A Door Between Worlds

"I AM NOT ARCHY!"

Irvine laughed, despite himself. Fully rested Selphie was far more playful than half-dead-from-exhaustion Selphie. And, admittedly, this was a name that begged to be shortened, an ability in which his lady love had no equal.

Irvine was accustomed to long sleeping periods. His life tended to go between awake and asleep in much longer stretches than most. It was a habit he picked up from long waits to hit a target. And, probably, from long nights living it up with the ladies. But, for all his incessant flirting, Irvine didn't regret one bit being a 'one woman' man. It helped that Selphie was enough woman for any man. He often wondered where she got the energy. He was constantly amused at how her ambition for him made up for his own lack thereof. Guys who became snipers did it because they weren't built to be generals. But best of luck getting Selphie to see that. Still, the trade off was more than worth it. He loved two things in life. A satisfying night, which could be interpreted several different ways, and a good laugh. Selphie provided both, in spades.

Like now, for example.

"Come on, Archy is cute."

"I am most decidedly not cute, young lady."

"I don't know. You've got potential. For an old guy, that is."

Archibald Philip Warden was at his whits end. He had come as a warning to these supposed 'Saviors of the world', and he was being treated as though he were 5 years old. Why, In his time...

"In my time, young pup, I was one of the most respected scholars on the planet. My knowledge of the Sorceresses is unsurpassed."

"I'm betting Edea's is better", Seifer said.

"I'll take that bet, young man, and I'll win. While Mrs. Cramer's being a sorceress at one time gives her a unique grasp on the subject, she clearly doesn't know enough to have saved you from making a fool of yourself, just as I did back then."

"Watch your tone, old man."

"Oh please, turn down the testosterone for a minute and listen. You're being taken for a ride."

Squall glared Seifer into silence. "What do you mean?"

"I've been informed by Cid of your belief in Pangea, and the Sorceress Aria. It's an amazing story. It's just complete rubbish."

"I wouldn't expect a brain like you to get it. Especially one who had a kid beat him to it. Must hurt the ego."

"The only ego in danger of being hurt is yours. I am not another stuffed-shirt-know-it-all. Years ago, I made discoveries about the sorceresses that changed all we knew about them. Even then, I have faced relentless criticism and skepticism on everything I've postulated."

"You wanna dumb it down for the rest of us, Doc?", this from Zell.

"As you wish. Many years ago, when I was not much older than yourself, before the time of Adel's imprisonment, I formulated a theory. There had been more sorceresses once, the evidence proves it. When a sorceress dies, she must pass her power on to another. The sorceress dies, not the power."

"So?"

"So I asked this: Where were the powers of all these sorceresses? They couldn't all be frozen underground, or in space. They must have gone somewhere."

"Such as another planet.", Irvine finally put in.

"Precisely. I deduced that they willingly, and knowingly, transversed bridges unknown, and traveled to a different world. If this was so, and there was strong evidence to support it, then how was it done? And when? So many questions."

"Why does it matter?", Selphie asked.

"It matters a great deal, my dear. The sorceresses had the world completely subjugated. It wasn't until the departure of many that the balance was shifted to the rest of the inhabitants of this world. It allowed the rise of other nations, such as Galbadia, and the decline of Esther as the dominant superpower. Their technological advances had been a result of the powers of the sorceresses. Without them, they were no more than the rest of us. Fearing the repercussions of the world around them realizing their sudden vulnerability, they essentially went into exile, and remained so for generations, until your intervention."

"What does this have to do with Pangea?", Seifer, again.

"That is just the thing. There is no Pangea. The sorceresses didn't travel to some mystical place of blissful knowledge. They traveled directly to this planet of theirs, through a wormhole, of sorts."

"How the bloody hell would you know that?"

"Because I followed them there. I have seen it myself, the only non-sorceress who can make such a claim."

"And how, exactly, did you do that?"

"By injecting myself with the blood of a sorceress."

A palatable silence consumed the room. It was after some time that Selphie spoke up.

"You did what?"

"Radical, I know. But I determined that it was a hereditary strain that makes transfer possible. The very strain that flows through the blood of, and gives power to, every sorceress. They all descend from one, a God like entity. Her name may very well have been Aria, but she does not live today. Her power disseminated to her progeny. And with each succeeding generation, it grows weaker. In time, it will be barely noticeable. Sorceresses, as we know them, are going extinct."

"I don't buy it, professor. Aria touched me. I saw it, I felt it."

"Of course you did, just as I did. And, just as I did, you will find it all to be an illusion. A tremendously powerful one, but an illusion nonetheless. In this other world, which we will call Beta, for now, they do not collect magic, as we do. It is held in stones, formed by the very planet they live upon, called materia. They are colored, depending on the nature of the magic, and they can increase in power, as they are used. A single stone will hold Cure, in all it's iterations. But the more powerful variations will be unavailable initially. And often times, the magic that becomes available has little connection to the magic the stone already exhibits."

Zell groaned. "My head hurts."

"My apologies. What I mean to say is a single stone can hold Stop, Slow, Haste, etc. each becoming available to use as the magic in the stone is used repeatedly. Eventually, the stone is 'Mastered', and produces another, unawakened stone. The purpose in this explanation is this; There are powers in some of these stones unlike any we have ever encountered. I believe someone in Esther found a way to use stones that the sorceresses had brought back, and to draw from them individual spells, to be used by anyone, without waiting for the stone to mature. Our concept of magic was born on Beta."

Squall shook his head, "Where Rinoa and Quistis are now?"

"Indeed."

"So, if it's all an illusion, why did they go?"

"Because he", pointing at Seifer," sent them. And he was manipulated by someone in this world, or, more likely Beta, to do so."

"Manipulated?"

"Seifer was chosen because of his history with Ultimecia. He would feel the desire to atone for his sins, so he would readily believe that he had been given the ability to do so. A sorceress comes down, and tells him that he alone can send these sorceresses on a journey to 'save' this world. It gives him a purpose, and it gives someone else what they want."

"Which is?"

"The blood of sorceresses. If what Cid has informed me is correct, the last living sorceress, or ancient, as they are called there, died saving the planet. If a brilliant mind on Beta deduced that he could do as I did, he would need the blood of a sorceress to do it. Therefore, he would need to devise a way to draw a sorceress from this world to travel to his. But such a soul would be skeptical. It would require someone close to them to draw them over.

"So Rinoa and Quistis are in danger because of him?"

"Not necessarily. More likely is that the man, or woman, in question would want the blood of the ancient that is returned to the living, as her blood would be more pure. They, or more particularly Quistis, had to be present to facilitate her return."

"So he wants to come here? Why?"

"Who's to say. Perhaps he, like me, is a scholar of the ancients, and wishs to know more of their origins."

"Or to use the power to return Esther to it's heyday."

"That would not be possible."

"Why not?"

"Because the body of a non-sorceress rejects the blood, and power, of one over time. A fairly short time, in fact. Days, at most."

"So he might not be able to get back?"

"Quite likely. His visit would be a short one. He would want to make repeated visits, if possible. But it would require injecting himself repeatedly to do so."

"That's sick."

"That's Science."

"So their world isn't in danger?"

"Not in the slightest. Nor, for that matter, is ours."

"But they'll come back?"

"As long as nothing prevents them from doing so."

"What if they die over there?", Selphie asked, earning a scowl from Squall.

"I couldn't tell you. No one could. It has never happened, that I can determine."

"What do you mean it's never happened? You just said that a bunch of sorceresses went there. If this ancient of theirs was the last one, the rest have already died."

"That would be accurate if they did, in fact, originate in this world. But it is far more likely that they originated in Beta, and found a way here. In time they all returned to Beta, either the way they came, or through death."

"Then there would be no sorceresses in this world. They would always go back to pass on their powers."

"They don't pass on powers in that world, that I could determine."

"What?"

"If this ancient is the last, clearly they do not pass on powers there, as they must do so here. I have several theories as to why this is the case, but they are little more than random speculation.

"So if they died here, even if they were from there, they would have to pass on to someone?"

"In theory, they would have to pass on their powers here, yes."

"So if Rinoa and Quisty die there, they just die?"

"Not so fast, my dear. Your friends were born here."

"So?"

"So who has died with the powers of a sorceress that we know beyond question was born in this world?"

There was just silence to follow.

"Precisely. We cannot prove that Adel, Ultimecia, or any other sorceress who has, in fact, died was born in this world. Edea Cramer certainly was, but she passed on her power without death claiming her. If either of your friends were to die while on Beta, it would be without precedent. We have no means of even speculating what would occur."

Seifer stood up. "This is all bogus. I know what I saw."

"Do you, in fact? How vivid is the memory? How sharp the details? I would wager they are pretty hazy by now."

"So?"

"So if it really happened, and it was her intention to accomplish what you suggest she needs, would she allow the memory to fade? Could she risk it?"

Selphie shook her head. "But what about the cave?"

"The cave?"

"We found Seifer in a cave South of Esther's capital. Or one of them, anyway. He was being held in the air by something, something strong enough to throw Fujin against the wall and break some bones. He was screaming like his soul was being ripped from his body. That wasn't an illusion, Doc. And when we were trying to find it, Quistis got that weird look in her eyes, like she has now, but she was talking. 'Cept, it wasn't her voice, It was deeper, more, I don't know, ancient sounding. So if there's no Aria, who was doin' all that?"

"I have stated that my knowledge of sorceresses is unsurpassed. I did not claim it to be limitless, or complete. While I do not enjoy doing so, I must answer your question with another, to be answered by Seifer."

"And you'll believe me?"

"I cannot make that assurance. But I would ask this. Do you remember the time between entering that cave, and when you were found by your comrades? What you saw, or heard?"

Seifer's face fell, "Not much. I remember going into the cave, and seeing the table. I don't even know why I climbed up onto it. Then there was light, and some faint music, like someone singing, or humming softly. Then the next moment, I'm looking up at Quistis. I hadn't slept in over two days, the excitement of having found the cave was to strong. I guess the lack of sleep got to me."

"And how long did you go without sleep sitting at her bedside, just now?"

"Your point?"

"Science has studied the human mind for as long as our history records, and we still understand so little of how it works. Our knowledge of sorceresses is much the same. We know a great deal of their history, but little of how they operate. I will concede that the description of events you have given would suggest their power at play. But it wasn't the work of Aria. You said that you know what your eyes had seen. But an illusion can be indescribably powerful, particularly one given through the power of magic we do not know of. I know what I have seen, Seifer, and I have the evidence, the research, to prove it."

Seifer suddenly looked deflated. "So it was all a lie?"

"Not at all. Just a cruel twist on the truth. The means by which they were sent, and your being needed to accomplish it, were very true. And it isn't as though you were being used for world domination again. You were recruited to aid in the continuation of knowledge. I admire his intentions, if not his methods."

"Easy for you to say. Try being the lab rat."

Irvine looked up at Archibald, "So, in theory, if we drew some blood from Quistis and Rinoa, and stuck ourselves with it, we could go find them?"

"In essence, yes. But I would caution against it."

"Why?"

"You would be operating on a schedule. A rather tight one, I might add. If you were unable to find them before they returned, you would be trapped there."

"But what if they don't come back?"

"I trust that they will. I'm not certain they have any choice in the matter, in any case."

"That's a lot of risk you're askin' us to take, Doc."

"As much as you propose to take if you go. That much more so with everyone you bring along."

Irvine looked at Squall. "Wadda ya say, boss?"

Squall looked at Rinoa, then Seifer, and finally Archibald. "You went?"

"I did."

"For how long?"

"A few hours."

"Only once?"

"Yes. I only wished to see if it was possible. And I did not have the most accommodating host for the blood."

"Who was it?"

"That would be best left unanswered for the moment."

Squall looked over everyone present. "We can only send one person. More would be too much risk."

Seifer looked up. "Then send me. I started this."

"I'd sooner send Archibald, here."

"That's not fair, Squall."

"Fair? You just said it. You sent them there. You started all of this, trying to undo what you did. Instead of just saying 'I'm sorry', you had to be the hero."

"I've said I'm sorry. Ask those who were actually listening at the time."

Squall turned to Selphie. "Selphie, I don't feel comfortable sending you or Zell to search an entire world. Irvine?"

"Yup."

"You up for this?"

"Haven't failed you yet, have I?"

"Then lets get started. Get the Doctor in here."

-----

It seemed strange to Tifa that she wasn't more conflicted at the moment. Even someone as dense as Cloud could figure out that a lot had happened on her trip. At the moment, he was to concerned with the safety of Aerith to ask any questions. But the questions would undoubtedly come. And she wasn't sure what the answers would be. Tifa wasn't innocent enough to claim having never lied to Cloud. But it had always been to protect him, usually from himself.

This was different.

It would have been easy enough to decide that what had happened with Sephiroth had been her emotions on a roller coaster, with a new revelation about her past with every turn.

Her mother had been taken by Shinra. Why? What became of her? Was she still alive?

Her master had been a Shinra guinea pig, a super soldier. What else had he never told her? What else did he know about her family, about Cloud?

Her father had lived through the attack, at the town and at the reactor. Was he still alive? Had he gone looking for her? Or for her mother?

Somewhere in the midst of it all, she had shared something with a man she had vowed to hate with every breath she breathed. But the vow had been based on what she thought had happened, and most of it hadn't, at least not the way she remembered it. When Aerith had gone off saying he was the unwilling pawn of Jenova, she had immediately rejected the idea. Now she wasn't sure what to believe. He had given no sign of the old Sephiroth coming back, and he had been given ample opportunities. She was losing count how many times he had saved her life, in more ways than one.

Tifa looked at Cloud. His face was as hard as stone, his eyes a cross between blind determination and shame. He still blamed himself. Anything that happened to Aerith was his failing. That thought had driven her out of her mind lately, but now it just seemed unbelievably sad. She knew that many would consider her devotion to him through the years as exactly the same, and they would probably be right. She knew that she loved him, that she always would. But her father had loved her mother. When was love not enough? Every time she had even considered giving up on herself, or on him, she had been unable to. She couldn't fail, she couldn't let go. Her soul, her destiny, was forever tied to his. Could there be an end to the story that didn't have them together? But even when the story ends, it isn't over. A new day dawns, and life goes on. Perhaps it would have been for the best if they had both died saving the planet. But then she would have died without knowing.

And now she wondered how much she wished she still didn't.

Hating Sephiroth had been painful, but very, very simple. All that was dark, all that was pain, all that was taken from her was his fault. She could get away with it, because he had taken so much from her, from everyone. But to find out he hadn't? That it wasn't even him who did it all, if any of it?

From the moment his sword had sliced through Aerith, she had been grateful. It stained her soul to even acknowledge the thought, but it had cleared things up. She and Cloud had a purpose together, and they would be together, with Aerith out of the picture.

But she never was.

Tifa loved Aerith, then and now, but she still wanted the one thing that hadn't been taken from her.

Except he had been.

Cloud was never the same after that day. In truth, he was never the same after leaving town to find his way. She had never stopped to ask what would have been if he had stayed, because it didn't matter, and it would never have been possible. But the Cloud she first fell in love with never came back. He died chasing his dream. The Cloud that came back hadn't said more than what he had to say to get a report from her of the trip. His goal was single, and she wasn't a part of it. He trusted unfailingly that she would still be there afterward.

She always had been.

"Tifa."

She should have been startled. She should have been surprised. She was neither.

"Yes, Vincent?"

"Much has changed."

"Can't argue with that. You here for the lowdown?"

"No. Clearly Sephiroth had much to show you. I can only suppose it had to do with your past. As such, it is not my concern. But I must ask why you both returned to the mansion, and what you found there. Specifically about Dr. Gast."

"Fair enough. He was killed by Hojo, just like you. He was revived by Hojo for a puppet to toy with, just like you. He was injected with Chaos, just like you."

To say Vincent turned pale would be ridiculous. He was, and always would be, pale. But he was stunned, as would be a man who saw a ghost, and then had it strike him in the face.

"How.....How do you know this?"

"I saw it. Apparently, Masamune is a materia that can show you things that happened."

"That explains how Sephiroth often knew more than he should have been able to."

"And now it's bonded to me. I saw everything that happened, not what I remembered, or was told happened. And it wasn't what I would have ever thought possible."

"I can imagine."

"My father was alive, Vincent. After the reactor. He may still be. And my mother didn't die of an illness. She was..."

"Taken by Shinra, Dr Gast in particular."

Tifa turned to look at him, now equally stunned.

"You knew?"

"I suspected. I was privy to much of the Doctor's work before leaving Midgar. He gathered the ill from the four corners of the planet."

"Why?"

"He was drawing blood, and using a method that could only have been aided by materia to separate it."

"From what? What did he want?"

"I once asked him that exact question. He said only that that he was looking for the cure. Not to the ailments that each of them had, but to something else entirely. It was in some way connected to his wife. And perhaps to his daughter as well."

"Aerith's sick?"

"Not that I can determine. But you seem to suspect it was he who abducted her. Why? What evidence do you have?"

"Process of elimination. If he is still alive, and he would have to be if he has Chaos in him, who else would take her? Who else would have a reason to? If it was anyone else, we would have found her by now, or at least found a ransom note."

"So why do you suppose he took her to the North?"

"To finish what he started."

"And that is?"

"We're about to find out."

-----

Dr. Kadowaki mumbled for the third time about the collective sanity of her students.

She had been told only what Squall felt to tell her, and she strongly suspected she didn't want to know any more.

Admittedly, she hadn't understood much of what had happened years before with Ultimecia. Not for any lack of intellect or reasoning on her part. She just tended to be more pragmatic than most, and even the parts that had been accepted by most as common knowledge were a bit beyond the pale for her.

Her initial reaction to Seifer's babbling about Aria and Pangea had been concern, mixed with dread. But she had counted on Squall to keep a level head, and put most of it where it belonged. But now, in his desperation to find out what happened to Rinoa, something that still baffled the good doctor, he was grasping at straws. This Archibald character seemed at first to have a head about him, but he was as daft as the rest of them, apparently.

Now she was being asked to draw blood from one student, and inject it into another. It went against just about every medical principle she held on to, and she let Squall know that. But, in the end, it was still his call. Her objections to Cid hadn't gotten anywhere, not that she expected them to.

It also might have been easier if it hadn't involved Quistis. Meredith Kadowaki found her interest to be only in other women while in school herself, and while there were precious few who knew that fact, Quistis was not among them. Dr. Kadowaki had taken a professional interest in Quistis when she had first arrived, as she was both highly intelligent, and seem to be mature beyond her years. As she had aged, however, the interest had become increasingly less professional.

Naturally, being the practical type, Meredith had never fooled herself into believing that Quistis had any interest in any woman, let alone a boring physician who was well beyond her prime. Xu had already tried peeking her interest, almost to the point of outright seduction, but to no apparent avail. Nevertheless, Meredith still found herself flustered when it involved Quistis, and the idea of sucking blood out of her was enough to make her explode. Fortunately, she wouldn't have to, as there was another 'Donor'.

Rinoa, despite her undeniable beauty, had always rubbed Meredith the wrong way. Perhaps it was her boundless energy, or her obsessive attempts to control everything about Squall, who Quistis still held reserved feelings for. More likely, however, was that Rinoa was the anti-Quistis. She was passionate emotion where Quistis was calm logic, and where Quistis had seemingly been a 20 year old at 12, Rinoa was a 20 year old who often acted like she was 12. So if Squall insisted on doing this ridiculous affair, it would be his little princess who would bleed, so to speak.

Accordingly, it was Rinoa who lay in one bed, with Irvine in the bed adjacent to it. Dr. Kadowaki was preparing to do the draw, as she steadfastly refused to do a direct blood transfer between the two.

Whatever her feelings about the girl, or the cowboy, she was still a Doctor.

"Let's go over what you do when you get there one more time."

"With all do respect, boss, I think I know the lady better than you think you do, and your plan aint her style. I'm just gonna go with my gut on this one."

"We can't play around on this one, Irvine. If they come back first, you could be stuck there."

"Hey, it aint worth doing unless there is something on the line, right?"

Squall frowned, but it was Selphie that spoke up.

"Are you sure about this?"

"I'll be fine, babe. Be back before you know it. And I won't even go around flirting the place up..", then, with his infectious smile, he added, "much."

Selphie rolled her eyes, but smiled despite herself.

"Just stay out of trouble."

Irvine's grin faded into a serious look.

"I'm going to be fine, Selph. I have too much to lose here to go ending things now."

"Damn straight, you do, handsome."

A thought suddenly occurred to Irvine.

"Hey, Squall, where's Seifer? I'd think he'd want to be in the loop on this."

Squall looked around, and frowned. Seifer was gone.

"Zell, have you seen Seifer. Or know where he went?"

"Don't know 'bout where, but he left about 20 minutes ago. Seemed like he was in a rush to get out, to."

That wasn't likely to make Squall happy.

And then the P.A. came to life.

"Commander Leonheart, please report to Storage. An unauthorized entry has been detected."

Squall turned to Dr. Kadowaki.

"Storage? What storage?"

"In the basement. We keep all of the old equipment from the Garden down there, along with area's to store food and....", her voice tailed off, and she started to go pale.

"And?"

"Medical storage. Supplies and...blood samples."

"What blood samples?"

"During the yearly physical, every Seed has blood drawn and kept in storage."

"But why would he...Quistis!"

Everyone but the Doctor headed for the door, racing toward the elevator. They arrived to find the medical storage broken into.

Inside, Seifer was laying slumped against the wall, with a syringe needle still stuck into his arm. It didn't take much to guess what had been in the syringe.

His eyes were glassed over.

And he was smiling.

-----

"Where is he!"

The concierge of the Icicle Inn, who had initially perked up at the number of guests who had walked through the door, now froze at Clouds shouting. While he was accustomed to angry guests, one's with 6 foot swords on their back had his undivided attention.

"Where is who, sir?"

"Gast. Where is he?"

"Sir, Professor Gast died years ago. Representatives from the Shinra company took all of his belongings, and research, shortly after. I assure you, there has been no mention of him since."

"He's alive, and he's here. He took someone from me. If you're hiding anything..."

"Sir, I resent the implication of a cover up. Again I assure you, Professor Gast is gone, and all he had, or did, is gone with him. Perhaps you can contact the Shinra company for information."

Cloud's hand found it's way to the hilt of his sword, but Tifa put her hand on his, stopping him.

"No, Cloud. Gast wouldn't have come here. Don't kill the poor guy for doing his job."

The "poor man" paled more at the word kill.

"You are certainly welcome to search his old laboratory yourself if you doubt me."

"We already did, thank you. My friend is just very protective."

"An admirable trait, I would think. Now, if you'll excuse me.", and with that, he scurried off.

They had searched the old lab upon arrival, but the dust on what little was left was undisturbed.

Cid growled, "How da we even know he took her here? Or fer that matter, that he even took 'er?"

Nanaki looked over at him. "We don't know anything for certain. But it is most likely both that it was he, if he is indeed still alive, and that he would have taken her here. If he required her blood, he would also require equipment for extracting it that would be hard to come by, even for him."

"But his lab didn't look like it had been touched."

Tifa shook her head, "He's didn't go back to his lab"

"Then where would he go? Not much 'round here darlin, without freezin your bitties off."

Vincent spared her a flavored response.

"The presence of Chaos would render him immune to the effects of cold."

"Him, maybe, but not her. She's no good to him as an Aerith-cicle."

"Being her father, it would be unlikely he would put her in harms way."

"Then why take her? He figure he's savin her from us?"

"Perhaps, though it's unlikely. Given his area of research, and his ties to Shinra, it's possible he was involved in her return."

"Thought that was your old honey talkin to ya."

Yuffie jumped in. "Shut it, old man. I heard her voice to."

"I'm not sayin she wasn't talkin to ya. Aerith comin back shows me that. But what's old Gast got ta do with it?"

Vincent frowned, "I am no longer convinced it was Lucrecia we were hearing."

Yuffie turned to him, "What?"

"I believe it may have been Aerith's mother."

"Ifalna? But she's dead."

"So was her husband until he was not. If Hojo took Gast alive, it stands to reason he may have taken Ifalna alive as well."

"Then how would she be speaking to us?"

Vincent noted the emphasis on the word us. Yuffie was making sure he remembered that she was a part of this with him.

"She was, or is, an ancient. We do not know the extent of their power over the planet."

"If she was alive, why would Gast need Aerith?"

"Perhaps he simply wishes to restore his family."

"Touching, but I don't buy it."

Cloud spoke up, "Neither do I. If he just wanted her back, he wouldn't have taken her like that. And he knew she was back."

"So where do we go now, spike?"

Sephiroth spoke instead, "There's only one place to go."

"Please don't say the glacier."

"Why did you ask, then?"

"Hope springs eternal."

Cloud looked at Sephiroth and scowled. "We're going."

"Perhaps it would be best to resupply first."

"We're going. Now,"

As Cloud led the group out the door, Tifa bit down her anger.

He was doing it again.

-----

I searched what resources I could, and didn't find one that had a first name for Dr. Kadowaki. I guess she wasn't important enough to merit one. Having seen a show recently with a Dr. Meredith Gray, the name just seemed to fit. Consider it artistic license.

To revisit an old grief recently expressed again, I know this is a website for adult material. I am writing the story for others who aren't much for that type of work, and I'm having to accommodate them. There are several sexual scenes remaining to be had, including a possible yuri, and they will be more detailed than "It started - it ended." And yes, again, several people will die before this is over. That is vital to the story plot. While the ending should tie up most of the loose ends (to be honest, I have no bloody clue why Nanaki was smiling, but I'm open to suggestions), it will not be what most would consider a happy ending. But it should feel like an ending, i.e. no lingering angst, unlike the game itself.