“Mmmm….”
    “Faris? Faris? …Hey, Faris!”
    “Huh?” Faris blinks, then turns her gaze to a concerned James.
    “Are you okay? You seem kinda out of it…” he says.
    “Mm? I dunno, I just felt tired all of a sudden,” she replies before yawning, as if to prove her point. She leans back on the bench they’re sitting on. “Maybe because I didn’t get any sleep last night.”
    “You want to go home?”
    She makes a face. “Go home to Martina? No thanks. Let me just be with you…” With that, she rests her head on his shoulder.
    James blinks in surprise, then smiles fondly at her. He leans his face down next to hers and softly kisses her on the cheek; then, a whispered, “I love you, Faris.”
    Before he can pull away, she whispers back, “I love you too, James.”
    Smiling, James glows with pleasure.
 

    “Isn’t that couple on the bench over there so adorable? Just like my husband and I when we were younger,” an elderly woman comments to a red-haired girl standing behind her.
    Her equally grayed husband, standing next to her, nods. “It’s wonderful to see young people so deeply in love, don’t you think so?”
    “No,” Jessie replies in a clipped tone, glaring at the cozy twosome from the middle of a line in front of an ice cream shop.
 
 

    Starr is meandering around. Michael couldn’t come with her to the fair, but she doesn’t mind. Raichu and Batts offered to be her dates. Well, Raichu did. Batts just kind of shook his head and came along, although he did smile a little when she shared her Skittles.
    Starr takes a huge bite of her raspberry ice and watches a group of kids playing Red Rover.
    The night’s almost too perfect.
    She really wishes the pessimistic little voice in her head would shush, but she really has a bad feeling about this. Usually there’s a steady breeze...tonight, none. The air seems to be pressing down...waiting?
    She wants to find Faris and James. Faris said they’d be on the East Beach...she’s about three-quarters of the way there.
    She looks out over the flat ocean.
    A faint, pale glow shines out, a pinprick of light on the west beach...
    It only takes her a few seconds to settle it.
    She hurriedly finishes the raspberry ice and heads for the East beach, walking a bit faster than usual...
    “<Hey, wait up!>” Raichu protests.
    <What’s the matter?> Batts asks Starr.
    She shakes her head. “I just hate feelings of impending doom.”

    “…what…think…is supposed to mean?”
    A snort. “What are you, stupid?!”
    Sephiroth blinks slowly, repeatedly, his blurred vision slowly beginning to clear. The voice, female, continues, “What’s going on here is OBVIOUS. There’s a leak in the system. Even though you’re boring and dense, I would have thought even YOU could figure that out, Mr. Ilser.”
    An annoyed noise. Three figures are slowly coming into view; the three head scientists. The strawberry blonde woman and her male, brown-haired counterpart are arguing, as usual. The other woman scientist, with the unusual short-cut chestnut hair is, as usual, ignoring the two.
    The male, Shaun Ilser, frowns at the woman, Alisa Laurence. “What are you so angry about, anyhow? We have Mewtwo back. It shouldn’t be too hard to find the traitor.”
    “You’re too simplistic, even if you ARE a male!” Alisa snaps back, blue eyes flashing. “We can’t just jail the traitor. The Mewtwo Project is FINISHED, and Team Rocket knows about it! We need to figure out who THAT person is,” and here she jabs a finger onto a TV screen, which is playing something over and over, “and make sure he PAYS for messing with our plans!!”
    “In all likelihood, that person will eventually return for Mewtwo, one he or she learns that Mewtwo has been recaptured,” the brunette woman, Cara Raymond, states calmly. “Speaking of Mewtwo, he’s awake.”
    “Who cares?” Alisa snaps crabbily. “I put TOO MUCH work into this to let some punk from Team Rocket steal it away!!”
    Shaun grimaces. “You’re overreacting again, Alisa,” he grumbles.
    She notices. “That’s MISS Laurence to YOU!”
    Sephiroth looks on sullenly at the hopelessly squabbling children. For people with ‘genius’ IQ’s, they certainly do spend a lot of their time arguing… he switches his gaze to Cara. Although she’s an aloof woman, he likes her somewhat better than the others. He’s never once seen her raise her voice or lose her temper, much unlike Alisa, who blows up at every little thing. Most of all, she’s the only one who is unafraid of him. All of the others, including Alisa and Shaun, fear him to some extent; she simply doesn’t care. In a strange sort of way, he finds that comforting.
    Cara glances at him for a split-second, then walks up to Alisa and Shaun. “Something has been bothering me for a while now,” she comments, interrupting their current subject of dispute. “We all know Faris Greyweirs attended the Cinnabar Festival this year. It made front-page news.”
    Alisa glares at her. “Yeah, SO?”
    Ignoring her rude tone, Cara continues, “Consider this: Faris Greyweirs is the niece of Lenna Inverse, the Pokémon breeder famous for being able to calm down even the worst-tempered Pokémon. She did so with Mewtwo as well, remember. In fact, before she died, Lenna was to be Mewtwo’s designated trainer.”
    Sephiroth’s attention is riveted directly on the three of them as Alisa and Shaun nod slowly.
    “Faris is famous for never coming to the Summer Festival, yet for some unknown reason, she chose to attend this summer—the same summer the Mewtwo Project has finally been completed. What’s more, Faris’ hair is lavender,” Cara calmly explains. She points to the lavender-haired Rocket talking to the caged Mewtwo on the full color screen. “This person, my colleagues, is most likely Faris Greyweirs.”
    Sephiroth’s eyes widen, then narrow. His tail thumps against the ground, but the others ignore him.
    Alisa scoffs. “But that’s a man!”
    “I don’t know,” Shaun says, regarding the video with renewed interest. “That hair looks a lot like it’s tucked into his sweater. Faris Greyweirs is the best bet we have. What an incredible scandal! Who would have thought Faris Greyweirs is a member of Team Rocket?”
    Alisa grins viciously, any previous arguments immediately erased from her mind. “If we let that slip, her reputation as a Pokémon trainer would be ruined.”
    A low growl emanates from Sephiroth’s throat. They continue to ignore him.
    Cara and Shaun give her wary looks. “What are you suggesting?” Shaun queries rhetorically.
    She rolls her eyes. “What are you, stupid? You should know exactly what I’m saying! We arrest Faris Greyweirs on the terms that she’s a member of Team Rocket.”
    “Other than this videotape, we have no proof,” Cara reminds her calmly.
    “I really don’t care!!” Alisa snaps. “This is a matter of pride now—I’m NOT going to let anyone, even if it’s Faris Greyweirs, get away with ruining MY work!!!”
    /For the sake of YOUR pride…/ Sephiroth seethes, standing on two legs, /you’ll sacrifice someone else’s freedom!? Unforgivable…completely unforgivable!! Isn’t it enough that you’ve killed *my* hope for the future!?/
    Shaun’s shoulders sag a little and shakes his head, but wisely decides not to argue. “When do we arrest her?” he sighs.
   “Immediately!” she smirks.
    “We need a warrant to search her house,” Cara states. “Excuse me, I have something else to attend to.”
    Alisa glares at her as she smoothly walks towards the door. “We’ll think of something!” she snaps to her back as she grabs the microphone for the PA system. “Attention, all guards!! I have identified the would-be thief of Mewtwo: it’s Faris Greyweirs! All of you, get your butts out into the city and arrest her!! If you have to hurt her, so be it! Knock her unconscious if you have to! Resisting arrest is just another crime to add to her list!”
    “Hold on! What if they kill her!?” Shaun protests.
    “KILL her if you have to!!” Alisa adds, turning off the mike. During the splitseconds it takes for her to turn to scream at Shaun, several thoughts race through Sephiroth’s mind.
    /they’ll kill faris—kill her!? this is my fault, my fault entirely, I should have run away—run?!? run!?! since when have they ever taught me to run away!? it’s their fault…their fault…their fault…THEIR FAULT!!!!/
    These thoughts, and billions other like them, converge into the following:
    The humans stole his freedom. Now they are going to steal the freedom of the one human he likes that isn’t dead.
    The destruction of freedom is an unforgivable sin. They have sinned against him all his life, sin after sin after sin, and he took it with no complaints. They took everything they wanted from him without giving one whit in return, they molded him into their image of a perfect fighting machine; and he allowed them to do so.
    That ends now.
    There will be no forgiveness. There will be no mercy.
    There will only be death for the relentless sinners.
    Yes…he will live up to his name.
    Even on the other side of Cinnabar, the shock waves of the explosion on the western beach are tremendous enough to throw people to the ground.

    The kids are shaken to the ground. Starr goes sprawling in a graceful faceflop, as do most of the people on the street.
    She gets up and looks around. A dull red tongue of flame is flickering up over the ocean, from the direction of the West Beach.
    “Chu!” Raichu groans indignantly, getting up from underneath Batts.
    <I believe that was the impending doom,> Batts remarks.
    That’s enough for Starr.
    She and the Pokémon take off at a dead run.
 

    Faris’ eyes snap open. /something’s wrong—/
    At that split second, James and she tumble to the ground from the shock.
    “What was that!? An earthquake?” James yells, rudely snapped out of his peaceful reverie.
    “No…” she whispers. “You didn’t…”
    “What?” he utters, staring over at her rapidly paling face. “Faris, what—”
    “Look.” She points a finger. He follows her lead; what he sees is a blazing beacon of fire and destruction miles high and, unfortunately, only miles away.
    His mouth drops open. “Oh my god…”
    Faris whispers, her face deathly pale, “He’s coming. And he’s angry. Sephiroth…”
 
 

    ortus aeternus   mors innocentia   sentire repente   ira occultus
    The heat of the blaze around him would have melted anyone else to a pile of ashes, but not him. No. His power protects him. The power of science; the power of humans. It’s almost ironic, that humans have no power by themselves but hold the ability to give incredible power to others. Perhaps it’s their weakness that breeds their cruelty.
    In either case, he doesn’t care.
    As Sephiroth stalks down the streets of Cinnabar, death follows him. An icy blue aura surrounds him, and as he proceeds towards his unknown destination, everything around him crumbles into nothing. The screaming, panicking humans are the only things that catch his attention; that is, until he kills them. The human race is a parasite, leeching everything it desires off everything around them. He holds no regret in his heart.
    strages strages: vale caelum !    strages strages: vale serenum !
    “Mommy, Mommy, please wake up!!” a little girl sobs to her mother, whose prone body lies in the street, surrounded by a mysterious red liquid. “Please, Mommy, don’t leave me alone, I’m scared…”
    Sephiroth turns his head to the girl. A pinprick of feeling strikes his heart before his eyes flash, and the barely standing building above the girl and her dead mother tumbles down on top of the two.
    He turns his head back to the path before him without giving the girl a second thought. The humans are pouring into the street, some of them attacking him, some of them wisely running away. Those who run away will be left alone, for now. There is no where they can go.
    vale vale: caelum serenum !    salve salve: caelum sanguineus !
    Those who attack send other Pokémon out to battle with him. Another display of the shortcomings of humans; they know they are too weak by themselves to fight one such as he; and thus, they summon their Pokémon, their servants, to work for them.
    Sephiroth’s eyes narrow.
    Any and all monsters facing him are pitched thousands of yards away, leaving the humans alone.
    More Pokémon sent out.
    The same result.
    Growing tired of this, Sephiroth psychically tears the humans to shreds. They are not worthy of any extensive length of attention.
 

    ortus occultus    mors repentinus    sentire imprudens    ira aeternus
    “Attention, everyone in Cinnabar!” a female voice announces over the island-wide PA system. Her voice is surprisingly calm and monotone as she continues; “The explosion was caused by the Pokémon sighted earlier on the western beach, which is known as Mewtwo. It is now on a rampage, and is destroying everything in its path. Mewtwo is heading towards the eastern beach. If you value your life, stay out of its way.” The PA system goes dead.
    Starr’s mouth drops open.
    “Eastern beach......”
    This being the main street right TO the Eastern beach, she’s right IN Mewtwo’s way. Not to mention the fact that Faris and James...
    THUD.
    She turns in time to see a rather hapless trainer and his Jynx slam head-on into the wall of a building.
    “CHU????” Raichu exclaims.
    Batts looks shocked. <What kind of psychic power does this Mewtwo have, to be able to do this???>
    “There’s no way I’m sending you guys to fight that thing,” Starr reassures them, though she feels very UNreassured herself.
    “Rai..” Raichu latches onto Starr’s ankle in a grateful hug.
    Starr sighs, then a wave of fear washes over her. She’s right in the middle of harm’s way, Faris and James are too although they aren’t nearly as close, she doesn’t know WHERE Jessie is, and—
    “AAAAAAAAAAAA! MOMMY!”
    The noise of panicking kids jolts Starr back to reality.
    When she turns to see what’s going on, she’s totally unprepared for what she sees.
    A HUGE lavender-white Pokémon, stained gold by the flickering fire, is looming over a group of kids—probably a day camp, they all wear green shirts—huddled behind an overturned fruit cart.
    One thought enters Starr’s mind.
    NIBELHEIM.
    Drawing a huge breath, she yells, “HEY! OVER HERE! PICK ON SOMEONE WHO’S AT LEAST CLOSE TO YOUR OWN SIZE, YOU...”
    Mewtwo turns and glares.
    All he needs is Makou eyes.
    Starr refuses to back down, though. As of now, Mewtwo is just glaring.
    Sephiroth looks at the girl facing him. She must be insane to face off against him. It’s strange...the two Pokémon by her aren’t attacking...she’s actually pushing them behind her.
    She yells again. “LEAVE THOSE KIDS ALONE! MURDERER! PSYCHO! DESTROYER... YOU... YOU—SEPHIROTH.”
    Sephiroth is taken slightly aback. He determines after less than a second, though, that she doesn’t know his name. It’s merely a coincidence. Having established that, he levitates her a few feet in the air—to his eye level.
    Her eyes go wide.
    /Traitor/
    He drops her and gives her a ‘gentle’ psychic push that sends her crashing into a game stand.
    “AAAAAAA—OWWW!”
    Stuffed Chanseys, chocobos, Charmanders and Chu-Chu’s rain down around Starr, but she gets up again. She runs to the kids and herds them all over toward the stand, which is sturdier than most. She looks around for Mewtwo. Oddly, it—he?—seems to have gone. She shrugs and focuses on making sure the huge group of kids huddling scared in the booth is safe.
    She stands.
    “Now stay there, you’ll—”
    One of the kids screams, “LADY! LOOK OUT!”
    “CHUUUUUUUUUU!” Rachu yells in alarm.
    Starr gasps and straightens.
    She half-turns—
    —And something strikes her hard across her back and head.
    Namely, Mewtwo’s tail.
    The world tips sideways and slowly fades to fuzzy black as Starr’s green eyes glaze over. She falls to her knees, then flat on her stomach, eyes closed, oblivious to the world.

    ortus innocentia    mors aeternitas    sentire in occulto    ira repentinus
    Sephiroth’s eyes narrow as he glares down at her. He’s about to finish her off when the pinprick comes again.
    He decides to leave her instead, and turns back towards the direction he’d been originally heading to.

    “wake up!”
    “Uooohhhh...” Starr moans as someone pokes her ear.
    Raichu. He’s sitting on her. Batts sighs to the electric mouse, <Good. I was a little concerned. Usually Recover works faster than that.>
    “Chu.” Raichu hugs Starr.
    The kids are clustered around her when she opens her eyes. “where’sh myewtwo?” she asks a little indistinctly.
    “The huge Pokémon went down that road,” one of the kids says. “You’re not going to follow it, are you?”
    Starr stands up, wobbling. “Wh.....hey......that road goes...th...!!!!!!!! Someone could....... **AAAAAAAAAAAIGH!!!!!***....JAMES!!!! FARIS!!!!!!!”
    With that slightly inarticulate point made, Starr shakes off the rest of the dizziness, stands, and orders the kids, “You stay here. Two of my friends are out there. I have to help any way I can....”
    She turns and dashes off, following the trail of various smashed objects in Mewtwo’s wake. Raichu nods to Batts, who teleports them to Starr’s destination..
 
 

    strages strages: vale infans !    strages strages: vale innocens !
    “Oh my gosh…” Misty whispers, covering her mouth.
    She, Brock, Ash, Pikachu, and Togepi all gaze, dumbstruck, at the approaching path of destruction.
    “We…we’ve got to stop it!” Ash declares, his cap turned backwards. “We can’t just let Mewtwo go around smashing whatever it wants!”
    “I don’t think we should do anything for now,” Brock says. “I don’t think it sees us yet, but if we don’t get out of its way now, we could get killed!”
    “But…” Ash protests, turning to his friend. “We can’t just let it go on a rampage!”
    “PIKA PI!!!!” Pikachu yells, jumping up into her trainer’s face. “PI pikachu!! Pi pi pi pi PII~~ ka!! CHUU!!! Pika chu PI!!”
    Stunned, Ash falls silent to listen to reason.
    “Ash, don’t be stupid!!” Misty yells, taking advantage of this. “You heard the announcement same as we did! Mewtwo is REALLY DANGEROUS! This isn’t just some Pokémon battle where you’ll just lose a fight, you could lose your LIFE too! We can’t DO anything!!!”
    The young Pokémon trainer is about to argue this point when three older boys run out from the other side, yell something undistinguishable to Mewtwo, and throw out their Pokéballs.
    Ash stands immediately. “I can’t let those guys fight by themselves!” he says determinedly. Before Misty or Brock can stop him, he runs out into the battlefield, three Pokéballs already in hand.
    “PIKA PIIIIII~~~~!!!!!”
    “AA~~SH!!!!!!” “ASH, DON’T!!!!”
    vale vale: infans innocens !    salve salve: infans fatalis !
    Before he can throw out Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Pidgeotto, however, the Pokémon of the three other boys are sent flying. The three boys themselves are flung in midair, then messily dissected by flying debris—all of which are being controlled by Mewtwo’s icy psychic aura. Their bodies and limbs and internal organs, now separated from each other, fall into a heap.
    Ash abruptly reconsiders, comes to a new decision quickly, and turns to run back to Pikachu and the others. Before he can take a step, a small orb or energy hits the ground where he is, sending him flying.
    Luckily, he lands on Misty and the others, and although they take on various scratches and bruises, and Togepi is crying, they remain largely unhurt… which cannot be said for the other boys.
    Through the smoke of the explosion, Mewtwo emerges. Misty shushes Togepi to the best of her ability, and the moment is pure tenseness as they wait to see if Mewtwo will attack them; out of pure terror, Ash-tachi remain deathly still;
    The psychic Pokémon ignores them as if it didn’t know they’re there, and continues on its way.
    “There’s nothing we can do to stop it,” Brock whispers to Ash and Misty as it makes its way off. Togepi is still frightened, but he isn’t crying as hard as it had before. “The only thing we can do is try to stop the fire and help any survivors.”
    “I agree,” Misty nods, pulling out her Pokéballs and holding Togepi. “We’ll use our Pokémon to put out the fire!”
    Ash, still stunned, only nods.
 

    ortus repentinus    mors occultus    sentire in aeternum    ira innocentia
    Jessie stares out at the approaching death. Her arms are limp at her side. It seems almost as if she’s already dead.
    After a long moment, she turns her head.
    James and Faris are still standing there too. They haven’t left or fled. They’re standing, side by side, expecting death. Probably hand in hand, too.
    She turns her head back to the monster. “Why am I doing this?” she murmurs to herself. She wipes the forming tears from her eyes, and walks over to join the two.
    Faris glances at her as she stops next to James. “What are you doing here, Jessie?” she queries in a non-demanding tone, just one denoting curiosity.
    Jessie shakes her head. “I don’t know, either.”
    “It’s going to be dangerous.”
    “Yeah…I figured.”
    “He’s after me.”
    strages strages: vale infans !     strages strages: vale innocens !
    Jessie and James both stare at her. “How do you know?” they question in unison.
    Faris doesn’t meet their gaze. “…I’ll settle this myself. There’s no need for you two to get needlessly injured. Run off and hide somewhere. Oh yes…” She looks past James, to Jessie. “If I die, you have my blessing. Now get out of here, both of you.” She turns away.
    Both Jessie and James’ face register surprise. They exchange a glance; James shakes his head. “I’m not leaving you,” he states evenly, squeezing her hand a little. “I’m not going to leave you alone. I promised I wouldn’t.”
    A tiny smile forms on Faris’ lips, and she squeezes back.
    Jessie nods, forcing herself not to look at her. “I’m not leaving either. If I die, I’m sure as hell not going to die alone!”
    “Thanks, Jess,” Faris smiles.
    This time, Jessie can’t help but take a glance.
    A black shadow appears against the stalking flames only a couple hundred yards away.
    “He’s here,” Faris whispers.
    vale vale: infans innocens !     salve salve: infans fatalis !
    Out from the raging waves of fire, Sephiroth emerges.
    Her grip on James’ hand loosens, then breaks off entirely.
    “Faris—”
    “Don’t try to stop me,” she tells him quietly, taking a step forward. “This is something I have to do.”
    “But—!”
    “I SAID,” Faris repeats, glaring at James, “DON’T try to stop me.”
    He hesitates a second, but steps back and nods.
    She looks away from him, turning her gaze to Sephiroth, a newborn angel of red. “When we said ‘it’s a promise’…” she whispers, “I never thought it would come to this.” She closes her eyes. “I guess it’s up to me now.”
    As she approaches him, Sephiroth takes no heed of her, as if she didn’t exist at all. His attention goes only to those nearest to him, such as that small girl and her older brother, both sobbing in terror—
    Faris breaks into a run.
    It’s not like her to care about other people, but this time it’s different.  She doesn’t know why, and her pace doesn’t slow, even as Sephiroth’s already dark red tail, like the claw of a scorpion that’s already struck several times, crushes the boy in one blow.
    He takes aim to finish off the now screaming girl.
    James starts running. A second passes before Jessie takes his lead.
    “DAME YO~~~!!!” she screams, throwing herself in front of the little girl in the desperate hope that Sephiroth will recognize her and stop himself.
    Sephiroth’s thoughts are racing ten thousand kilometers per second. At that moment, even Faris looks like another sinning human.
    His tail, as deadly as any scorpion’s, does not slow for her.
    vale vale vale vale vale vale infans innocens !
    salve salve salve salve salve salve infans fatalis !
    Time seems to stretch across infinity as Sephiroth twirls around, using his tail as a deadly whip, ready to fling Faris into the stone building one hundred yards away.
    The flow of angered tears of blood colors everything around them crimson red....
    CRAAAAAACK.
    “Aaahh…” Faris gasps, her eyes widening in shock.
    In the near distance, the church bells of the Ends of the World Arena crash wildly as Sephiroth’s tail smashes into James, who had pushed Faris out of harm’s way to take the brunt of the blow himself, and sends him flying.
    There is a second CRAAACK, off one hundred yards away.
    Although it is fainter than the previous one, it is by far more sickening.
    The ensuing moment comprises of Starr, Ash and the others arriving too late; Jessie stopping in her tracks only yards away from Faris and Sephiroth; Sephiroth slowing down long enough to realize where he is and what he’s been doing; and Faris’ reaction to what had just happened.
    “Iya… IYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!”
    Even as the agonized scream leaves her mouth, Faris is on her feet and sprinting to James’ still form.
    The scream echoes through the night air, even though the roar of the flames is intense enough to crush thought.
    “My god…” Jessie whispers before taking flight herself. Starr, Ash and their crew take to their feet a split-second after.
   Sephiroth remains where he stands now, numbed by the depth of what he’s done.
    “James…James!! JAMES!!!” Faris shrieks, pulling the still James into her lap and shaking him, as if it would do any good. Her calls continue to the point where they border on hysteria.
    “No.. noo…” she sobs, dipping her head onto his chest. “Noooo….” Her tears overflow, and she lifts a hand to try to wipe them away.
    A different wetness touches her cheek even as the tears and brushed off. She pulls her hand away…
    Jessie and the others arrive in time to see that her hand, which had been supporting James’ head, is drenched in fresh blood.
    Faris stares at her hand, bottom lip trembling. Faint, indistinguishable noises come from deep within her throat. Her eyes, colored the same crimson as the liquid on her hand, go wide and indistinct.
    “You promised…” she whispers to the smoke-laden air, “…you promised…you wouldn’t…leave me alone…”
    And she faints.
    Toppling forward onto the still form of the one man she loves, Faris faints.
    “Oh, god, what a mess..” Jessie mutters sympathetically as she pulls the older girl off of him. “I guess it was just too much for her to handle.”
    “Don’t make fun of her!” Ash snaps. “James is dead, she has a right to be upset enough to faint!!”
    “I’m not making fun of her!” Jessie snaps back, her own blue eyes starting to fill with tears.
    Starr and Batts step forward and kneel next to James. Gently, Starr pulls him into her own lap, holding his body close to hers, as if she could somehow keep the warmth, which is steadily draining from him, from departing completely. Her tears spill onto his blood-stained face, and she sobs.
    Misty, Brock, Pikachu, Togepi and Ash fall silent, their own eyes filling with tears. Even though for most of the time they had known him he was a thorn in their side, now… now he was almost a friend. And even if they still didn’t like him, it’s still heartbreaking to watch.
    Jessie can’t look. She can’t bring herself to look.
    Batts takes a step forward. <…> His eyes glow soft blue as he stares at the young man. A few seconds pass.
    <He is not dead.>
    Everyone’s heads snap up, including Jessie’s. “What?!”
    <He is not dead,> Batts repeats. <He was only almost dead. I used Recover on him, so he’s not on the brink anymore. I think I may be able to save him. However, the odds aren’t in his favor, so…>
    “Do it anyway,” Starr says quietly, tears still melting down her cheeks. “Even if it’s a 1% chance, we’ve gotta try. Faris would never forgive us if we didn’t.”
    “Yeah…that’s right,” Jessie agrees. “Save him, Batts, for Faris’ sake, okay?”
    <I would have done so even if you hadn’t asked,> he replies before falling silent with concentration. His entire body glows lavender-blue, and James’ body takes on a very faint version of the same aura.
    Several tense minutes pass.
    Ash swallows hard. “Hey…” he says weakly to no one in particular. “I thought psychic Pokémon could only use the Recover move on themselves. How come Batts can use it on James?”
    “Shut up, stupid brat,” Jessie replies in a tired tone, missing its usual harsh edge. “Who cares how he does it, as long as he can do it.”
    “Jessie,” Starr says in a slightly scolding tone, but she too sounds tired. “Ash, before we met upon the way here, I got hurt by Mewtwo, and Batts healed me. He told me when I asked him afterwards, that the reason he can do such a thing is because of Faris’ training. She wanted him to be able to do such a thing in case one of her Pokémon was ever hurt and she wasn’t near a Pokémon Center. So, they worked together, and after a few weeks, he mastered the ability to use Recover on other Pokémon—and on humans, too.” She sighs, bowing her head slightly.
    As the minutes pass, Sephiroth watches in silence. An empty hole is growing within him; a horrible feeling from the knowledge that he may have killed someone important to Faris. The heat of the fire, beyond that of a hundred thousand open ovens; the sound of the fire, equal to the crashing of a giant waterfall or the howling of hurricane winds; the smell of the fire, mixed with burning buildings and corpses; even the sight of the fire, as real and yet as unreal as anything one could imagine, all fade away into nothingness compared to this realization.
    “What of us? What do I say? Are we both from a different world? ‘Cause every breath that I take, I breath it for you. I couldn’t face my life without you, and I’m so afraid. There’s nothing to comfort us. What am I, if I can’t be yours?”
    Sephiroth’s indistinct sight comes into focus as the strange stanza enters his thoughts. He turns his head to Faris, who is lying, as still and as beautiful as a delicate china doll, in Jessie’s arms as the crowd continues to watch Batts attempt to heal James, and hope.
    ‘Your mind…’ He blinks, and even he starts to cry in sorrow. ‘As you wish for death, even then your mind is filled with music.’
    Sephiroth turns to the inferno surrounding him and everything.
    He shuts his eyes, and concentrates.
    Over at the Pokémon Center several miles away, which has not yet been touched by the fire, every Pokéball containing a water Pokémon cracks open.

    Although the aura is somewhat stronger, James has yet to make any motion denoting that he is close to recovering consciousness.
    The hope that everyone is struggling to keep a hold on is starting to fade.
    Batts’ aura dies down, and he lifts his head.
    “He’s not going to last, is he…” Jessie comments quietly as she toys with Faris’ hair.
    <…> He shakes his head. <Probably not. Even though I used up most of my energy, I wasn’t at full strength.. the best you can do is pray.>
    “But I don’t believe in God,” Jessie says quietly. “What do I do then?”
    <…You can quietly despair.>
    “Yappari…” a faint voice says. Jessie glances down to see that an ashen Faris has awakened. “He’s going to die….”
    Batts closes his eyes. <It is the more likely option. If I had been at full strength, perhaps, then…>
    “It’s okay,” she whispers, eyes slightly glazed over as she struggles to get up. Jessie helps her as she continues, “I suppose I shouldn’t have been so naïve to trust his promise…” Gently, she takes him from Starr’s arms and cradles him, as tenderly as one would rock a small child, or perhaps a cherished doll that had just been broken beyond repair. She brushes a strand of hair out of his shut eyes, and whispers, “Even though I know you intended to keep it…I told you, but you wouldn’t listen…” Her tears fall onto his cheeks, and to the others, it almost looks as if James is crying too. “I told you…everyone I love…goes away…”
    This time, not even Starr can argue with that. And James isn’t conscious to.
    The soft shuffling of earth grabs everyone but Faris’ attention.
    Their eyes grow wide, but Sephiroth is not there for them. None of the others make a move, but their eyes are riveted on the giant psychic Pokémon.
    He stops next to Faris.
    “…” Her eyes slide over to him, and she lifts her head.
    Their eyes meet.
    “Go… gomen nasai,” he says quietly.
    She nods slowly. “There’s nothing you can do.”
    He shakes his head. “I can try.”
    As Sephiroth lifts his right hand over James’ chest and his icy blue aura flares up again, Faris smiles a tiny bit. “You think you can imitate Batts’ maneuver?”
    “If he would die anyway, then could I at least try to undo what I’ve done to you?” he queries quietly.
    She nods. “Yeah…” She gazes down at James, whose body is beginning to take on the glow of Sephiroth’s aura in his attempt to finish the healing job.
    Wiping away tears, she begins to sing.
    “Life is a soft, fading flower. Death is a dark, silent abyss,” she quietly intones.
    The roar of the fire has dimmed, thanks to the work of the water Pokémon Sephiroth had summoned, but no one notices anything but the song.
    “But there is hope after, No need to fear, Life and death are A part of rebirth.”
    Ash glances to Misty and Brock, and sees in their profiles the strength of their wish. Pikachu jumps up onto his shoulder and he smiles, comforted a little by her presence. With her, he listens to Faris sing.
    “Through emotion, Past confusion, There will always Be hope and rebirth.”
    Starr wipes away some of her tears as Raichu and Batts lean on her lap. She glances down at them, and smiles a little when she sees Raichu wiping away tears. She strokes his head gently, already a little at ease just by having him close. The three of them listen to Faris sing.
    “Don’t stop dreaming Keep on searching Don’t abandon Your hope for rebirth.”
    Jessie relaxes a little as she listens to Faris sing. Even if, later on, they may be fighting again…right now, hoping a little can’t hurt, right?
    Sephiroth’s eyes soften. ‘Such beautiful music...’ he thinks before the aura around James brightens to a brilliant azure.
    “Floating gently Embrace future Know there shall be.... Rebirth..”
    James’ eyes twitch, then flutter open. He blinks, then smiles weakly up at Faris. “You have…a beautiful voice…” he croaks.
    Faris starts at his voice, then stares down at him. One look at his smiling, warm face, and she lets loose a cry of joy and wraps her arms around him in relief.
    He happily returns her hug, resting his head against her chest.
    The others, minus Sephiroth and Batts, crowd around James, glad to see he’s finally regained consciousness. “Are you okay?” they chorus. “Chu, chu?” Raichu and Pikachu add in.
    James continues to hug Faris a little longer, then turns to them and smiles weakly. “Yeah, I think so,” he says, “but I have a killer migraine. I don’t suppose any of you have any aspirin on you?”
    The laughter is a little strained, but honest.
    “Auughh!” Ash cries, realizing something. “What about the fire!?”
    “That has been taken care of,” Sephiroth says quietly. “I have seen to its extinguishing.”
    It’s then that everyone realizes, again, that he is there.
    An unsettling quiet falls over them.
    Faris lets go of James, letting him fall back into the crowd, and stands. She turns and walks up to Sephiroth, then bows. “Thank you,” she says in her most sincere voice.
    He looks away. “You should not be thanking me,” he replies in a low voice. “Because of my irresponsible thirst for vengeance, I caused…all of this…” He sweeps his left arm out to indicate the destruction of most of Cinnabar Island.
    Faris shakes her head. “Iie; I understand your reasons, even if they don’t. And that’s what matters most, right?” Her features take on a nostalgic air. “Aunt Lenna…I think I finally understand how you must have felt when you told him, ‘I forgive you’.” She steps forward and falls into a hug with him.
    Sephiroth looks surprised, even shocked by this action, but he features soften, and he hugs her back.
    James-tachi look duly flabbergasted by this.
    “Wh- wh- WAIT a second here!!” Starr yells. “You mean MEWTWO was what you were after in your mission!?! You were sent alone!? And you didn’t tell ANY of us!?!?”
    Faris flinches a little, then turns around to face her partner and friend, laughing nervously. “Sou yo!  You aren’t going to get mad over a little something like that, are you?”
    Misty joins in when Starr screams, “YES!”
    “Oh, come on! It turned out all right in the end, didn’t it?”
    “You call a situation like this ‘all right’?” Sephiroth questions, disbelief clear in his voice.
    “SEE?! Even the big psycho Pokémon agrees with us!!” Misty snaps.
    Faris can’t help but smile. “His name is Sephiroth.”
    “EHHH!?!” Starr shrieks. “Who named him that!?”
    “I did…”
    As Starr, Faris, and Misty continue to share their friendly banter, Ash and Brock move to join them. Jessie doesn’t make a move; she instead opts to turn to James and talk to him instead. “You sure you’re okay?”
    He smiles. “I’m pretty sure I’ll live.”
    Jessie laughs a little. “I suppose that’s better than you were a few minutes ago.”
    She sighs.
    “You really were worried about me,” James observes, looking at her sideways.
    “Of COURSE I was!” she snaps. “You are my best friend, James!”
    “You don’t act like it a lot of the time,” he remarks.
    She blinks, surprised. “Huh?”
    “Most of the time, you smack me around for doing something you deem as stupid,” James continues, “even if you made the same mistake. Remember the incident with that kid and his Farfetch’d? You fell for his trap too. But just the same, you almost punched me out of the balloon and to my death because you said I was the one who was stupid!”
    “Ahh…” Jessie falters. “Well…”
    “Jessie.” James straightens himself and faces her, an uncharacteristically serious look on his face. “I think you’re just fooling yourself. How many years have we known each other?”
    “Ah… well… about…” Jessie pauses to try to count in her head. “Let’s see, I’ll be 18 in July, and you turned nineteen last March…and I was 16 when we started stalking Ash for his Pikachu…so about…” She pauses again, but it’s only a second-long pause. “Seven years or so. Give or take a few months.”
    “That sounds about right,” James nods. “And in all those seven years, you never once said anything about wanting to get romantic.”
    “’Cause I figured you weren’t interested,” she counters dryly. “I dropped hints left and right, but you never got any of them. By the time we joined Team Rocket, I gave up and just left things as they were.”
    He sighs, resting his forehead against his hand. “Maybe we’d better continue this discussion later, Jessie…” he suggests.
    “We probably better,” she mumbles in agreement.
    James sighs again, this time with a little more irritation in his voice. He scratches at the back of his head. When he pulls his hand away, it’s covered in dried, flaky blood.
    He makes a face. “I really need a shower,” he comments before gazing up at the night sky.