Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted materials contained herein. They are the rightful property of their respective creators and/or associated companies. I make no profit from this whatsoever and I have no intention of changing this at any point in the future. I write because it's fun and because there are those who enjoy reading my stories. Therefore please no lawsuits or similar legal action please. I can promise you that you could liquidate everything I own and drain my bank account dry and still not have enough to pay your legal fees.

Cosmo Canyon, Years Later

Xander's POV

"How do you feel, Xander?" Bugenhagen asked from the entrance to the underground chamber.

"Calm. In control. Normal," he replied as he opened his eyes.

"It has been many years since you came to Cosmo Canyon disoriented and uncertain of your true self," Bugenhagen said in a sage manner. "Now, with the help of me and my people, you have been made whole again."

"Whole but not the same person I was, that's for flamin' sure," he said with a bit of a dissatisfied frown.

After coming to from the unconsciousness the detonation of the reactor had sent him to he'd found the clarity that his determination to escape had afforded him fading and in its place chaos formed of two minds battling for dominance inside his head. On the one side there'd been Xander Harris, born and raised Californian, while on the other there'd been James Howlett, aka Logan, aka Wolverine. It'd been like eating a mixed bag of candies while blindfolded: you never knew what you were going to get until after it was in your mouth. It could be milk chocolate, it could be a peanut or it could be something else entirely. For him he could start out thinking like Xander, then moving like Logan on the prowl before interpreting what his senses were telling him like Xander would. It was never the same pattern twice, making for a rather chaotic escape from what he figured was the search area Shinra would be crawling all over soon enough.

This was made even worse by the fact that he was completely naked and quite hungry, since a random memory told him that his healing factor ran off of protein. If Wolverine didn't consume a sizeable amount of it then his mutant power would start consuming his body in order to heal up the wound. Considering the fact that he'd survived close proximity to a reactor explosion, it was safe to saying that his power had consumed quite a bit of protein to patch him up. Fortunately for him once he was outside of the search area he found it rather easy to hunt down some dinner, even if he didn't have the tools to cook it, and it tasted like the sort of stuff you only ate when you had no choice. From there he'd just kept moving in the same direction he had been so far, figuring that he'd run into civilization sooner or later.

Or at least someplace he could get some clothes that'd fit him because running around in the nude sucked no matter who you thought you were.

It'd been a little under a week later before he'd hit the camp of a prospector looking to make his fortune digging up precious metals buried in the ground. The man himself had been unconscious and, when he'd seen an empty bottle close to the prospector's left hand, it was clear what'd happened. His lip curling in disgust at the reminder of Tony Harris, he'd felt a lot less sorry about swiping enough clothes to cover the essentials. They'd smelled a bit but not enough for him to reject them, and once they were on he'd continued on his way, determined to escape all manner of pursuit. It'd only been once a month of running had passed that he'd tried to figure out what he should do next. He couldn't return to Wutai because he'd had no doubt that Shinra would attempt to reacquire him there once they were satisfied he was no longer in their estimated search area. Going back would only put Godo and the friends he'd made there in danger, something he refused to do under any circumstances.

In the end he'd decided to find someplace remote, where he could live and somehow piece together the mess that his mind had become.

He'd gone at this approach for three months before a lack of familiarity with the region and profitable hunting areas had turned him from a Wolverine into a kitten. He'd walked aimlessly for who knew how long before he'd spotted rising smoke on the horizon, with his mind equating that with civilization. With sheer resolve more than anything else he'd worked to get to the source of the smoke but only just got close enough to spot dwellings that reminded him of the wild west before exhaustion had caused him to lose consciousness.

He'd woken up the next day within one of the dwellings being tended to by someone who fit the description of a native American woman, feeling much improved but still needing time before he could stand solidly enough. However his weakness surfaced in another way when he called the woman Kayla, only to be told that that was not her name. He'd known this to be the truth immediately afterwards and cursed himself mentally for letting his Wolverine side slip out regardless of how unintentional it'd been. He'd given the usual 'I thought you were someone else' excuse before asking where he was.

When he'd heard the name Cosmo Canyon he'd chuckled a bit and just explained away his reaction by saying he'd heard stories about the place.

When he'd finally gotten his strength back he'd been brought to Bugenhagen, who'd asked the usual inquiries of who he was, what he'd been doing wandering about and what he planned on doing now. He'd initially intended to answer truthfully but then a feeling rushed forth and he'd wound up keeping his answers short and intentionally vague. His name was Alexander 'Xander' Howlett, he'd gotten lost and nothing special. If the old man had taken offense at his shortness he hadn't shown it but instead had suggested that he stay in Cosmo Canyon for a time. The reasoning had been that he'd looked like he could use the gil and they could use another hand working the fields to bring in the crops. With nothing better to do he'd accepted, figuring that he would need currency to get to wherever it was he chose to call home in the future.

Over the next year, though, he'd learned, much to his displeasure, that his plan of meditating in order to bring his Logan side under control as well as to the surface was only partially effective. It was bringing the memories, the knowledge, up to a level where he could use it like it was his own but that turned out to be more of a problem than a solution. As the info came from his subconscious it became increasingly difficult to keep the two sides separate. He'd wanted it to be like Wolverine had been his teacher, his mentor, so that he could remain himself, but also make full use of what the mutant could offer him.

Instead what he'd gotten was premium Xander milk, a lot of Logan drink mix and then, with every day, more diligent stirring.

It'd gotten so bad that he'd mistaken someone for Victor Creed and almost gutted him.

If it hadn't been for Seto coming out of nowhere to knock him off the guy, he might've killed an innocent person.

Naturally all the residents had been wary of him after that putting him under guard but oddly enough Bugenhagen had been more curious than wary when he'd come to speak with him. Guilty over what he'd almost done he'd let out a lot more than before, feeling it was the least he could do. He'd explained how he'd been abducted by Shinra, experimented on, escaped and had been trying to use meditation to undo the mental damage that'd been done to his mind only to make matters worse.

He'd been scared of what might happen next and Bugenhagen had noticed this.

It'd been then that the man had offered his aid as well as the aid of the tribe to bring peace and order to his mind. He'd been surprised and a part of him had expected the people of Cosmo Canyon to tell him to leave so that they could be safe from any more of his lapses. Then he'd realized that, unlike those who lived in the more progressive parts of this world, the people living around him had a strong sense of community as well as compassion. Thus, with a grateful look and NO TEARS (regardless of what anyone else said), he'd accepted their aid taking the first step on his road to recovery.

It's taken awhile but I finally feel like I'm back to normal, he thought as he rose from his kneeling position.

Or at least as normal as a mental and physical hybrid between his old self and Wolverine could possibly be, that is.

He honestly couldn't say that he was the same person he'd been before the Halloween mess but neither could he say that Xander Harris had disappeared completely. He was a new man and possessed, in his opinion, the best traits of both members of the source material. He would go by the name Xander Howlett from now on, though, since it was both accurate and would allow him to cast off the Harris name once and for all. As for his future, he honestly didn't know since he was pretty sure if Shinra hadn't shown up by now they'd likely completely lost track of him and moved onto other things. That meant that, so long as he didn't do anything to put himself on their radar again, his life was his own once more.

"No one is who they were a year ago, or even a day ago," Bugenhagen said sagely as he stepped forward. "Every experience we have changes us in ways that no mortal being can fully comprehend. At least now, though, the changes will happen at a rate you can handle."

"True," he said with a nod before turning to fully face the guy. "Now howsabout we go see how your newest disciple is doing?"

"Indeed, his lesson should be just about done now," Bugenhagen said before turning to lead the way back to the surface.

He couldn't help but look forward to seeing the man who'd come to Cosmo Canyon a couple of months ago, wanting to learn all he could about the planet. The tribe had been a little wary of the stranger but the guy hadn't come empty handed, rather with a fair bit of equipment that would enable to the user to monitor both the planet as well as the stars closer than before. Bugenhagen had taken that as a good sign and had welcomed the newcomer with open arms as a fellow seeker of knowledge. In the weeks that followed the elder of the tribe had taught the man what he could sometimes handing the student off to another who was just as knowledgeable when he didn't have the time.

The guy had been a SPONGE with all the information thrown at him.

It'd gotten to the point that the only way the man would stop studying was if the teachers left and took their instructional materials with them.

While there were of course some things Cosmo Canyon could teach as fast as a person could learn it there were other things that could only be taken in over time.

The number one student of the Canyon was quickly approaching the end of what could be learned at an individual's own personal rate of speed. Before long the guy would have to choose whether to invest some serious years to continue his studies or be satisfied with what had been passed on already.

Emerging into the open air from the tunnels that existed beneath the rock formations the locals lived on, they made their way on the pathway to the main building where the lesson was taking place. Along the way he smiled at the people he had come to know over the years and they returned the smile, since it was the logical response when seeing a friend. It had been slow in happening but he could honestly say he now knew everyone in the village, with a few of them being good friends. The bonds were almost as strong as those he'd had in Wutai and given enough time he had no doubt that they would be.

As he approached the doors of the main building, his sharp senses could pick up the sounds of the guest's chattering as he see-sawed back and forth from talking about what he'd learned and asking new questions. Shaking his head at the man whose curiosity reminded him a lot of Willow's, he pushed open the doors before walking inside.

"Give the guy a break, Gast!" he said with amusement as the dark haired man in classes turned his head. "It takes time for someone to answer a question. Definitely more than a second."

Gast Faremis had the decency to look a little embarrassed by his behavior but only for a few seconds.

Just like it'd been with Godo back in Wutai, it was weird to actually meet a character he'd only before known as a videogame character. Nevertheless, once they started talking, he found ever new depths to the man, making him appreciate the man's moral strength as well as desire to prevent Gast's end. He didn't know how long he had before that asshole Hojo made his move and murdered the man but, until he did, he'd do what he could to stick close without walking into Shinra's crosshairs. Gast, Ifalna and Aerith deserved the sort of happiness being in a truly loving family could bring.

"Sorry. It's all just so interesting!" Gast exclaimed, showing his enthusiasm for learning. "There's so much about the world that I've never heard about! So much I want to know!"

"Take it easy, Gast," he said, tolerating the man's passion. "You're barely out of your teens. You've got your whole life ahead of you. Take time to enjoy life."

Of course Gast only paid a passing attention to what he'd been told before his eyes went back to the notes he'd taken during the lesson.

Gast might actually be worse than Willow, he thought with a shake of his head. At least she had better self-control. Sometimes. Sorta.

One Year Later

Gast Faremis' POV

"So you're really going?" Xander asked as he finished securing the harness to the Chocobo he'd be riding to his next destination.

"Yeah. As much as I'd like to learn the rest of what Bugenhagen has to teach, I just don't have the time," he said as he turned around to face the friend he'd made soon after his arrival. "President Shinra might've given me leave to travel in order to continue my research but this isn't a vacation. He expects me to report back with my findings sooner or later and he's not the most patient person in the world."

It was hard but he could tell that Xander didn't care much about Shinra, be it the company or the person running it. He'd asked about it offhand during their night's drinking tea under the stars but all the wild looking man would say about it was that people with a lot of money had a habit of thinking money could solve any problem. The guy who was only a couple of years younger than him had said that he couldn't trust or respect people like that.

All he'd done was sigh and remember all the other people who had a similar opinion of Shinra and once more disagreed with them but respect their opinion at the same time. Now, he wasn't the sort of person who thought that there weren't any snakes or scum in the company but it couldn't be denied that the company had made great strides since discovering how to turn Mako in to energy. As a result of this discovery the lives of every human on the planet had gotten much easier and the scientific progress had been nothing short of astounding. As a result people were expected to live longer, live healthier and not have to work themselves to the bone just to scrape out a living.

True, some of the things he'd learned since coming to Cosmo Canyon had him mentally drawing up a letter of recommendation to President Shinra that efforts should be made to find alternative power sources but he wasn't at the point where he'd insist on abandoning Mako energy altogether. Maybe scaling back the power output of the reactors to safer levels so time could be bought to locate alternatives. It'd be a tough sell, especially without a plan of his own to compensate for the profit losses, but hopefully he'd manage to find something to feed the top execs on his journey.

"Probably not," Xander reluctantly agreed, though he didn't like the point. "Still, I gotta say I'll miss you, bub. Not too many people here my own age to shoot the breeze with."

"Then why don't you come with me?" he asked on a whim, not finding a problem with the idea.

Xander had a good head on his shoulders and was pretty good in a fight. While he didn't foresee or plan to get into one, it was a fact that not all the places he planned on visiting would be safe. Monsters of one type or another roamed those areas and wouldn't react well to an unknown violating their territory so having someone who could fight them off would be useful.

"Well… I had planned on leaving Cosmo Canyon sooner or later and I didn't have any place in mind I wanted to go to, sooooo… sure! Why not?" Xander said, only taking a little time to think it over. "Just let me grab some gear of my own and say goodbye to some people and we can go."

"Go right ahead. Just don't take too long," he said with a nod of permission. "I'd like to make the river to the north in two days if possible."

"No problem," Xander said with a nod before running off at a good pace.

He certainly doesn't lack energy, he thought with a grin before returning to his chocobo preparations.

It took about an hour before Xander returned with a backpack strapped to his back, looking like it'd been filled with as much as was safe and a rolled up pair of blankets tied at the bottom of it.

"Well, I'm ready to go!" Xander declared, sounding like they were setting off on some grand adventure. "Let's get this show on the road!"

"Then grab a Chocobo," he said, nodding his head in the direction of the stalls.

Three minutes later they were off, though he had to shake his head at the size of the bird Xander had chosen since it was definitely the biggest as well as the strongest of the selection available. Whether it was to complete some warrior image or something simpler like bigger was better, it certainly didn't look like the large Chocobo would win many races. Still, it was managing to keep pace with his own bird so he wouldn't say anything.

"So you got a specific place you want to get to?" Xander asked after about two hours of riding.

"There are some materia caves northeast of Nibelheim that I want to investigate," he replied remembering what his research had revealed before leaving Midgar. "According to my research, the Ancients had an understanding and mastery of materia that no one else has matched to date. The cave is one of the oldest ones on record. I want to see if there are any signs that the Ancients might have once used it."

"If they really live up to the name, won't most of the evidence be dust and rubble?" Xander asked, sounding a little puzzled.

"Even if there are no pots or statues down there, the rock and the tunnels can still tell a story," he replied, taking on a slightly professorial tone. "With the right eyes you can tell how long it's been since a tunnel wall's been cracked open and whether it was done artificially or naturally. If we compare what we find with the historical records of previous mining operations, we can eliminate them from the list of discoveries and anything older than the records could mean Ancient involvement."

He could see his friend going over the logic in his head before nodding in agreement.

"And while my colleagues in the field ridicule me for it, it's my opinion that the Ancients didn't die out as long ago as current academic dogma dictates," he said deciding to toss in some personal facts. "They all believe that the Ancients died out in the same cataclysm that caused the Northern crater and the plague that followed. However I believe that some might have lived elsewhere on the planet, either as a separate tribe or merely as a group that was elsewhere when the disaster hit."

"If some Ancients survived then why aren't there more around?" Xander asked, following the train of logic to the next step.

"That is the point my colleagues used to refute my theory. To them, if the Ancients survived, then they would've been encountered by one civilization or another that's sprung up since the cataclysm but that hasn't happened." He remembered the dismissive statements that'd been thrown at him all too well. "However it is my position that the Ancients could very well look so similar to us in appearance that we could never tell difference between them and us. If they had some reason to avoid human beings like us for some reason or another then the most we would ever see is a group of travelers on the road. Hardly remarkable and forgotten just as easily."

"It'd make finding them pretty hard," Xander said, seeing the size of the quandary before him.

"True, but I'm confident that if I'm observant enough I can pick up their trail. If I can just find a single shred of evidence to prove that an Ancient survived the creation of the Northern Crater and the plague that claimed so many of their kinsmen's lives, I can vindicate myself in front of the entire scientific community!"

"Well then let's pick up the pace!" Xander said with an enthusiastic smile on his face. "We've got a trail to pick up!"

Chuckling, he couldn't help but feel his mood improving just the same.

Suddenly his lifelong goal didn't seem quite so out of reach.

Outside the Northern Most Materia Cave on the Western Continent

One Week Later

Xander's POV

"That's the last of them," he said as he wiped the monster blood off of his blade on some leaves.

"Good grief! Not for the first time I'm glad I decided to invite you along," Gast said, emerging from behind the boulder he'd been hiding behind. "Who knew the wilderness on the Western Continent could be so dangerous?"

"A little more than a lab jockey like you expected, eh?" he said with a grin at how things had gone on their trip.

It'd started out easily enough with only a few stray beasts causing them trouble and oddly enough the future father of Aerith had been wise enough to pick up a rifle at the first opportunity after leaving Cosmo Canyon. It'd been a small village they'd landed in and the selection at the gun shop hadn't been great but he'd still been able to help Gast pick out a quality piece. It had a magazine rather than requiring the bullets be loaded manually and had pretty good range, especially with the scope screwed into the top. While Gast would've made any hunter cringe with his aim, the monsters they'd faced early on hadn't been all that difficult to hit. Sure, he'd had to step in and save the guy's ass from time to time but thankfully it'd never gotten so serious that he'd been forced to pop his claws.

He didn't want the professor to get distracted by something else he didn't know anything about, especially when that focus was needed on their surroundings.

The closer they got to the materia cave, though, the stronger the monsters seemed to get, though whether that was due to some sort of homing instinct or the mutative effect of Mako he didn't know. As a result it soon became more than a simple rifle could handle on its own, forcing him to take them on himself. With the knowledge that he'd made his own from the remnants of Wolverine, he'd become a formidable fighter that had managed to hold his own against many of the warriors of Cosmo Canyon. True, he had an unfair advantage as far as his healing factor went but he'd done his best to make sure the sparring matches were won through skill rather than his mutant powers. Coupled with the weapons forged by the best weapon smiths in the Canyon and he'd been able to get by and now they were on the doorstep of their destination.

"That is an incredible understatement, Xander," Gast said as he walked up to his side.

"So do you want to head in now or wait 'til tomorrow?" he asked, seeing that the sun that was two hours from setting.

"Let's at least do a quick walk through first to see what we have to work with," Gast replied, taking a small notebook out of their pile of travel stuff that they'd dropped when the monsters had shown up.

I guess a few hours won't be too bad, he thought before nodding in agreement.

Taking out one of the oil lanterns he'd brought with him from Cosmo Canyon, he lit it before taking the lead in entering the cave since that'd hopefully make him the first target of choice. Going into the cave he could see the usual signs of mining from the pick marks to the little piles of gravel scattered about but no materia or signs of past habitation. Taking a sniff of the air, all he could smell were the usual smells associated with monsters roaming underground but thankfully none were recent enough to be concerned about. Every time they reached an intersection he made sure to carve a mark into the stone with a rock from the ground so that they wouldn't get lost. He was pretty sure that Gast was drawing a map of his own in the notebook he was carrying but it never hurt to cover all the possibilities.

As they got deeper into the cave he began to see less and less signs of recent activity based on the age of the wood used to support the walls and ceilings of the tunnels. The stuff closer to the surface had some wear in it but he could tell it'd been put there within the last decade or so. The stuff he was seeing now was definitely older than that and it made him worry a bit about how safe things were for Gast. With his healing factor and Adamantium skeleton he could probably claw his way back to the surface given enough time. However if the tunnels collapsed Gast would be lucky not to be killed in the first few seconds. He almost hoped that they had the resources to hire a team of workers to reinforce the wooden supports down here but he had a pretty good idea of Gast's current financial situation. The guy wasn't broke or even on his way to being broke but he didn't have anywhere near the gil to hire even a small work crew.

Like it or not, the two of them would need to handle things on their own.

Looking at the watch he carried, he could tell that it would be dark out soon and if they didn't get back to the surface soon there was no telling what'd happen to their gear. Just like how some normal animals were nocturnal, certain monsters only went on the prowl after the sun had vanished and they were almost universally dangerous.

"Sun's going to vanish soon," he said as the scientist continued to scribble in his notebook. "We best turn back and restart things in the morning."

He could tell based on how Gast longingly looked at the tunnel ahead of them that his curiosity was whispering to him to keep going. Fortunately though they hadn't had enough progress in their search for signs of Ancient presence, past or present, to give the man's curiosity strength enough to force him onwards.

"I guess you're right." Gast said with a sigh as he tucked his notebook into his pocket.

It took them far less time to leave the cave then it had to get as deep as they had and, when they stepped outside, they were just in time to see the last few rays of sunlight disappear. It was beautiful in its own way, as was the starry night that followed, but he took only a moment to take it all in before getting to work setting up camp. The scientist helped out when and where he could but predictably ended up going through his notes while consulting the odd book on the side. It shouldn't be too much of a surprise that the man was focused on his research but he'd like to think that they were friends enough to share the workload a bit more. It still only took ten minutes to finish setting things up and then he began to rifle through their food supply to see what he could cook up for their evening meal. They'd started out with enough for a day or two but, when the pickings got sparse, he'd gone off hunting to fill the food sacks back up. He'd learned a lot from the residents of Cosmo Canyon about which sort of animals and monsters had meat that could safely be eaten with a bit of preparation, along with some fruits and veggies.

Looks like it's a bit of stir fry tonight, he thought as he finished making his selections.

Starting up the fire, he went through the steps of cooking the meal, relying on visual cues and his watch to know when to take each step. When he remembered how his first few cooking efforts had gone he felt a certain degree of pride at how far he'd managed to come since then.

Maybe when Shinra's no longer a problem, I can open a new bar-slash-restaurant, he thought whimsically as the meal was close to being good enough to serve. I think I have a knack for it. "So… learn anything interesting down there?" he asked as he pushed some grub onto a plate.

"Not much but I have confirmed to my satisfaction that the cave has indeed been around for as long as the records claim," Gast said as he continued to write his notes. "The fact that we still have a ways to go also lends credibility to the theory that the materia cave is older than the records know. The ones who first recorded it weren't the ones who first dug into the ground looking for materia."

"Doesn't mean that the Ancients did it instead," he said, deciding to play devil's advocate for the discussion.

"Perhaps," Gast said, proving that he was of the opposite train of thought.

"Well, give the note taking a rest and eat," he said as he held out a plate of food for the man. "Some grub might get your brain cells working better and help you finish up before getting some sleep."

With only a little hesitation Gast took the offered plate and began to dig in to the stir fry meal.

Pushing the rest of the cooked meal onto a second plate he ate as well, savoring the food he'd prepared since, with Wolverine's sense of taste, it was twice as good as it would've been for a normal person. Before the whole Halloween mess he'd been a fan of good food but, since his senses got heightened, eating a good meal came pretty close to nirvana for him. He figured if he ever ate a meal prepared by the unquestioned top chef on the planet he might very well faint from the sensory overload of pleasure.

He looked forward to that day.

As he finished his meal and set the plate aside to be washed later, a scent drifted past his nose that caught his attention.

It wasn't large enough for him to get any particulars but he could say without a doubt that it wasn't animal or monster in nature.

Someone was close by.

The Next Day, Morning

Gast's POV

"I've always loved mornings!" he said as he basked in the light from the rising sun and the crisp feeling in the air. "It's always feels like a new beginning."

"Didn't like'em much myself when I was a kid," Xander said as he finished putting out the fire that'd cooked their breakfast. "Always preferred sleeping in as long as I could. Then, when things got busier later on, it turned out that I had more important things to do than be unconscious for most of the day. Now? I enjoy sleep when I can and make do without it when I have to."

"I guess having time to enjoy sleep is one of the perks of being a kid," he said as he finished stretching in preparation for the day ahead. "Now let's get going. That cave isn't going to explore itself."

A nod was all he got from Xander as the dark haired man lit an oil lamp before leading the way into the materia cave. They were able to make swifter progress this time around since he'd already seen much of the tunnels, but eventually they arrived at the deepest point they'd reached the night before. With new discoveries waiting ahead his scientist's curiosity was quick to awaken and he began to take in everything, not letting a single detail escape his notice. As much as he'd prefer otherwise he had to concede Xander's past comment that any remains of the Ancients might have crumbled in the time since they'd last been in the cave. Nevertheless he had to search, he had to see with his own two eyes, to find out if this cave truly had no clues of substance for him to discover and use to further his research. He hoped that that was not the case but, if it was, then he had other locations that could yield more favorable results.

He was only peripherally aware of time passing as he jotted down any information of worth in his notebook but it wasn't until a while after he'd last seen a wooden support beam that he saw something that caused him to get excited. Racing ahead, heedless of Xander's cry for caution, he soon arrived at the cause: a stone pillar that was crafted in a way that was impossible for nature to do on its own. He could barely make out the faint lines of writing on it and, with a bit of annoyance, he moved on to examine the rest of the pillar.

Based on his experience examining other ruins, he could tell that the pillar was definitely old, much older than the parts of the cave that he'd seen so far. Age hadn't quite weakened the stone pillar enough to cause it to crumble but he could tell that day would likely happen within his lifetime. As he finished the sketch in his notebook he tucked it away before continuing down the tunnel, certain that he would find something more. Along the way he uncovered more pillars but none were in as good condition as the first one he'd found and whatever writing had been on it had long since been worn away by the elements. It wasn't until a few minutes later that he entered a large chamber with three tunnels branching off from it. Around the edges of each tunnel were beautiful designs that were both intricate and yet also somewhat similar in appearance.

The one to the left had a pictograph of fire at its apex.

The one in the middle had a pictograph of water at the top.

The one on the right had a pictograph of a mountain where the others had been.

"So is it just meant to make things look pretty or are they meant to tell us something?" Xander said as he took in the interior of the chamber.

"A good question. If the Ancients were indeed human-like then it's probable the pictographs are meant to indicate different parts of the cave," he replied as he drew together a theory from facts. "Perhaps it's as simple as one tunnel contains fire materia, one contains water materia and the last contains earth materia. Then again, perhaps the meaning is more metaphorical than literal. It's tough to say without exploring each tunnel."

"Depending on how far they go, that could take a while," Xander said, sounding a little intimidated by the task.

"True. Let's choose one and use it as an example," he proposed, looking from one option to the next. "If the tunnels are nearly identical in length then one of them should tell us how long it'd take to explore the others."

"Then let's go down the one with the water symbol," Xander suggested, pointing at the middle tunnel.

"Why that one?" he asked out of curiosity.

"'Cause if the tunnel's booby trapped we'll stand a better chance of swimming our way out than avoiding being crushed or burned alive," Xander replied, sounding like he was only half serious and half humorous.

"There's nothing in my research to indicate that the Ancients were hostile or would construct such traps in their structures," he said, shaking his head at the place his friend's mind went. "I'm sure we'll be fine."

"I really wish you hadn't said that," Xander sighed as he shook his head in disappointment. "Now I KNOW we're going to run into trouble."

"C'mon! You aren't one of those people who thinks saying certain things makes bad things happen, are you?" he asked incredulously at the unscientific notion.

"I've had an interesting life," Xander said before heading down the central tunnel he'd picked.

Of that I have no doubt, he thought as he followed his travelling companion.

Indeed, in all the time since he'd first met Xander, he'd seen things and heard things that made it difficult to figure out where the guy had been born. Some of the things he said made him think that Xander had come from Wutai but his friend's facial features as well as skin tone didn't match what he'd seen in his books. Nor did he look like someone born of the tribe that lived in Cosmo Canyon. One by one he'd gone through the various parts of the world that had people with similar traits to Xander but none were a perfect fit.

Bottom line: his friend was a mystery.

Nevertheless, there was no doubting Xander's character or his experience fighting monsters, so he didn't let the rest bother him too much.

That didn't mean he wouldn't be interested in learning more but rather that he wouldn't needlessly pry into a past that was none of his business.

Continuing down the tunnel, he saw that the deeper they went, the more plentiful the carvings became, with each of them having water as the central theme in their design. After over a half an hour of walking he began to think that perhaps they should've brought some of their camping gear with them. If the tunnel went too deep they might not reach the end by sundown and he would rather camp out in the tunnel then return to the surface only to get no further the next day.

He gave it another hour but it turned out to be time well spent, for it was then that the tunnel came to an end, revealing a much larger chamber that was no mere junction point.

Instead it looked like a garden… a garden for the creation of materia.

Pools existed all about the chamber, decorated with engravings, filled with raw Mako, with materia in the center at various stages of formation. In the center of the large chamber was a statue and, while there were several differences, it was similar enough to other depictions of 'The Goddess' throughout history. To the common everyman 'The Goddess' was merely a part of the famous play 'LOVELESS' fictional and without any bearing on the real world. The truth of the matter was that 'The Goddess' was a part of various cultures all over Gaia, with differences originating from the dominant culture of the region.

In most cases 'The Goddess' was seen as a mother figure, at one with the natural world, who intervened only to correct imbalances caused by the unnatural.

Intriguing, he thought as he quickly began to sketch the room in his notebook. Even the Ancients valued the Goddess.

He wondered what name she went by for the Ancients. Was it Minerva, like it was for most of the other cultures? Or was it something completely different?

Perhaps he'd find the answer here in the cave.

It wasn't completely out of the question that there might still be some legible writing, waiting to be found in the dark. Indeed it was possible that the largest letters would be carved the deepest into the stone and therefore have survived the centuries since they were first inscribed. All he needed to do was find them and that was the easy part since it wasn't like they were going anywhere anytime soon.

He might not have all the time in the world to find them but he would do his best to find them before being forced to move on to the next location on his list.

This trip WOULD be worth it.

Hours Later

Xander's POV

Someone is DEFINITELY out there and doing a pretty good job of staying downwind of me, he thought as he casually let his eyes pass over the forest nearby the camp.

It'd been a few days since they'd first arrived at the cave but ever since then he'd been randomly picking up the scent of a human, but only for a little bit as the wind shifted. Whoever it was never stuck around long after he picked up their smell but always returned later on, usually after Gast and him finished their exploration of the caves for the day. Did the person wait a long time for them to reemerge or did they somehow know when they were coming back up? Whatever the case, he was beginning to get a little annoyed by the surveillance. Up until now, since the unknown person hadn't done anything aggressive towards them or impeded Gast's work, so he'd been content to leave them be, whoever they were.

Now, though, he wondered if their watcher might in fact be a part of the Shinra company sent to monitor Gast's progress with orders to report back if anything significant was discovered.

If it was a Shinra agent then it was likely he would soon be identified and troopers sent in to recapture him. Even though it'd been years since his escape, Hojo would use all the clout he had to pressure President Shinra into sending in an army.

He couldn't let that happen.

"I'm going to go grab some more firewood. Maybe hunt down some game to replenish our food stores," he said offhand as he got to his feet. "You did say you had another two stops to make before heading back to Midgar so we'll need the food."

"Sure, sure," Gast said, completely absorbed in his research with five separate books opened up before him. "Just don't get too much. We've no way to keep the meat fresh and it'd be a waste just to let the excess rot."

"Never kill more than you can eat. A basic rule of hunting," he said with a nod of agreement before setting out.

Making sure to walk in a direction that wouldn't take him directly to where he suspected the observer had sequestered themselves, he left the camp intending to circle around to catch the person from behind.

One good turn deserved another, after all.

He kept his pace casual, unremarkable, until he was certain that he'd broken the observer's line of sight, and then went on the prowl, keeping low to the ground and darting between cover when it became sparse. Thanks to the times he'd gone hunting with the other men of Canyon he'd managed to develop his stealth abilities quite a bit, so avoiding any dangerous branches on the ground was easy enough. Keeping himself from noisily brushing against bushes or tree branches, though, was a bit harder since there were hardly any paths in the woods that would take him where he wanted to go. It was a long and tedious bit of walking but eventually he got to within eyesight of the watcher and was a little surprised with what he found.

A woman, not much older than Gast, with long brunette hair and dressed in clothes that he'd have likened to what he'd seen in pictures featuring gypsies. He couldn't see her face thanks to the direction she was looking in but that would be remedied quickly enough once he captured her. The one plus was that given her appearance it was unlikely that she had any long range communications device on her and that meant her means of contacting Shinra was located elsewhere. If he took her down now, there was a chance he could buy him and Gast at least a small head start before the Shinra goon squad went looking for their spy or him.

Creeping as silently as he could, he approached her from behind, doing his absolute best to ensure not even a bit of noise was made, so it came as something of a surprise to him when she perked up as though she'd detected him. Not willing to take any chances he charged her position and, just as she turned halfway around, he grabbed her by the throat to keep her from calling out to any backup that might be in the area outside the range of his nose. Using his other hand to grasp one of her arms and pin it behind her he decided to make sure she understood her current situation.

"Be SILENT. One word. One peep without my permission and I can promise you won't like the consequences," he whispered into her right ear in his most serious tone. "Understand?"

He felt the woman nod and so he began to push her towards the camp so that Gast could be present for the interrogation. They needed to know precisely how much information had already been sent on to Shinra so he could figure out how soon he had to leave.

When they emerged from the forest it didn't even take ten seconds for Gast to spot the two of them.

"Xander? What's going on?" Gast asked, standing up from amidst his plethora of pages.

"We've had a spy watching us almost since we got here," he replied upon reaching the edge of the campsite. "I figured it was time to find out just what she found so interesting about us."

"I was just curious!" the woman exclaimed, turning to face him for the first time since he'd first laid eyes on her.

She looked like…

…Aerith.

Then…this is when… he thought as the full ramifications of the moment hit him.

This was when Gast and Aerith's mother, Ifalna, meet for the first time.

No.

It would be more accurate to say that this was their new time for meeting since it was likely that Gast wouldn't have encountered his future wife for another couple of months if he hadn't forced it. Considering what would be born from the meeting he worried for a moment that he might just have put Aerith's birth in danger of never occurring. He'd watched countless movies and TV shows involving time travel with each of them making it pretty clear that altering the past almost always led to catastrophe. He didn't know if the same thing applied to his present situation but just the same he'd do all he could to maximize the potential for romance between Ifalna and Gast.

He just hoped that he didn't fuck things up because Mister Matchmaker he was NOT.

"Curious? About what?" he asked, keeping his tone more neutral than hostile.

"No one's been to this cave in many years," Ifalna replied, keeping things to the point. "Indeed I've lived here for over a year now and no one's ever come here."

"Not surprising," Gast said as he fixed the position of his glasses. "Mining for mako is hazardous work and, even if you acquire materia, that doesn't mean it'll necessarily be valuable. Wild materia is somewhat random when it comes to what it can do."

"So why are the two of you here?" she asked, looking back and forth between him and Gast.

"I am a scientist and I'm researching the Ancients. A race of people said to possess incredible power and an undefined connection to the planet," Gast replied, taking the lead in the discussion. "What I've learned about them has always intrigued me and so I've decided to search for more answers to my questions about them."

"And you thought you'd find your answers here?" she asked with some skepticism.

"I've already found considerable proof that the Ancients or a people that might have lived at the same time as them did indeed use the materia cave," Gast said, sounding certain of his words. "With a bit more time I can discern which of the other possible locations I've researched will most likely bear fruit."

"And what will you do once you have your answers?" Ifalna asked with slightly narrowing eyes.

"Publish a paper most likely on my findings while also ascertaining if anything I've learned can be used to better the lives of mankind," Gast replied, sounding like he'd only thought of the broad strokes of what would come later.

"It's dangerous to try to use knowledge you haven't learned for yourself," she warned, sounding like she didn't think Gast or Shinra could handle the secrets of the Ancients.

"Maybe, but ignorance can be just as dangerous," he said, speaking for the first time since the discussion began. "Some things shouldn't be forgotten."

"And some things should be," she said firmly, sounding like it was fueled by memory.

Jenova.

She had to be speaking of Jenova, the Calamity from the Sky, and he had to agree with that. If the parasite had been left buried deep within the substrata where it'd been initially discovered then so much sorrow could've been avoided. Unfortunately, if he was right, he was no longer in a position to prevent its discovery and had no way to locate the main body so he could cut it into fingernail sized portions.

The best he could do now was to try to ensure that some tragedies never occurred and others that were unavoidable didn't cost as many innocent souls.

"But we'll never know what should be remembered and what should be forgotten until we see the entire picture. Without seeing all the facts in the relevant context, we could very well wind up making the wrong decisions," Gast said, clearly opposed to letting fear of the worst case scenario prevent them from learning the truth.

"Perhaps," she said, unable to come up with a counterpoint to that.

"You sound like you know a bit about the Ancients yourself," he said, trying to nudge things in the right direction without drawing the suspicion of the others upon himself.

"My… family has lived around here for a long time," she said, sounding a little uncomfortable in the metaphorical spotlight. "You two aren't the first to come here looking for proof of the Ancients. There's always been someone looking for them and they inevitably find my family, asking questions and proposing theories. I was only a couple years old the last time it happened but I still remember everything they talked about with my parents."

Good cover.

She would be too young to remember a lot but she'd remember enough to explain her position as well as her knowledge.

"Really? Would you be willing to tell me what you've learned?" Gast asked, sounding quite interested in finding out if any data had escaped his research efforts.

"I… guess so," she replied, sounding a little uncertain but not enough to decline.

With a small grin he walked off, figuring that Ifalna might feel more comfortable talking to Gast if there wasn't a spectator close by. He wouldn't be gone for too long, just in case trouble came calling, plus he figured every guy appreciated a wingman whenever a girl he had the hots for was within range.

I'll keep any advice I've got short and to the point, he thought as he entered the forest. Less chance of screwing up then.

Bone Village, Northern Continent

Three Weeks Later

Ifalna's POV

"What am I doing?" she asked herself at barely above a whisper.

It was a question she'd asked herself almost every day since she'd been forced to go from observer to travel companion. She hadn't meant to leave the forest that'd been her home for most of her life, indeed her parents had made her promise not to leave EVER, but at the same time she'd been worried that about what might happen to the two men if she did nothing. Her parents had told her stories about the past of their people, the places that were sacred to them and, above all, the coming of the Calamity from the Sky. They often told her scary bedtime stories of the Calamity, of how it'd brought a plague with it and how it had brought about the decimation of their people, but they always ended it with the idea that their people would rise again.

For as long as she could remember they'd taught her the ways of their people out of a desire to ensure that such things never vanished from Gaia.

After they passed on four years ago she'd felt an obligation to obey their wishes and so she'd kept going through the same old routines as though nothing had changed. She didn't do anything creepy like set two extra places at the table, as though she expected them to show up, but everything she'd learned about the upkeep of the house, tending the garden and collecting herbs she continued to do. Every once in a while she would hear voices from the Lifestream telling her of other places, of other people, and a desire would well up inside to go there in person. However whenever she started to get ready she'd remember her parents and how they didn't want her to ever leave the forest. Her love and her obligation towards the memory of her mother and father quickly put an end to the desire to visit new places.

It'd only been a little before Gast and Xander had come to the forest, though, that the spirits of the lifestream had started behaving oddly. It wasn't something that caused worry but rather something that she'd had nothing to compare to and as such her curiosity had been aroused. More than that, since the cause of the oddness was coming to the forest where she lived, she'd seen no reason not to indulge her curiosity and investigate. She'd been cautious enough to keep her distance, remain downwind and all the other tricks her father had taught her to avoid being detected. For days she'd watched Xander and Gast from afar, trying to learn what she could from what she could see alone. She'd even thought up histories for the two of them, ranging from the likely to the completely ridiculous for her own amusement. It'd been so much fun that she'd come back day after day in order to see what new things she could see but now she realized she shouldn't have pressed her luck.

She'd seen Xander leave camp but hadn't thought anything of it and, even though the lifestream had warned her when he'd drawn too close, it had been too late.

After the first night when she'd talked to them and conveyed some of what she knew about her people to Gast, she'd decided to stick around and help them with the deeper parts of the cave. She'd figured she could steer them away from the more sacred chambers or downplay what could be down certain tunnels so that they wouldn't want to venture any further. It didn't always work but fortunately the tunnels she couldn't warn them away from required specific knowledge to progress all the way to the end. She'd been able to keep the knowledge to herself and so nothing bad had happened.

However when the day came for them to leave, she felt sad since she had truly enjoyed their company. It'd been then that she'd considered that, while she had never been away from the forest, she knew that there were other locations sacred to the Cetra as well as places no human should ever visit again. If the two men went to one of those places they might accidentally get into a lot of trouble or release something that'd been sealed away for a very long time.

Her parents had told her a few stories about those things too.

Some of them scared her more than the Calamity.

As a result she made an on the spot judgment call and offered to come with them to lend her knowledge of the Ancients to their search, modest though her wisdom was. Gast had been enthusiastically in favor of the idea and Xander just grinned before nodding in agreement. The former had thoroughly enjoyed the tales she'd told him of the Ancients and had even asked her opinion on some of his theories. Some had been oddly close to what her parents had told her but others were so ridiculous she had been unable to keep herself from laughing out loud. Instead of being offended, though, Gast had found the humor in his own theories and laughed right along with her until they ran out of breath.

As for the latter… she got the feeling he knew something secret.

Something about her… or maybe about Gast, but she couldn't figure out which it was and as a result a part of her mind itched to get an answer to the question.

Out in the open, though, Xander was a kind and humorous person who never failed to take advantage of an opportunity to make someone laugh. Whether they needed it or not, the man clad in the clothes of the people of Cosmo Canyon always tried to brighten the mood whenever things got too serious. However that wasn't to say he was all about joking since he was the one to deal with any monsters that they encountered on the trip. She wasn't completely useless in a fight, her parents had left her fire and lightning materia, but some of the monsters were beyond her ability to deal with. As a result she and Gast remained at the rear to act as support while Xander took point attacking the monsters head on. He demonstrated great skill and only got pressured when the sheer number of monsters attacking them got too high.

Even then, though, Xander did his best to keep the main horde away from her and Gast.

Throughout their journey to the Bone Village she would at times question why she'd chosen to act as a secret guide to the two men. Ever since the time of the Calamity's arrival countless people had gone in search of the remnants of her people and she'd not felt so motivated to provide aid. Indeed the people who'd passed through the forest where she dwelt had barely caused her to raise an eyebrow of interest about their activities.

Again and again she'd asked herself what was so different about Gast and Xander to make her take such direct action but, no matter how hard she thought, no feasible answer appeared. It all came close to putting her in an irritable mood but she'd breathed deeply each time, knowing that neither guy deserved to be on the receiving end just because she was confused about her own motives.

Still… she hoped the answer came someday soon before it all started messing with her sleep.

"Well, we've dug up three Lunar Harps," Xander said as he and Gast walked up to her. "Should be able to get through the Sleeping Forest without any trouble."

"Hmmm… perhaps I should take one of the Harps to my lab for study," Gast said, looking at the golden item in his hand. "With the number of Harps no doubt finite, it's inevitable that one day there'll be none left to dig up. If I could figure out how they allow their users passage through the Sleeping Forest, I might be able to come up with a technological alternative."

"Maybe, but sometimes magic and science just don't mix well, Gast," Xander said in opposition to the idea. "The rules they operate under are just too different."

"He's right. Science is man's attempt to understand the world around him and, through that understanding, control it," she said, adding her opinion to the discussion. "What man does not realize is that nature cannot be controlled. Not by him. Not by his machines. Nature does as it will and gets angry with anything that gets in its way."

"While I will admit that science has some limitations, the only way to find out where they are is to experiment, to explore and try to go as far as you can," Gast said, sounding like he wished to be reasonable.

"As long you science boys remember to ask yourselves 'should we' right after you ask 'can we', I am okay with it," Xander said, taking on a somewhat serious tone.

"While I cannot speak for my fellow scientists, Xander, I can assure you that I keep everything important in mind whenever I take on a project," Gast said with strong resolve. "However you must also concede that it is not always up to the scientist where to stop. Many are regretfully under the control of their employers."

"Control is an illusion, Gast. A person always has a choice," Xander said, unwilling to give even a little from his position. "It might not be a great choice, it might even be a fatal one, but it's still a choice. A person just has to decide what choice is the right one and if they have the resolve to see it through."

"You mean, even if it meant that person's death, if it was the right choice to make, they should do it?" she asked, a little stunned by the man's words.

"Yes. Not everyone has the willpower to take things that far, though. I get that," Xander replied, letting his expression soften a little. "But if whatever you're doing has the potential to hurt a great many people, you have to ask yourself: is your life more important than the ones that'd be lost if you don't go that far?"

A sobering thought.

She'd often thought of her ancestors who used all they had to seal away the creature, perishing soon after, leaving barely enough survivors alive to continue the species. Would she have the courage to do what they did?

She didn't know.

She prayed that she never had to find out.

The Forgotten City, The Northern Continent, Three Days Later

Gast's POV

"It's…amazing!" he gasped as he took in the sight before him.

Throughout his research on the Ancients one of the things he had tried to figure out was what did the survivors of the impact that created the Northern Crater do afterwards. He knew that the catastrophe all but decimated the Ancient population and that it was unlikely that the survivors rebuilt all around the crater, so that only left moving away from it. Following that logic he'd attempted to find places close to the Northern Crater capable of supporting human or human-like life. He'd searched through countless archeological journals for the oldest discovered locations of ancient settlements and compared what was described with what was known about Ancient culture. It wasn't much but he'd still been able to narrow down the list of possibilities a bit and then he just took the time that he knew he had away from Shinra into account to shorten the list even further.

However this place hadn't been on his list.

He'd of course heard stories about it and there'd even been a written account of someone who'd managed to make it through the Sleeping Forest without a harp, but it hadn't been taken seriously. As a result he'd scratched it off the list of possibilities but when Ifalna had told him about it from the stories she'd heard, he found his interest aroused. So they'd headed to Bone Village and using the Harps passed through the Sleeping Forest to arrive… here.

And it was well worth the effort.

To see the first sign of Ancient architecture post formation of the Northern Crater… this alone made everything worth it. Even if every other location on his list after this point turned out to be a waste of time, this alone made him feel as though he'd truly accomplished something.

"Well… this is a pretty big place and, according to you, Gast, you've got a month tops before Shinra expects you back in Midgar," Xander said from the steps ahead of him. "We should probably split up and investigate the place. Give us some paper and we'll jot down what we see. After following you all this time I think I know what to look for."

Frowning a bit at this idea, he had to admit that he could not delay his return to Midgar much past a month before President Shinra sent troopers or perhaps the Turks to find him. While his rank had diminished somewhat due to the ascent of Hojo, he was still valued enough thanks to his knowledge of the Ancients. There were a few other places on his list and he did want to visit the Northern Crater one more time to see if anything had been missed in the initial excavation of Jenova. It would be a hefty trek to that last one, especially given the less than forgiving weather surrounding the Crater, so he had to admit that dividing the work here would save time.

And it was a sizeable location to deal with one area at a time.

"Very well. However I reserve the right to review any notes either of you take to ensure you know what you're doing," he said firmly, not willing to let the quality of the information gathered drop even a bit.

They all owed it to the future generations who would read the paper he would publish.

"No problem. My teacher's might not have given me good grades but I know what's important in dusty old places," Xander said with the half-grin that would seem out of place on anyone else's face.

With a nod he reached into his pack and pulled out a couple sheets of paper before giving some to Xander and some to Ifalna. Once the pens were passed out they separated, with him going to the right, Ifalna to the left and Xander entering the structure that reminded him of a seashell.

Looking about the area he looked for something to catch his eye, to catch his interest, since without knowing how the Ancients had lived in this place there was no way of knowing where to go. It wasn't until he spied a fountain with a broken statue in the center that his instincts told him that THIS was something to record. Quickening his pace he walked until he reached the edge before he took out his personal notebook and began to do a rough sketch of the fountain and the broken statue. It looked very much like the one that he'd seen in the materia cave but, with the statue broken in half, he could not be sure that it was of The Goddess Minerva. The half that was still whole did indeed bear some similarities to the one in the cave but, unless he could find an intact one in the Forgotten City, all he had was circumstantial evidence.

Focusing his gaze on the base of the fountain he saw that there was writing, actual WRITING, that did not match any language he'd ever seen. Whether or not it was Ancient in origin he didn't know but just the same he diligently drew each symbol in the correct order and PRECISELY as he saw it. There were twenty-four letters written in total with some being different only slightly while others unique among the entire set. It would likely take weeks to decipher the meaning between each symbol, assuming he ever managed to figure them out in the first place.

Still, if he could advance the knowledge of the Ancients by even a few pages it would be a monument to his work.

Time passed as he continued to record everything of note for later examination but, as the light of sunset caused him to turn away, he realized that he had been at it for hours.

Better see how Xander and Ifalna are doing. He stood up and stretched the stiffness from his back. Not sure if the fact that they haven't come asking for more paper is a good thing or a bad thing.

Deciding to see what Xander had managed to uncover he walked to the stairs that led to the only visible entrance that would take him inside. Once there he beheld a spiral staircase that hugged the walls and went a good three stories down before ending at steps that led to a platform in the center of the floor surrounded by water. It was as awesome to his eyes as the outside had been and as he looked down he found Xander standing on the central platform. What puzzled him, though, was that he also spotted Ifalna walking slowly, silently, down the staircase towards the steps that led to the central platform. She looked to be trying not to make a sound but, aside from the adolescent amusement that came with scaring someone, he could not fathom a reason. He was a bit far up but he would listen to see if anything was said either to explain why Xander seemed to be lost in thought or why Ifalna was sneaking up on them.

"You must be pretty good at hide and seek," Xander said with a slightly raised voice, "but I was the unquestioned king of it. Trained hard to be able to hear and see things other people miss."

"When did you notice I was there?" she asked, walking casually once more.

"The second you started down the steps. Even with you trying your best, this place has serious acoustics," Xander replied as he turned to face her. "Heard every step you made on the way down."

"I was… curious. Why are you just standing there?" she asked, sounding like she was having trouble articulating what she was thinking. "Did you find something?"

"Nothing you'll be able to see," Xander replied with a negative shake of his head. "More of a feeling, really. The second I saw this platform I got this feeling in my gut. Something bad's gonna happen in this place. Something tragic. Don't bother asking me for details 'cause I don't have any. I've learned to trust my gut, especially when it comes to something bad."

Looking about the building, he couldn't see any imagery or artifacts that would support this outlook so it left him puzzled about his friend's words.

"Perhaps the planet, the lifestream, is trying to tell you something," she said in a manner more serious than what he would have expected.

"If it is, it'd be nice if it could be a little more specific," Xander said with a bit of anger and frustration. "Nothing makes me madder than people or things being all cryptic."

"The stories of the lifestream tell us that it is made up of the life energy of all who came before and all who are yet to come," she said, repeating what she'd told him during one of their discussions. "If that's true then uniting enough in purpose and desire enough to send any kind of message, even a 'feeling in your gut', is likely quite difficult."

True.

According to what he'd researched, only the Ancients possessed the power to consciously communicate with the lifestream and harness its power. Some of the more recent stories told that, as the lingering remnants of the Ancients melded with the mainstream human population, what powers they possessed grew weaker. It was this thinning of the bloodline as well as other means of death that caused the majority of the scientific community to believe that the Ancients were no more. After all, could a person really call themselves an Ancient if their blood connection within them had been reduced to a mere whisper? Could they really call themselves an Ancient if they could no longer call upon the powers that were their birthright?

"What do they say to you?" Xander asked with mild curiosity in his voice.

"W-what do you mean by that?" she asked, sounding startled by the question enough to take a step back one step.

"A lot of people can take things on faith. They don't need any proof that something exists," Xander replied with an expression that couldn't quite be made out. "Others though need proof, something right in front of their eyes, something they can touch and hear before they'll believe in something. The way you've talked about the Ancients, the lifestream and what makes it up has me believing you've seen proof to talk about all those souls sending a message."

Proof? What sort of proof could he be talking about? Was he talking about some statue or some writings? Maybe another Ancient location that Ifalna had not told him about?

"I bet you have the only proof anyone'd ever need. Right?" Xander asked, sounding like he already had his own conclusion.

Silence dominated for several minutes, with Ifalna saying nothing one way or another. He was just about to make his presence known when the woman finally spoke.

"Yes. What more proof do you need than the words of your parents?" Ifalna said, almost too low for him to hear. "How did you know?"

"That you're descended from the Ancients or that you can talk to the lifestream?" Xander asked rhetorically with a triumphant tone. "Back when we first met. Like I said: I'm the king at hide and go seek. You shouldn't have been able to hear me coming up behind you but you did. Almost like something or someone warned you at the last minute. Add to that you knowing more about the Ancients than some country bumpkin ought to know and it was the only right answer."

Ifalna!?

An Ancient!?

"Is this true?" he asked without realizing it announcing his presence for all those present.

In a flash both Xander and Ifalna looked up at him from their positions below and he found himself oddly at a loss for word. Just the same, though, he looked down at Ifalna, looked her right in the eyes, hoping that she would confirm it with no room for misinterpretation.

"Yes. I am a direct descendant of the Ancients," Ifalna replied in a mostly stoic manner but with a bit of fear hidden behind it.

Stunned.

That was the only word that could describe what he felt.

Never in his wildest and most outrageous dreams did he imagine this happening.

"I…I need…to sit down," he managed to stutter out before dropping to his knees then sitting on his ass.