but I’m sure there’s a way t fix it... or hide it. The wings... wow, you… you can control them already? That’s… Impressive. But, you’re not focusing right. I’m sure we’ll think of something, and I know it’s a lot to get used to.”

Drake looked back at him. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Look in the mirror.”

“Yeah, and?”

“…You don’t see the wings?”

“What about them?”

Zidane tipped his head to the side, using a voice full of patience he didn’t feel. “I know this is all new, but…”

“The only thing that’s new is the tail.”

“… What? I know this is confusing and new and a lot to get used to, but be calm.”

“You're the one who needs to calm down, Angel. You keep saying "I know" but you really don't. I’ve had the wings and scales since I was thirteen. I’ve had about three years to get used to them.” Drake shrugged, “Also why I can control them.”

“Woah! Wait! What are you talking about!? You haven’t had wings for three years!”

“Yeah. And fangs.” Drake held his hand up and five black, sharp talons extended out his fingertips, through his gloves, which had small, pre-cut slits in the tips of them. “Talons, too.”

“Wha?! … That’s how you knew so much about Eclipse!” Zidane heard the bite in his voice and a large part of him resented saying that. It was possible he was jumping to conclusions and he knew the quick jump to Eclipse would be offensive, but he couldn't think of anything else that would explain this.

“Obviously there had to be some reason.” Drake retracted his talons, looking at his hand as if to check for damage.

“Don’t make this a joke.” Zidane ordered, “Not now. I don’t know what’s going on, but this is starting to worry me, okay? We could be stuck like this. Now, if humor is how you deal with this sort of thing then I’m sorry, but I just don’t get it and I’m trying not to come to any assumptions, and I really need you to explain.”

Drake looked down for a bit. He could understand why Zidane was upset… this all must have been new to the Terran. The Dark Prince knew he was going to have to explain it all, regardless on if he wanted to or not. “You’re right… I’m sorry. You’re afraid this will be permanent. The reason your first instinct was to apologize is because you’re not the type of person who likes putting others in danger or risk if you can avoid it. You don’t want to be responsible for suggesting this and getting altered for life. After all… Who would want to be stuck in a form like this? You feel guilty because you’re terrified that you have me trapped as a demon. You haven’t.” As he spoke, Drake let his fire burn away this new form. He found it cost him more energy than it usually did, but he didn’t want to dwell on why.

“You… can Trance?” Zidane was surprised by this, and confused.

Drake shook his head. “No, this isn’t a Trance.” The Dark Prince let his fire erupt again and his True Form burn into view, “Eclipse has a True Form, as you know. This is mine. I’ve had it since I was thirteen… well, except the tail… that’s new… But you see, you don’t need to worry about trapping me as a demon… I already am one.”

“… That is how you knew so much about Eclipse. It’s why you heal so fast… He snapped your neck, I never could figure out how you survived.”

Drake nodded. “I’m stronger, I’m faster, I see better, I hear better… all my senses and abilities are enhanced beyond what most sentient beings are capable of. I know what he can do based on what I’ve seen, and what I can do.”

Zidane shook his head. “Why didn’t you just tell me? I mean…”

“If you looked like this, would you brag?”

Zidane gave a short laugh, “I grew up with a tail I could hang from, wondering where my tribe was and wondering why they didn’t want me. People called me a monkey, and how could I argue that? To do so, I would have needed evidence against it and I had none except that there wasn’t anything else like me that I could find… but look at my friends. We’re all what society called rejects and cast-offs. I was the one everyone looked up to, the leader of a pack of runts. Blank, my best friend, is a goblin who was so badly mutilated he was practically rebuilt using skin grafts from different people and even monsters. When I found out what I was, I had to deny it till I simply couldn’t anymore. If anyone is going to understand, Drake, it’s me. They said my friends and I were mongrels, but I always knew we were more and it turns out I was right. I was created to destroy, but I won’t. You can always fight when the battle is important enough. My friends didn’t group me in with Terra… I was simply from Terra, and that was it. Whatever Garland, Kuja, Mikoto… whatever any of them did, it didn’t matter. What matters is what I choose to do and the same goes for you. You have this form, like Eclipse has. That doesn’t make you Eclipse.”

“… That was a real impressive speech and all, but Gaia just turned on you for being Terran.” Drake stated in a matter-of-fact voice.

“… … … Yeah, but that’s Brahne’s fault.”

“Everyone from that Island is evil.”

“Everyone on Terra was, too.” Zidane crossed his arms, only flinching slightly from surprise as his hands his hit wings. "Don't say you're a demon, you aren't."

“You think you know demons? Eclipse is deadly, I’m … possibly as pernicious as he is.”

“It doesn’t matter, Drake. It doesn’t make you anything… What really confuses me is… how? Are your parents…?”

“Half dragon? No.”

“Then how are you?”

“…” Drake went back to looking into the reflective eyes lining the walls. He felt stronger. Besides that... he just felt tired. His appearance hadn’t changed much. The tail was odd… dragon tail. Long, scaled, spiked and bladed… a new weapon, yes, but something else he had to learn. Given how much Zidane had changed, Drake was thankful his own alterations weren’t worse. He could have ended up with horns, a snake tongue… more scales. Could have ended up looking like Eclipse or one of the other Pures.

The Dark Prince stared hard at his reflection, looking at the five wounds that were still healing across the right side of his face…

Please… no more scales… not on my face. Every time he got a scar, it turned into a line of scales when he shifted to his True Form. The latest ones on his chest were starting to do so, he could feel them getting caught on the silk strands making up his shirt as he moved. Eclipse had scales everywhere… and when he transformed, it was as if he were breaking free from his human form.

It made Drake deeply afraid of what was inside of him. Blood brought out his blood-red scales… what if that wasn’t it? What if it was simply the torn flesh releasing those scales? “It’s something Eclipse did… I don’t know all the details.”

“Ever asked?”

“I favor life far too much to ask Eclipse about anything.”

“… Okay… Fair enough...” Zidane nodded, “We should get going.”

“… That’s it?”

Zidane looked at him.

“… Usually I can’t get you to stop asking questions.” Drake pointed out, moving back a step.

“Now just doesn’t feel like the time for it. I forced us into this because we’re a team, not because I wanted to trap and interrogate you. I trust you, and I trust that you’ll tell me what I need to know; from now on. We’re in this together, and I want you to trust me. You just don’t know me yet.” Zidane grinned, “So you wouldn’t have known that about me. But I tend to trust people as well as I can and I have faith in them. I’m usually a pretty good judge of character. You think you’re not one of us, but you are. You want to be the bad boy on the sidelines, but you’re the one leading this war. You are a hero, Drake, regardless of how you try to fight it. Right now, for instance. Every time you look at me you keep your head tilted down, staring up in order to meet my eyes, which, to most, would look threatening, but I think you’re just trying to hide those scales. I can’t tell what you think when you look at them, but to me they’re just more proof that I’m right.”

“… How so?”

“Those scales form a mask. They go around your eyes the same way a heroes mask might. In the theatrical productions and storybooks, the hero often covers their eyes like that to hide who they really are. You’re not a monster, you just have that identity. You’re trying to be the mask and you’re not. Who you are is underneath it.” Zidane gave a dignified nod, trying to make Drake understand that he had meant what he’d said before he turned and walked out, struggling to figure out how to re-fold his wing and then… the sudden shift of balance.

Aw! Shit! I don’t want to fall on my ass after such an awesome speech!

Right before Zidane could move a foot back to try and stop the fall, he felt a hand against his back, stiff as a brick wall.

“Lean forward, idiot.” Drake scolded, shoving the Angel forward.

“Heh… wings are new.”

“Mm.”

Drake rolled his eyes and walked out, looking and taking note that the door leading to the stairs was now wide open.

“Statue’s broken.” Zidane noted, following Drake and trying to lean forward. “Hey! Don’t shift out!”

Drake looked back at him, halfway out of his True Form. “… I’m not used to the added weight; I’d rather not have the tail.”

“The more we’re in these forms, the quicker we’ll get used to them. Let’s try to at least get to the jet.”

“Mmm… fine…”

Getting in had been so silent and stealthy… getting out was different. Drake knew he was leaving a trail, despite how he tried to avoid it. Zidane’s wingtips dragged against the dirt from time to time… ugh, even a novice would be able to track them.

“This is going to take a lot of practice.” Drake grumbled, “A lot.”

“Yeah, but… I feel stronger, don’t you?”

“Yes…”

“Think it’ll be enough?”

“… Oh no.” Drake shook his head, looking around.

“What? No it won’t be enough?”

“How long were we out?”

Zidane shrugged, “No idea. Why?”

“Your brother is coming.”

Then the running began.

“If he gets to the Jet before us… he’ll leave us here, won’t he?”

“Yes.” Zidane confirmed, “I’m dead-set sure that he’d leave us here even if Brahne and Eclipse were outside with an army.”

Zidane was… faster. Faster than he had ever been before! Given the size of his wings, Zidane had assumed that their speed would be limited. However, the normal laws of flight that applied to so many species seemed to be dismissed and ignored. Drake moved without much effort, and Zidane found himself able to keep up!

On they ran! An Angel and a Demon, matching pace at last! Setting out for the same goal and on the same side! Out to—!

“Hurk!”

Zidane skid to a stop and looked back, noticing Drake was no longer beside him. “Hu? Oh… Those spikes are… kind of a drag, eh?”

“Shut it, monkey!” Drake snarled, trying to pull his tail out of the dirt.

He wasn’t strong enough to get free. Unfamiliar muscles in an awkward place and the heavy spikes and blades didn’t make things any easier, Zidane new. It was that knowledge alone that kept him from laughing.

“Need some help?”

“No.”

“… You look kind of stuck.” Zidane rubbed the back of his head, watching Drake struggle. He could easily see what had happened. Drake was trying to be stealthy again. He was trying to ignore the tail and seemed to have forgotten it was designed for balance. When he ran, it swayed in pace with his steps to try and balance, just as a persons arms do, and he tried to stop it from moving… So when they had to move to the side sharply to avoid the rock wall, his tail was trying to compensate for the sudden movement without him even knowing about it. He didn’t know to control it that way, so rather than whipping to the side and allow him easier movement, he had slammed it into the ground when he failed to compensate for the added weight the appendage gave him.

Drake finally reached down, grabbed two of the spikes and pulled, freeing himself.

“It’s not that you aren’t strong enough, it’s just that your tail isn’t.”

“I’d rather keep it that way,” Drake pouted.

“It’s not going to go away if you ignore it.”

“Same for your wings, stop dragging them!”

Zidane looked at their unusual trail… it looked like they were dragging something… something that was trying to claw its way back inside. “Yeah…”

Drake sped off again and Zidane ran after him, swiftly catching up again

Zidane had a bad feeling, suddenly. He stopped walking and looked back.

“What is it?” Drake asked.

“Bad feeling…” Zidane replied.

“That is not surprising. Given the air.”

“Something else.” Zidane elaborated, “Someone is coming. We need to speed up.”

“Alright.”

Zidane ran once the jet was in sight. “Hurry!”

“Coming…”

Zidane looked back. “Um…”

“What?” Drake growled.

“You might want to pick it up, it’s dragging again and that’ll leave a trail.” Zidane advised, biting his lip.

“Oh… yeah…” Drake looked back at his tail.

“Do you need help?”

“No.” Drake shook his head, walking over.

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t mind.” Zidane offered, shrugging.

“I’m sure.”

Zidane had to doubt that. “… Really?”

“I can manage…” The annoyance was apparent in Drake’s voice.

“Doesn’t it hurt?” Zidane asked, tipping his head to the side. “It looks heavy…”

“How convenient, then, that is also feels heavy.” The Dark Prince grabbed the triangle tip, looking over the blade.

Zidane gave a somewhat terrified look. “Oh, gods, you’re more sarcastic than me…”

“I was not being sarcastic.”

Zidane sighed. “Never mind… Just get in the jet; we don’t have a lot of time.”

“Alright.”

“Kuja is going to be pissed he didn’t get to come…” Zidane mused to himself.

“You have mentioned that…”

Zidane shrugged, thinking it over. “Could work, though, you’ll freak out Mikoto enough she might forget about her revenge.”

“Tempted to ask about that…”

Zidane laughed and sat on the wing to the jet.

“Not shifting back?” Drake asked.

“I can’t… or I don’t know how.”

“Mm… Trance must suck.”

Kuja burst into the clearing in a storm of dust, fanning himself. “Oh, the sun! Curse it! Why is it so hot here? It’s positively ghastly and there’s too much sand!”

“… He isn’t straight, is he?”

Drake asked.

“I have no idea.”

Kuja walked over, looking them over. “What’s all this, then?”

Zidane was prepared for more anger than this, but it was always difficult to tell how Kuja would react to things… “This is what was behind the door.”

“Lies! You brought him with you, I saw. Unless… are you an Eidolon, vampire?”

Drake hissed at him like a cat.

“I’m just asking, of course. Would explain why the Princess need only bark a command for you to obey.”

“Kuja, he warned you about the vampire references. He’ll burn off your hair.” Zidane reminded, leaning back.

“Oh, pish-posh! No he won’t.”

“Yes. Yes he will.” Drake insisted, crossing his arms.

“Mmmh.” Kuja looked the two boys over, carefully. This is what Garland ranted about? He was serious? It really was just Light and Dark?

“Well?” Zidane asked. “What do you think?”

“I think Garland had no idea what was behind that door…” Or, Dear Brother, you found a way to alter it… Two people gaining a power designed for one… Not at all what Garland wanted.

“What?”

“Geeheehee! Nothing! Well, yours is obviously a trance. Unique, though it is.” He pulled on Zidane’s left wing with enough of a tug it almost pulled Zidane off the jet.

“Woah! Hey!”

Kuja let go, examining the feathers with his eyes.

“Wow… didn’t hurt like I thought it would.” Zidane noted, “Strange.”

Drake eyed him. “Why would that have hurt?”

“Well, he pulled on my wing…”

“… If they’re meant to carry you when you fly, why would it hurt to be pulled by them?”

He’s getting that, ‘I’m so fed up with the world’ tone again… Zidane noticed.

Kuja, however, seemed to miss the annoyance in Drake’s voice. He grabbed both dragon wings and pulled, making Drake stumble, trying to keep balance.

“Well! Will you look at that!? He was right!”

“Let me go!” Drake ordered as Kuja pulled the wings from size to side.

“Handy, too, I don’t have to use much effort at all or much movement on my part to get him to completely alter course!”

“Let go of me, you tarfa!”

Kuja looked at Zidane for a translation. “He’s speaking vampire again, Dear Brother.”

“I don’t know that one, but I bet it’s mean.”

“Well how very unpleasant you are, vampire! What did I do to cause such odium?”

“Nu ma mai fute la cap!”

“Kuja, let him go.”

“Is that what it meant? Or does he just speak vampire when he is especially pissed?”

“Sterge-o că-t~i trag un şut in cur!”

“So that is a yes?”

“Kuja! Let him go!”

Kuja laughed, but then released the Dark Prince who was having a serious mental argument on if he could kill the silver haired Angel or not.

In truth, the older man was rather angry… He couldn’t blame Zidane. Hero logic. Don’t let the villain or anyone who seems too anxious to get at something powerful near that something powerful. Still, how foolish! Kuja had a better understanding of Terran technology and their workings… anything could have come out of there.

Mixing it was an interesting idea… Not something Kuja would have done, of course, but interesting… It was foolish, that was certain. Zidane wasn’t greedy, he needed a way out and he found one, but at what risk? Light and Dark… were not enhancement powers, and Zidane wasn’t a Holy element… yet they had become Enhancements, that was unique. So far, it seemed to have illogically worked, but so much could have gone wrong… How was it determined who received what? What if they both got an equal mix? Or an uneven mix? What if this only accepted one of them regardless of how many were in the room? It was irresponsible… and truly unfair. Kuja had been waiting for this for so very long… it wasn’t right that he hadn’t even been allowed to see…

And what would you do? Kuja asked himself. He couldn’t fool himself into believing that he wouldn’t take it… He would have shoved them aside and pounced if that is what it took to get whatever was behind that door. Go head on against an army if that is what it took.

… Somehow, a part of him was glad he hadn’t gotten the chance. A part he kept hidden deep inside and tried to very hard to keep hidden. It was the part that took over and kept him from returning to his evil ways.

Oh, how he hated that part. “So this is what you ditched me in the desert for, hm?”

“Ehe… … To be fair, I was trying to ditch you on Terra, but you wouldn’t get out of the jet.”

“So it was a much better idea to abandon me in the middle of nowhere while people are looking to kill us while you spend 10 hours in Oeilvert?”

The Dark Prince nearly choked on his own breath at that. He turned white and his pupils shrunk to the size of a needle’s point.

Kuja looked behind him. “Is there a ghost I’m not seeing?”

“I’m sorry, Kuja. It was a last minute decision to leave you behind and I know it probably wasn’t even close to the greatest idea… especially if that blast really did KO us for that long… but I felt I had to.” Zidane attempted to explain, shaking his head.

Kuja shrugged. “We’ll, I am sureI can think of a way for you to make it up to me.”

“… I don’t think I like that idea… How about I just keep people from killing you?”

“You already do that.”

“Good point… so don’t you owe me?”

“No.”

Drake stayed quiet… the sun was up… he was late. They would never get back in time. Someone was going to notice that he wasn’t there. Eclipse would wake up, go to his meeting, and then he would look for Drake and Drake wouldn’t be there. The Dark Prince shook his head, blinking his eyes and trying to handle this with equanimity. “I need to get back…”

Zidane looked over at him. “… Are you okay?”

“I am fine; I just need to get back.”

Kuja grinned. “Ah, I see. That’s what that look was about. Being tardy makes you this nervous?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I need to go, that’s all.”

“Alright, let’s go.” Zidane agreed, swiftly. “Oh! That’s right, you said you had to be in Alexandria… oh, we are late.”

Kuja climbed into the pilot seat.

“Hey?” Zidane spread his arms, shaking his head. “I’m the pilot!”

Kuja giggled. “How are you going to drive? With those wings, you won’t even fit in this chair! Get into the back, Dear Brother.”

Zidane sighed, shaking his head and climbed in. “This sucks!”

Drake pulled himself in and the top shut. He was silent during the trip… Kuja didn’t fly as fast as Zidane did and they bickered the whole way. Drake did his best to ignore them.

Eventually, Zidane’s trance ended. “Sheez, how long was that?”

“About an hour or so.” Drake replied, looking out the window.

“That’s without attacks, though…”

“Yes, but I imagine it’s not the energy you drain that limits it. Mine isn’t. I imagine you two have new attacks, as well!”

“Yeah?” Zidane thought that over. “That makes sense… I’ll have to try s—.”

It wasn’t my fault! Drake looked around, wondering where that voice had come from, but he soon figured out the cause wasn’t visible. More voices…? He couldn’t even hear the jet or the conversations within it anymore.

They made my life such hell… Why? What did I do to them? I existed, that was all.

Drake shut his eyes tight, hoping it would just stop.

We’re all just animals. There’s a hierarchy and it’s not fair. I’m not popular so I don’t deserve any happiness. I’m not as good looking as they are so they’re allowed to abuse me? I’m not a jock so they can beat me up? If they didn’t like me, they could have just ignored me. Left me alone. Who was I hurting when I read during lunch? What did it matter if I sat at their table? I wasn’t hurting anyone, I was just trying to make friends. They never even gave me a chance. He could see the person talking. It was like they were sitting right next to him, begging for attention he didn’t want to give them. Their voice was so clear, he was surprised no one else seemed to notice… but this hadn’t happened before. Not like this. Not so apparently controlling. He usually was either asleep or alone but had the ability to participate in the world of reality. This time it was as if he were trapped somewhere else. Like the outside world didn’t matter and the only thing in existence was this voice.

But it could all end. I knew that. They had done far too much for me to just let it go. I wasn’t going to be the victim anymore… I was going to be the one who got justice, the one who made the whole world see why you can’t pick on people like me any more. They’ll see why it’s wrong.

Another sinner speaking to him. SinnerSpeak would have been a useful attack if he could use it on other people. Better than Distract or What’s That, for sure. Surround you opponent with the cries of those who have done wrong, let them be sucked into a world they can’t control.

All those idiots… they smelt the fuel and they kept coming in. Going about their usual course and complaining about the smell. You would have thought someone would notice the chains on the doors, anyone showing up late was lucky that day, but no one knew. They’d pound on the doors, let me in, let me in little pigs. Complain about the smell. The first room was the easiest. I thought they’d scream and alert the entire campus, but it was ignored. Fuel and paper and twigs and straw… old clothes stuffed with dried leaves. All over the school. It took me months to collect it all and hours to lay it all out… and no one cared. Stepped over it, though it, then bitched about it being there, but they went about their day. One flick of my lighter, and a chair up against the door. Windows were already chained shut, barred. Skylights were too high to get to. The room I was in could hear the shouting… I was so sure it would all be over then. I held my breath in fear, but they just laughed. Like everything else in their lives, they thought this was a joke, too. I left the room to laughter and head shaking. How dare those screams affect our quiet room… monsters. They were all monsters and they’d all burn for it. No one but me was in the hall, so it was easier. A few looked over when they heard sounds at their doors, but no one got up. Chained them all, piled the leaves and twigs in front of them… Chains wouldn’t hold on some of the doors. The single doors had nothing to be chained to, but the fire would stop them… it should have. People didn’t panic till they saw the smoke. Those... filthy, dirty... morons!! They jumped over the fire. Gave me no option, no way out. I couldn’t unlock my exit, it would let them out, too! I would be blamed anyway. It was always my fault. So I’d burn too, but with the satisfaction of seeing them die first! I laughed, as they had always laughed, and they looked for a way out, they screamed, and then they knew it was me. Oh the anger! Like they didn’t deserve it. They did. They were dying and they still tried to attack me, but the fire got them. Swift kick of a pile of leaves and they erupted in screams once more. And outside they were still complaining… let me in, let me in, what’s that horrid smell?

The entire trip was like this. People screaming in his head… Horrible people who for whatever reason decided he needed to hear about what they have done and demand he agree… It was really getting old…

“Drake!” Zidane shouted.

Drake opened his eyes and blinked a few times before looking at the Terran.

“You asleep again?”

“No.”

“… Really? I’ve been trying to get your attention for about three minutes…”

“…” Well that isn’t good… “… Just… Thinking.”

“Thinking? I refuse to believe it.” Kuja smirked, looking back at them.

Drake glared.

“We’re at Daguerreo.” Zidane announced, quickly. “Where do you want us to drop yo—.”

Drake didn’t let him finish, when he saw where they were he darted forward, bashed the control for the top hatch and the instant it was open enough for him to get out, he jumped.

“… So here is good?”

“… That one’s insane.”

“Coming from you, I take that as a good sign.”

“Hehehe, think what you will, Dear Brother, but I would not jump out of a jet this high in the air.”

Zidane looked down, trying to see where Drake had landed in the trees. “I… guess we go back to Terra…?”

“What? Don’t want to be sure he’s not dead first?”

“Actually, frighteningly enough, I have my doubts that he’d die from that.”

“Vampire.”

“Was weird, though…” Zidane was forced to admit. “Never seen anyone zone out that bad before…”

Drake hit the ground and started running. He wasn’t that far from town, so there was some luck in that. It took him over half an hour to get back to the palace, though…

“Where the hell have you been?!?” Ellipsis asked, seeing Drake walk into the tower.

Drake took only a second to think up a reply. Something new, something shocking, something that would distract Ellipsis enough to leave him alone. “…Really? You care where I was? Oh that is just so sweeeeeet! I didn’t know you care!”

“You’ve been gone all day—Shut up.”

“Awww, I didn’t mean to worry you.”

Ellipsis started walking away. “Eclipse is going to skin you alive, boy.”

“So we’ll chat later then? Buh-bye!” Drake made himself ill with that comment and turned, rushing up the steps to his room.

He quickly prepared as if he’d woken up there and was getting ready. It would look very bad if Eclipse somehow sensed he’d been to Oeilvert or noticed he was still wearing the clothes he’d been wearing the previous day... Once ready, he quickly walked to the public library and saw Eclipse walking out of one of the private rooms.

“Where have you been?” The man asked in an unconcerned voice.

“I went hunting,” Drake breezed.

“Mh. We need to get back to Alexandria within the week.”

“Not going back today?”

“No. I’d rather not have to deal with that moronic woman right now.”

For a moment, Drake couldn’t figure out who Eclipse was talking about… but he got it. “Well, you said moronic so you must mean Brahne.”

“Mhm.”