The Hidden Island

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Ami finally managed to scoot out of the pile-up and over to the shelter entrance. "Ha ha ha! V-I-C-T-O-R-Y! Dun dun dun dun DUNN DUNN dun da dun!"

Her threee brothers sat up. They looked at her, and then at each other. They collectively smirked.

Ami knew that look. Her eyes widened and she backed up. "Um, guys... guys..."

Too late. They all tackled her back to the ground at once.

****

"Fine time for us to get modest," Reno joked. "Yes, we should, but whether or not we WOULD, now there is a valid question." He laughed and kissed her once more time before letting her go. "But if you insist, baby... not like it'll hurt me to save it for the honeymoon, right?" He spotted his jacket and snatched it, looking suddenly thoughtful. "Well, actually it probably WILL hurt me... but I'm pretty sure you could nurse me back to health in short order." He winked, looking around for his other discarded garments...

[*~Nikkole~*]

Kamen saw this and laughed as he sat back and watched his new family play. This wasn't so bad... if anything it was better then the family he first had.... He rubbed his eyes slightly and sighed. He had forgotten about that... but he laughed it off....



Nikky laughed and kissed him back before getting up and slipping her shorts on. She did up her shirt and looked for her shoes before looking over just in time for the wink. She smirked. "Yeah... I could but it would be more fun to watch you squirm..." She teased as she put on her shoes.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

"Good to see someone is having a good time..."

The voice seemed to come practically out of nowhere, and the tussling froze. Ami picked herself up from underneath the tangle of combatants. "Er, morning, Vincent."

The others also got to their feet, feeling not a little awkward, like kids caught playing hooky. Where'd he come from? I didn't even hear him coming... enough to make a person swear he popped out of a shadow or something... no wonder they chose him for... Kadaj stopped himself, barely remembering in time there was an extra set of ears listening to his thoughts.

****

Reno gave her a pointed, humorous look, yanking his pants back on. "Oh, would it, really?" He came up behind her and kissed the top of her head, his arms around her shoulders. "I'm not that boring, am I?"

[*~Nikkole~*]

Kamen looked over at him before remembering who he was. He saw everybody standing and followed suit, awkwardly watching them. He heard Kadaj and glanced over at him but said nothing. He looked away and back to Vincent.


Nikky leaned back against him and grinned, eyes closed. "Maybe...." She laughed a little before spinning around. "But either way you're my Reno." She smirked playfully and kissed him lightly before pulling away and taking his hand. "Now come on... let's go back."

[Amnesty Lazuli]

"All right, all right..." He smiled and followed her back through the fire circle, where the remains of last night's party could be seen strewn everywhere: hawk feathers, primitive noise makers, drink receptacles of all shapes, sizes, and stages of functionality (from unused to totally shattered), knucklebones, and several dead roasted things he could only assume had been dinner. A hundred feet farther through a thick grove of trees was the tent and shelter area, where he spotted only six figures awake (of the six hundred or more populating the camp). Of the six, four had silver hair, and the other two had black. "Morning, yo," he called out.
"What all's new in the world of the fearless leaders?"

Vincent looked at Kamen carefully... something about him was off, unusual... he noticed the eyes and stiffened.

Ami moved quickly to explain. "So, ha ha, looks like the boys decided to put one over on me... they put something or other in Kamen's drink and now he looks a little bit oddish... but it takes all sorts, yeah?" She forced a laugh, but it fell flat.

Kadaj rolled his eyes and turned to Vincent. "It's temporary--"

"I know," Vincent said, cutting him off. "I've seen it before."

Kadaj watched hm acidly for a moment... You WERE there, weren't you? I'd nearly forgotten. His eyes narrowed. Don't condemn us for this. It was a harmless prank. You're far too ready to assume the worst about us... you WANT to assume the worst about us.

Vincent wasn't even paying him any attention, still watching Kamen... his mind was silently negotiating an entirely different possibility... I was right about you, Kamen. You'll be the one to stop him, but we'll have to act quickly.

[*~Nikkole~*]

Nikky laughed and followed him. She saw Kamen and waved, not paying attention really. He smiled back.

Kamen quickly looked back to Vincent as he listened to them all talk. His attention jmped back to Vincent curiously. You were one of the few that really freaked me out... but I suppose you thrive on that? It wasn't bitter or mean, just curious. He frowned slightly, confused. What do you mean and why? He asked calmly before looking at the others....

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Vincent blinked calmly... he was not a telepath himself, he'd merely been mulling over Kamen's transformation. Apparently the change had enhanced Kamen's abilities beyond the point that he even knew his own strength. He ushered the boy away from the others, preferring to stick with the traditional means of human-to-human conversation. "I was referring to the Puppetmaster. Before the Kalm battle I proposed that you might be the one with strength to stand against him. This 'little joke' could become the key to his defeat."

Kadaj, mentally eavesdropping on the two, took a moment to realize Amnesty was talking to him and the others. "...will be a depressing job to say the least, but I don't plan on scuttling out to get away from it." He saw her eyes lower. "They died for me, so I should dig graves for them."

Kadaj realized she spoke of the dead from the previous day's battle. "I heard talk of a mass grave..."

Ami shook her head. "No. These were individuals who all gave up their lives for the sake of MY little war. I won't have them remembered any differently."

"And how do you propose to dig so many holes, hmm?" Yazoo queried incredulously.

Ami raised an eyebrow. "With a shovel, duh."

"That'll take forever," Loz protested.

She looked grim. "Then I'd better get started. Soon as the rest of the camp wakes up... we begin."

"We?" Kadaj insisted.

"If you three don't want to help, that's your business," Ami snapped back. "But remember this: we all go together."

Loz glanced downwards, looking somewhat shamefaced. He looked back to Ami, nodding. "Together we play."

She smiled, resignedly. "Right. Let's go eat something." She headed off towards the supply canteen.

Reno overheard all this. "Sounds like a bad scene, babe," he muttered, pulling Nikky a little closer. He sighed. "Geez, I hate suddenly having a conscience." He grinned wryly. "Looks like I can't cut and run, either."

[*~Nikkole~*]

Kamen reluctently left with him, not sensing Vincent to be the type that would kill him for now real reason. He looked at him and blinked. "My master?" He said mostly for himself. "Yes, I remember." He nodded slightly, recalling that conversation. He frowned slightly. "But how would this help me? I have not felt him all of our stay here and I have no idea where he could be.... How would we possibly find him beforethis wears off??" He knew it was temporary but had no idea how long there was left.

Nikky chuckled a bit and leaned into him. "Aw... come on. It wouldn't hurt to help out. Besides... what else is there to do here??" She grinned back at him.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

"We would first need to make the cross to the other world," Vincent explained. "After that, I presume he would sense your return and attempt to contact you... in turn, your new abilities might be able to track him, allowing us to find and destroy him." He looked across the camp. "But before we can begin the crossing... we first have to tie up our remaining loose ends."

****

Amnesty and her brothers were actually not the first to arrive at the canteen. Two other Silken were already there, fetching some food for themselves. "It might well take the entire woods," one said glumly as Ami and her brothers filed into line behind them.

"Nonsense," the other scoffed. "We have Kilka among us... they should be able to help."

"If they don't try to knock us cold first," the other countered. "They all but worship the forest. They might see this as defilement."

"Oh, rubbish," his companion rebutted. "We have respect for their traditions, so they must respect ours. Flame is our path to the afterworld, and it just so happens that trees seem to substantiate said path rather well." The two got their breakfast and wandered off, their bickering fading off into the distance.

Ami nodded thoughtfully. "Funeral pyres. Maybe this won't be as backbreaking as I thought."

[*~Nikkole~*]

Kamen nodded, getting it now. "Alright... but, um..." He followed his gaze. "What do you mean??" He sounded meeker, he hated being so confused but this whole thing drove his brain crazy.... He was more relaxed these past days though, most of his mental barriers had been let down since his master could not reach him....

His worry grew though. Could he actually defeat his master?? And why was this guy so animate about it...??

[Amnesty Lazuli]

"Regroup first. Have Amnesty see to bidding her new consituency goodbye. Gather our effects. Uncomplicated, but time-consuming." He kept staring at the canteen, waiting for the others to be finished there. "And further... the girl and I have long-belated business to attend when we return. Her brothers, however, should be able to give you all the assistance you will require."

She and the others returned, bringing their rations with them. "Good news and bad news, people. Good news is, we'll be setting up pyres for the fallen Silken, which takes less time. Bad news is, after that business is done, we still have to cross the desert to get back to the portal."

The boys shrugged. "We'll have more than enough wood in no time," Kadaj insisted. "I suggest we get to work as soon as we're finished eating, before it becomes too hot out there."

Reno sighed. "So it goes from shovels and rakes and implements of destruction to a lizard barbecue. Fun fun fun."

From behind he felt a rather stiff cuff to the head. "Have some respect for the dead," Rude insisted, as Reno picked himself up from the ground that his partner had sent him to.

[*~Nikkole~*]

"Oh.... okay." He said awkwardly as he fell back into silence. He looked over at the others before glancing to Vincent. He felt like he needed to say something but he didn't as he went to walk back to the others....

Nikky sighed but giggled a little. She was in her usual good mood and didn't want it to end anytime soon. Besides, she was looking forward to going back.... in a way. She glanced at Rude and Reno before sighing slightly and shaking her head.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

Many hours later...

The sun was high in the desert sky, but blotted into inky blackness by the rising pillars of smoke that bore away the remains of the massacred Silken. The fallen Kilka lay bound in shrouds, awaiting burial in their ancestral hallowed grounds.

It had been suggested that Ami's speech become a eulogy for the fallen. And so, as the bodies burned and the comrades wept, she donned the white gown once again to stand before the moruners.

She looked up towards her friends, tired and sweating from all the work they had done. She'd been in similar shape after helping them, but then the females had dragged her off to make her look more presentable again, displaying her freshly cleaned frock, and we all know how that song goes.

She took a deep breath and began. "I was asked last night, by a very good friend of mine, what I planned to do with my life. I said that I wanted to continue protecting others. But I was corrected... told that no one could live giving shelter to everyone else. This, of course, is true."

Ashes fell like snow over the crowd, making gray the tracks of falling tears... they brushed against Amnesty's face, leaving dark smudges on her pale skin, landing like silver flecks in her hair.

"No one person's shadow is long enough to give shade to the world. But..." Amnesty exhaled, forcing back a compulsion to weep. "As one cannot live protecting all... none can live unless we protect each other. This truth... this ultimate sharing... this is what my world has forgotten. And if I can return, and tell them to remember what these brave ones died knowing... perhaps we can regain what we have lost."

There was a moment of silence.

Then a voice lifted over the crowd... solemn and pure... singing an ancient dirge.

Astragard funeraria... t'n'dismem requi... y'w'des o't'strilo... wyrd w'mond... ni'i'd'requi'b cant par'y... y'l'unta mermem'b.

The strange words were foreign to most of those present... but the meaning could be detected by all... and they were strangely clear to Kamen.

A death song for the guardians of the stars... a song to ensure you will not be forgotten... I may fall on the battlefield... fate may command it... but if this song is sung for me.... I will never be a memory.

The words slowly faded.

An even longer silence, broken by quiet weeping alone, followed.

An eternity later, the slow procession back to camp began.

****

Amnesty, wearing her ordinary clothes again, packed in silence, listening to Vincent and her brothers discussing what they intended to do upon returning.

"It will be a long journey," she heard Vincent warning. "I am unsure how long it will be before I return her to you."

"We will destroy the Puppetmaster... then we will come to find her." Kadaj.

"No. We must go alone."

"Why? We all know very well what you want to show her. We have always known. We're cursed with the memories. She carries a load of her own. Why do you add yours to it?"

"She deserves the truth. She is strong enough now to know it."

"Her strength is not the issue. You have no interest in the truth-- the truth is, she has a family. This family. That is all the truth that matters."

"Kadaj, she wants to know. I have seen it in her eyes."

"You have seen HER in Amnesty's eyes. That is what this is all about, admit it."

A pause. A long, long pause.

"She agreed to come. She is coming. That truth should be enough for you."

Kadaj was seething. Ami could feel it.

"You cannot make me abandon her. I will not leave her in your hands."

Yazoo's tension was rising, but his voice did not betray it. "Kadaj--"

"No! He had his chance and let her slip away, don't you see? If not for that--"

"Now who sees her in Ami's eyes?"

Another long silence.

"Take her."

Footsteps walking in different directions.

****

Reno and Rude were also packing up. Reno gave Nikky a lopsided grin. "Looks like everybody else has got solid plans. Looks like us three are the only pitiful saps in the whole camp with no idea what we're doin' next."

[*~Nikkole~*]

Kamen had found a place to sit and think things over. His pale and slender fingers touched the brand on his wrist. It was cold and dark now, with his Master so far away it was just a brand. He sighed before looking up and around at everyone. I'm finally going to end this.... I never thought it could ever happen....

Nikky sat back and watched the two pack with a wide grin. Her stuff was beside her already so she was waiting on them. "Aw come on.... thats what makes it fun!" She grinned, looking forward to whatever was next.

[Amnesty Lazuli]

The party assembled, its posessions loaded onto a stout pair of chocobos, its members reunited for the journey home. A Silken guide had been appointed to show the way across the vast expanse of sand that lay between the woods and the portal.

"We ought to reach the gateway by sunset," he assured them. "We will be riding through one of the hotter parts of the day, but there is no need to worry-- even now, the influence of the demons on this place lessens, and the merciless heat becomes milder."

"Kinda well spoken, these guys... for lizards," Reno joked quietly to Rude, who replied with a sharp elbow in the stomach.

The small, strange caravan moved out, leaving the triumphant army behind, waving goodbye.

****

Reno brought up his chocobo next to Kamen's as the woods blurred out on the horizon. "Listen, kid, I promised ya I'd help take out your boss if you helped me out, and you did. I can still hold up my end of the deal, yo... if you want."

Vincent stayed well ahead of Amnesty and her brothers. They spoke not a word, but he could feel the boys' hostility hovering in the air... like electricity.

Amnesty rode up to meet him. "Are you ever going to tell me exactly where we are going, or are we making it up as we go along?"

"I'll tell you when we get there." He made his animal fall out of step with hers, falling slightly behind.

Ami sighed. Impossible. The man is impossible!