"What?!" Etienne stood in Kaitlyn’s kitchen, his pallid features twisted into a shocked expression.  "I didn’t bloody make a copy of your keys!"

"Then…um…what did you do?" Kaitlyn asked, looking up at him from where she sat at the table.

"I…jeez..look, I hung around for awhile after I said I was leaving…I heard you start to cry, and I saw your keys on the table. I took the keys and put them in my pocket, pretending they were mine and I’d forgotten them so I’d have an excuse for coming back in." he said sheepishly, avoiding Kaitlyn’s gaze. "I didn’t make a copy of your keys."

He shifted uncomfortably as silence followed for a few moments, then looked up in surprise when he felt Kaitlyn’s arms wrap around him.

"See?" she said to Umi, whose bowl was situated at the center of the table, "I told you he wasn’t a sociopath."

Etienne sweatdropped.

"Yes, well, anyway…"

"Right," Kaitlyn sat back down. "Umi, when we were fighting last night, this strange staff appeared in my hands…"

"Did it?  Where is it now?"

"It disappeared after I used it…I don’t know what to make of it." she frowned.

"Well, I wouldn’t worry about it…I’d worry about your little friend, Sikari." Umi said. "According to THEM, he’s planning to try and knock off all six of you."

"Does THEM know who he’s targeting next?" Etienne asked.

"Hang on…" Umi said. "Um, they said they _could_ find out if they wanted to, but they’re on their coffee break, so forget about it."

"Coffee break?"

"Beats me," Umi said, wishing he had the ability to shrug.

"So what are we going to do?" Kaitlyn muttered.

"Hmph… why don’t we just ask Nikolas?" Etienne said, a slight sneer on his face.

"Mmm… I’m sorry… I just can’t believe Nikolas is evil.  I mean.. he’s so nice.  I know he has something to do with this because of that warning, but.. he can’t be evil…" Kaitlyn looked at her hands.

"You’re far too trusting, Kaitlyn…" Etienne said gently. "Anyway, I’m not really sure about what to do, since our fish friend isn’t feeling too helpful…"

"Hey, don’t talk to me, talk to THEM," Umi answered, annoyed.

"I’ll just keep my guard up and watch Azura, then…" Kaitlyn sighed.  She paused for a minute, and then said,

"Um.. do you want to go get some lunch?’

"Sure," Etienne brightened, smiling a little. "But…what about Roan?"

"Something tells me that Roan can take of herself." Kaitlyn said, laughing a little as she walked to her door.

"Yeah, you’re probably right," Etienne said, making a face and following her out. "Forget I asked."

"Sikari…" Riordan’s cold, even voice spoke from the darkness. "I understand you failed to dispose of the sinner?"

"I…yes, Riordan." Sikari said, swallowing thickly. "There…there was a problem."

"Problem?" Riordan whispered, his voice dangerously soft.

"Yes… you see, it was going along pretty well, you know, I had her pinned and I was just going to finish her when these three girls in sailor suits showed up…"

Riordan raised an eyebrow.

"Sailor suits?"

"Yes, I know, it’s not very practical, especially considering the weather at the time, but that’s what they were," Sikari said, having the vague notion in the back of his mind that he was probably babbling.

"So what did you do?"

"Well, I… I tried to fight them, but there were three of them, like I said, and then a fourth one showed up and I was pretty well outnumbered, sir… so…I…" Sikari trailed off, his fingers clenching.

"You ran away." Riordan finished, stepping into the light.  Sikari moved back involuntarily, looking up into the taller man’s piercing yellow-green eyes.  He winced as Riordan gripped his shoulder, leaning over and hissing in his ear.

"Do you know what sort of person runs away, Sikari?"

"I…I…" Sikari whimpered as Riordan’s fingers dug into the bone of his shoulder.

"Tell me, Sikari…"

"C… cowards…cowards run away…" Sikari whispered faintly, his shoulder throbbing.

"I can’t hear you." Riordan clutched Sikari’s shoulder, pushing him violently to his knees.  Sikari cried out.

"Cowards!" he howled, his voice thick with pain.  Riordan stepped back, a smile playing on his icy features.  Sikari shuddered, pulling himself to his feet.

"Good boy…" he said, stroking Sikari’s hair back.  "I’m sorry to be so rough with you, but you mustn’t lose sight of our purpose, Sikari… do you remember our purpose?"

"To… to redeem the world," Sikari murmured, standing perfectly still.  Riordan stroked his cheek.

"Correct…" he leaned over, kissing Sikari’s forehead gently. "Now…go…"

Sikari rubbed his shoulder, slinking out of the house and into the warm afternoon.  A soft breeze ruffled his spiky red hair, and he frowned in annoyance, patting it back down.  He began to wander through the alleyways, relaxing a little among the safe darkness.  Dumpsters and trash cans lined the brick walls, and stray cats came from behind them, mewing as they rubbed against his pant leg.  Sikari nudged them away absentmindedly, his attention still focused on the stinging pain in his shoulder.  Eventually, he found himself back in daylight, standing in front of an old church.  He glanced at the ornate building, which was surrounded by rose bushes and large weeping willows.  A thin, paved path led up to the church’s stone doors, and Sikari, not really knowing what he was thinking, began to walk up this path.  He pulled open the great doors and walked in slowly, wondering if a service was being held, but there was silence.  Thus, he moved further inside, to the sermon hall.  Rows of cherry wood pews lined the carpeted floor, arranged around a large altar, on which two candelabras, a white porcelain bowl, and an ancient, open Bible sat.  A blue haired girl was kneeling in front of this altar, her hands clasped together as she prayed in a forgotten language.

Sikari quickly put his glamour on when he realized that the girl was Azura.  Azura paused, rising to her feet and dipping her fingers into the bowl of water sitting next to the book.  She made the sign of the cross over her chest, looking up at the enormous stained glass window behind the altar, which depicted a half-naked man nailed to a cross.  His body was thin and beaten, and blood ran down his face due to the crown of thorns adorning his dark head.  Azura bowed her head and turned, walking back down the aisles of pews, stopping when she caught sight of Sikari.

"Egan!" she called to him, walking over to where he stood.  She smiled, taking his hands in hers.

"I didn’t know you were religious."

Sikari pulled back, frowning.

"I’m not."

"Oh…" Azura blushed a little. "Sorry…"

Sikari pointed to the stained glass.

"Who’s that?"

"That?" Azura’s gaze followed his hand, "that’s Jesus of Nazareth.  Christians believe he’s the son of God."

"Hmph… that’s moronic…’God’ doesn’t exist…"  Sikari muttered.

"Atheists and agnostics think so," Azura said brightly. "It doesn’t really matter to me, what other people believe…I know I probably can’t back up my own beliefs, but that’s what faith is all about, I suppose…"

"Why’d they do that to him?" Sikari said, still looking at the stained glass.

"The Roman government thought he was a threat to their stability because of his teachings, so they executed him." Azura answered, wondering why he was so interested.

"Did they do that to everybody?"

"Yeah.. crucifixion was a common form of Roman punishment.  Some writings even said that the roads were often lined with bodies on crosses, dead and dying…"

"Really?" Sikari grinned. "Cool."

Azura blanched.

"Cool?"

"Yes…" Sikari said. "Very cool…"

"What makes you think other people’s suffering is ‘cool’?" she said, her expression sour.

"I like blood.. and screams…" he replied, a dreamy look overtaking his face.  Azura pinched him.

"Ow!  What did you do that for?!" he hissed, raising his hand to strike her.

"Did you enjoy that?" she asked.  Sikari paused.

"Well, no…" he said, remembering the pain in his shoulder.

"Does the thought of other people feeling that pain really make you happy?"

Sikari shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he tried to think of a suitable answer.

"I…" he said, and then suddenly wondered what he was doing.   "Wait a second…" he thought, narrowing his eyes. "Why am I being so nice?  Isn’t this one of the people I’m supposed to kill?"

Azura noticed his expression and took a step back, glancing at her wrist watch.

"Um, you know, it’s getting a bit late… I think I had better head home now…"

Sikari grinned, taking her by the arm.

"But it’s only four…" he said softly. "There’s plenty of time before dark…"

"M… my mother expects me to be home by three-thirty," Azura lied, trying to wrench her arm free.  Her mother, a heart surgeon, usually didn’t get home until nine and often later. "Egan… please…" she looked into his mad crimson eyes, pleading. Silence followed for a few minutes until Sikari felt his hold on her begin to loosen as he gazed back into her frightened, dilated pupils.  She pulled away from him gently, shaking.

"Th.. thank you, Egan." She whispered, turning and running out of the church.  Sikari watched her go quietly, wondering what he had just done.

Aegis settled himself on the table next to the one Kaitlyn and her friends were gathered at in the local book store’s tiny café.  He pretended to be poring over the open book in front of him, while, out of the corner of his eye, he watched Kaitlyn.  He watched her lips move, her hair swish as she brushed it away from her face, and he listened to her idle talk and laughter.  Eventually he gave this up and leaned over the table, his chin resting in his hands as he gazed at her.

"Kaitlyn…" he murmured. "Is that your name?  I never knew you had one… I always just thought of you as Priestess…" he closed his eyes, fingering the pendant around his neck.  Holding the pendant between his fingers helped him remember, as if the events of those days had somehow been locked inside the shimmering metal…

"Do you really think she can help you, father?" Aegis asked, looking up into his father’s pained eyes as they stood on the steps of the High Priestess’ palace.

"She can…" Daric coughed, his voice thin and brittle.  Aegis bit his lip and sat down on the steps, gently pulling his father with him.  The disease had struck four months ago.  It started with a cough, then an ache, and soon even speaking was a chore.  Daric and Aegis lived in the mountains, in a tiny village known as Mandala.  After the disease had begun to worsen, they sought help from the Shadow Priestess (though they should have realized this effort was futile before they even went), whose palace existed inside the mountain, from the sage that lived at the top of the mountain, and from every other local healer, witch doctor, and whomever else they could find.  Everyone tried the best they could, offering their strongest treatments, but in vain.  The disease, whatever it was, continued to break down Daric’s physical and mental stability. Daric decided that there was no other option but to make the journey to the Lost Continent, where the High Priestess dwelt in her small palace.  Now, after ten days of sailing, they were there, awaiting an audience.

During this time the ten year old Aegis had begun to develop a skepticism for their way of life and their religion, wondering why they were placing such faith in a force that was supposed to support all life and yet was letting his father die.  He thought about this bitterly as he waited, pressing against his father’s thin body.

"The Priestess will see you now…" A tall guard tapped Aegis’s shoulder gently.  The great double doors of the palace swung open, and Aegis helped his father back up, leading him inside.

"She’s in the stage room," the guard said, gesturing in its general location.

"Thank you," Aegis said, looking around at the beautiful palace.  The walls were crafted of a shimmering multi-colored stone, and water surrounded the palace’s marble floors.  Strangely, there was no furniture, and the only true decorations were the emerald stones embedded in the walls.  The stage room was slightly more adorned, with enormous cup-shaped statues lining the path up to the Mana seed’s stage.  Green flames danced within the cups, their light reflecting off the silvery metal.  A tall woman with long, flowing green hair that reached to her ankles stepped from behind the stage, her robes billowing slightly as she walked.

"The Priestess…" Aegis whispered, clutching his father’s arm.  Her feet made no sound as she moved to the front of the stage and sat down on the bottom step.

"Hello…" she said, her voice light and soft.

"Priestess…" Aegis said, biting his lip.  "I…will you help my father?"

She smiled.

"Well, it’s nice to meet someone who doesn’t mince around with formalities…" she said, standing. "What do you need?"

"I…" Aegis took a breath and then launched into an explanation of their plight.  The Priestess listened quietly, her attention completely focused on the young boy before her.  Aegis shifted nervously as he talked, feeling slightly self-conscious as he listened to his voice echo off the chamber’s walls.  When he had finished, he looked up into the Priestess’s gentle blue eyes, awaiting her reply.  She said nothing, instead taking his father’s hand.

"Don’t worry…" she said, when Aegis’s eyes widened. "I’ll do everything I can."

That was what everyone else they had gone to had said.  Aegis swallowed, wanting to ask her why she thought she would be any different than the rest, but held in his skepticism and nodded a little.  He left the stage room and leaned against the wall, slumping down to a seated position.  There was no sound from the stage room for the next hour.  Aegis had resorted to pacing when at last the Priestess reappeared in the threshold, that same calm smile on her face.

"He’ll be alright, Aegis…" she said. "He needs to rest here for a few days, though…he seems to have been poisoned."

"P…poisoned?" Aegis whispered.

"Yes…actually, I’m surprised he’s not dead yet…" The Priestess said, nibbling on her lower lip, her brow furrowed. "At any rate…I know this place looks fairly bare, but we do have a few rooms. You can stay while your father recuperates."

"Oh…thank you…" Aegis said, watching as she disappeared back into the stage room.  He spent the next few days wandering around the palace, surprised to find that, aside from the guard (who apparently only worked in the day time—Aegis noticed he left once the sun set), the Priestess was the only one who actually lived there.  He watched as she received the daily visitors—mostly people who had come to have a sickness cured, just like he had.  On the evening of the day before he and his father were to leave, Aegis saw her, sitting near a pond in front of the palace.She had her knees drawn up to her chest, her head resting on her kneecaps as she gazed into the pond’s clear water.  Aegis moved towards her slowly, carefully sitting down next to her.

"Don’t you ever get lonely here, all by yourself all the time?" he asked softly.

"Sometimes…" she answered, apparently not perturbed by his sudden appearance. "But this is my destiny, you know?  And… I like helping people…"

"When I get older, I’ll come back here and stay with you… so you won’t be lonely…okay?" Aegis said, his eyes hopeful.  The Priestess stretched out her legs, turning her head so that her eyes were level with his.  She took hold of an ornate pendant around her neck and slipped it off.

"You’re sweet…but, how about you take this amulet…when you hold it, think of me.  I’ll know, and then I won’t be lonely." She said, proffering the pendant.  He reached for it, placing it around his own neck, a slight blush on his cheeks.

"I…I will.  I promise.  I’ll think of you every day."

"Um, Kaitlyn…" Jada glanced back at the tall, indigo-haired boy sitting at the table nearest to them. "I think that guy’s staring at you."

Kaitlyn blinked, following Jada’s line of vision. The boy, whom Kaitlyn recognized as Damarius, flushed when he saw them returning his gaze.  He turned away quickly, gripping the book in front of him and holding it up.  Jada giggled as she noted that the book was upside down.

"I think he’s got a crush on you, babe."

Kaitlyn face-faulted, almost dropping the mug of coffee in her right hand. "Jada, come on…he could have just as easily been looking at you or Lani or Kiera or…or that girl, over there," Kaitlyn said, pointing to the girl at the table across from them.  Her face was buried in a book, and her shoulder-length, unkempt brown hair kept falling over her glasses.  Jada rolled her eyes as Kiera made a disgusted face and Lani muttered,

"Yeah, right."

"Well, he could have," Kaitlyn said, lowering her head so that she was really talking more to her coffee than anyone else.

"Denial," Jada sighed dramatically.

"No one would want to look at me," Kaitlyn murmured, closing her eyes.  Jada blinked.

"Need some Prozac there, buddy?" she said, patting Kaitlyn on the back.

"Mmmph," Kaitlyn frowned a little. "Forget it.  That’s not the issue at hand, anyway…"

"Um, what exactly is  the issue at hand?" Lani asked, sipping a glass of Coca-Cola (as she had refused coffee).

"There was an issue?" Jada said, also sipping her soda (as she had also refused coffee).

"I believe Kaitlyn would like for us to develop a plan of action against the enemy…though why she selected such a public place is beyond my understanding," Kiera muttered.

"I needed to get out, okay?" Kaitlyn spoke defensively, clutching her mug to her chest. She neglected to mention going out to lunch with Etienne a few hours earlier.

"Mmm, well, at any rate…considering that we lack tracking technology, I really don’t know how we’re going to ‘keep an eye on them’ as you say…" Kiera continued.

"Silly," Jada said, patting Kiera’s hair. "I’m sure that, by a series of lucky coincidences, we’ll be able to step right into the middle of whatever evil plot happens to be going  on at any given time and thus be able to foil it."

"Well, let’s hope so."

"Let’s not," Lani mumbled.

"Lani, if we left it up to you, you’d just hide and wait for them to go away." Jada said.

"So?" Lani glared at Jada. "I don’t know if this realization has struck you yet, but we’re modern teenagers.  The closest most of us have come to danger before this is a particularly frightening nightmare."

"And now that’s all changed.  So why don’t you stop complaining and try to adapt?" Jada returned.

"What if I don’t want to adapt?  I have enough stress as it is without having to worry about evil monsters and the fate of the world and that nonsense.  I still don’t even understand why I’m being dragged into this." Lani’s voice raised an octave.

"Because it’s your destiny.  We’ve already been through this, man."

"Destiny?  There’s no such thing as destiny," Lani sneered. "Destiny and fate are for insecure people who want to think that life is already laid out for them."

"Not so." Kiera interrupted. "I believe that some sort of destiny does exist, but that it is malleable.  Perhaps you are destined to become one of us.  Perhaps you are destined to defect.  The choice is up to you, but either choice you select will affect your ultimate destiny in some way."

"Mmmkay, this is getting a teensy bit too philosophical for me," Kaitlyn rubbed her head, pushing her chair back and standing up. "I’m going to talk to Umi again…maybe THEM is back from its coffee break now," she said, finishing with a grumble.  She sighed a  little when she realized that none of them were paying attention to her, having been completely absorbed in their discussion.  She bit her lip, wondering if she ought to speak again, in a more audible voice this time, but then gave up and turned to leave.  She didn’t notice Damarius’s steady gaze on her as she left.

Sikari returned to the church the next afternoon, feeling coldly resolute.  He would finish this girl off.  Sikari stepped quietly into the church, pausing to see if anyone else was present.  He checked the priest's sacristy, smiling when he saw a sign posted on it that read 'Out to Lunch.'  His smile widened when he re-entered the mass room, seeing Azura kneeling before the altar, a perfect repeat of yesterday's scene.  He crept up behind her, digging his fingers into her hair. She gasped, squirming, as he took hold  of her arm and pulled her against him, pressing his face into her blue locks.

"You really are beautiful, Azura…and so idealistic…too bad I have to kill you."

"Unh…E-Egan…" Azura whispered.

"Actually, my name is Sikari…but you can still call me Egan; I rather like that name." He raked his nails across her collarbone, nuzzling her throat.  Azura screamed.

"Beautiful…" he whispered, pushing her down against the red carpet laid out in front of the altar.

"Please, Egan…don’t do this… you don’t need to do this…"

Sikari kissed her lips gently.

"Still trying to save me, eh?" he ran his fingers across her mouth.  "How noble of you…"

He stroked her hair as blood ran down her chest.

"Azura…we’re working to purge the world of the darkness inside it, caused by its corrupted, sinful inhabitants…but you are one of those few that retains light…" he murmured. "It really is such a pity that I have to destroy you."

Azura trembled, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Man, you just don’t know when to quit, do you?!  And in a church, too…no respect, no respect." A familiar voice echoed throughout the church.

"Damn," Sikari growled, glaring up at the girls, which he remembered from last night’s fiasco. "You brats again."

"Such a warm greeting." Lumina said, crossing the entrance’s threshold and walking down the center aisle.  Sikari stood up, taking Azura with him.  He considered using her as a shield, then discarded the idea and instead pushed her behind the altar.

"Now you just sit there and be good, okay?" he sneered.  Azura shuddered in response, curling up into the fetal position as she continued to sob.

"Lucent Beam!" Lumina cried out, holding her open palm out in front of her.

The attack hit Sikari straight on, and he stumbled backwards, the wind knocked out of his body.

"D-damn it," he muttered, struggling back into a standing position.  He was met by Shade’s attack, which sent him reeling once again.

"What’s wrong with me?!" he thought. "Why am I not fighting back?!"

Another blast from Lumina hit him, slamming his body against the enormous stained-glass window.  His head crashed against the glass, causing part of it to shatter and the fragments to rain upon him.  He screamed as blood poured from the open slashes, streaming down his face like so many small, crimson rivers. Rage burned inside him, and he released it into a fire burst, throwing it at the four girls in front of him.

"I’ll kill you!" he cried, though in truth he could barely see his attackers.  Thick streams of blood continued to pour down his cheeks and into his eyes, severely impairing his line of vision.  He glanced back at Azura, who was now kneeling beneath the altar, her hands clasped together as she prayed fervently.

"Don’t you know how futile that is?!  God doesn’t exist…this building is merely a testament to your religion’s lies!" he cried out, sending a larger burst of fire at the four senshi.

"You’re wrong!" Azura called back, hysterical.  She crawled out from beneath the altar, shaking.  A blue glow enveloped her body as she stared at Sikari, still bleeding from her earlier wounds.  A strange pen formed in her hand and she held it up, shouting,

"Undine Power!  Make up!"

"Azura!" he whispered, as all present watched her transformation, shocked.

"I am Sailor Undine, soldier of ice and the faithful waters!"

"Show off," Lumina muttered.

"Gee, I didn’t ever even try to think of a nonsensical introduction phrase," Sylphid, who had been hiding behind a pew until this point, piped up.  Undine sweatdropped.

"Damn it…now there’s f-five of you," Sikari coughed, blood sprinkling his lips.  He touched his cheek with one hand, feeling sick when he saw that his skin was drenched with his own blood.  Pain, dulled only slightly by his weak, dizzy state, pulsed throughout his body.

"I…I w-won’t die here…" he said, throwing his hands up, as if in mock supplication. "I won’t!"
Fire swirled up around him, fueled by his anger and pain.

"Stop it!" Undine shouted, reaching through the flames and pulling Sikari to his knees. "It doesn’t have to be this way, Egan." She pleaded.

"Oh, but it does, Azura…it does," He hissed, his hands staining her white uniform with blood.

"I…if you just…if you.." she tried to speak, but found herself unable to come up with the right words.

"Have faith?" Sikari said mockingly. "I only have faith in what I can see, Azura…and I don’t see any God around here."

"Stop fraternizing with the enemy!" Lumina yelled, preparing a double attack with Shade. "What is wrong with you people?!"

"Dark Force Consume!" Shade cried, as Lumina shouted out her attack for the third time.  The force of this new blast sent Sikari  flat on his back, his already pounding head hitting the carpet hard.  He spat blood as another wave of pain jolted through him,  his bloody fingers clutching the carpet.

"Show me your God, Azura…" he whispered, then raised his head a little, his voice screaming throughout the church,
"If he’s really here, then show me…Show me your God!"

Undine took a breath, closing her eyes and holding her hands up.  She called out,
"Cure Water!"

A gentle, shimmering mist surrounded Sikari, healing his more minor wounds and filling him with a strong, peaceful energy.  The others gaped at her as she knelt beside him and whispered,

"That’s my God."

Sikari got up, staring at Undine and then at the other senshi.  Lumina looked as if she were about to burst, Mana was smiling softly (though she was still slightly annoyed because she was supposed to be the main character and she hadn’t really done anything for the entire scene), Sylphid was confused, and Shade just blinked.  He stopped, as though he were going to say or do something more.  They waited.  Sikari shifted his gaze back to Undine and then clenched his fists, running out of the church.  After he had disappeared, the five proceeded to look at each other for a few more minutes before coming to the conclusion that they ought to go after him.  They asked the graveyard guards (who had apparently been utterly oblivious to the commotion inside the church, as they were deeply involved in a conversation concerning a certain scythe-wielding night guard), who claimed to have seen nothing.  The five looked around a bit more before giving up, deciding that he had gone, swallowed up by the dark alleyways.

"Well, we did win the battle, Jada," Kaitlyn said.

"That is SO beside the point," she huffed, sitting down and crossing her arms over her chest. "We’re never going to get rid of these guys if you people keep healing them."

"I might have made an impact on him, though…" Azura said, looking at her hands.

"Yeah, and it’ll probably last all of thirty minutes," Jada grumbled. "Bet you anything he’ll be heading after Roan tomorrow."

"You know what?  You’re on," Kaitlyn said, holding her hand out. "Ten dollars says he doesn’t."

"Ooh, big spender," Jada said, shaking Kaitlyn’s hand.

"You know…" Lani said slowly. "Each one of us that Sikari has attacked is one of those sailor people, and you three were already one of them…so does that mean that Roan’s one, too?"

"Well, considering the way the plot is going, I wouldn’t doubt it… though the thought of that girl being given magical powers makes me want to just quit this thing altogether," Kaitlyn sighed.

Jada smiled.

"I guess we’ll find out tomorrow."
 
 

Mmkay, got some notes for this one, kids.  First, the girl that they were referring to in the cafe--that'd be Claris.  Oh yeah.  I love taking jabs at myself.  Second, the scythe-wielding night guard--that'd be Charon.  Third, yes, Sikari is totally nuts, which is probably the only reasonable explanation I can give concerning his behavior towards Azura.  As for the pseudo-intellectual and religious overtones plaguing this chapter, um, no one get pissed at me, please? ^^; I'm not out to offend, if you really want to know my thoughts on religion you can drop me an email, but just because Sikari is the villain and also the 'disbeliever' does not mean I'm against non-Christians (I mean, anyone that knows me knows most of my villains are generally not that villainous anyway^^;), nor does it mean that just because Azura is 'good' and a Christian that I am all for Christianity (and more specifically, Catholicism, as that's what Az is).

I also intended this to be a 'short' chapter..ended up being close to 5000 words, which is longer than usual for me. ^^; And, yes, the next chapter is all about our friend Roan...I also intend it to be short, since I really want to get to Chapter 9, but you never know...these people have a habit of taking my nice prepared outlines and screwing them into something totally unrecognizable. ^^;

And, as usual... I hope that didn't suck as much as I thought it did. --;