"Wh-- what?"

Attis stopped walking, too. He turned to Dyss, but did not look to Dyss himself, but past him. He stared well beyond Dyss, down the path, hoping, if anything, to see some glimpse of what Dyss beheld. Sadly, he could see no such thing. The Legionnaire's group was far too separated from them. Initially, though, that'd been the whole plan. They'd been trying to get as far from the Legionnaire as possible.

"Izumi's with . . . the Legionnaire?" Attis asked, a distinct sound of disbelief in his voice. Of course, he trusted Dyss with his life, but the whole idea seemed far too unreal to him.

What is wrong . . .?

"Wait, wait," Attis interjected his own thoughts aloud, if only to keep Dyss from leaving and doing anything dangerous. He reached for Dyss and held him by the shoulder. "What's happened back there?"

Down by the end of the path, the Legionnaire took his hand from Izumi's shoulder, and she neither looked to him or anyone else. Milos shut his eyes as if straining to contain some level of emotion.

"I don't know! Izumi is there, and she looks... Zombified. And Recheov is laughing with the Legionnaire, and Milos looks... Upset? I have to go back there."

They were running from the Legionnaire in order to protect sensitive research from him, but... Well, what about Recheov? Dyss hadn't even considered the idea that they had been betrayed, because... Well, he just couldn't really fathom it. Milos was easy to sway, but Recheov was certainly not...

"Do you think the research is even still there? Recheov could have... Maybe it's too late, for whatever reason..."

Dyss wasn't really a fighted, but he still had that sword... Even if not entirely the will to use it. Maybe it would happen when he got closer, or maybe he could just take Izumi and leave...

"W-wait, Dyss . . ." Attis trailed off; he hadn't let go of Dyss's shoulder just yet, even when it seemed Dyss was most willing to charge off in the Legionnaire's general direction.

He let go of Dyss's shoulder once he was completely certain that Dyss wasn't going anywhere just yet-- but that regrettably wasn't something Attis could truly know off hand. Humans could be surprisingly spontaneous sometimes, and Dyss-- whether he knew it or not --was more human that most Memories he knew.

Y-you are not . . . you are not going back, are you . . . ?

Attis didn't answer her again. He could practically imagine the girl shuffling and pacing nervously. He could hear her breathing increase in rate.

"The Legionnaire and I aren't, well," he scratched the back of his neck, both nervous and a bit embarrassed, "We're not really on the best of terms. If he sees us, he'll attack us for sure."

Dyss didn't really expect Attis to go back with him. Really, it probably made more sense to split up; Attis to go destroy the research that had to be kept from the Legionnaire, and Dyss to go back for Izumi and Milos...

"I don't know what's going on, but... I'm not leaving Izumi with him. And Milos shouldn't be there, either... I don't know what game Recheov and Toushikyo are playing, but they can take care of themselves..."

Dyss wasn't going to run off immediately, but truthfully, Attis wasn't going to be able to stop him from going back. Not without a lot of inconvenience and ill will on both their parts.

"You could go on and destroy the research still... Maybe he wouldn't attack me if I was alone?"

"I--" Attis's breath caught.

Dyss's idea made sense. It should've been viable. Something to work wonders. And yet, it felt wrong. It felt like it'd fail miserably. Like living Dyss alone with the Legionnaire and his party would have sabotaged everything they'd worked for-- everything Attis had worked for the last twenty years, in fact. It felt like forever to Attis as he tried to give reason to his fears.

And then he realized what he was so worried about. What he was so terrified of when he imagined Milos and Recheov together with the Legionnaire.

"I'm afraid of him recruiting you." He finally replied. Attis dropped his free hand down to his side and sulked his head and shoulders. "He already has Recheov. And now it's just a matter of time before he has Milos and Izumi, too. And if he had you-- he'd be able to find anything."

And that was it. A utilitarian concept. That as much as he didn't want to see harm done to Dyss, he wanted even less for the Legionnaire to have such an asset.

Attis seemed to put a lot of stock in Dyss's ability to find things... In truth, if Attis grabbed the research and left, Dyss would never find him. Dyss could move his perception, but he wasn't good at spotting detail. He could see a crowd, perhaps, but would entirely miss someone he knew unless they were highly distinctive or he took the time to check every person, with the crowd changing at the same time. He could see a piece of paper miles away, but only if he knew exactly where it was...

"Attis... I believe in your cause. I'm not going to be confused or tricked by the Legionnaire... And... I can't leave Izumi. Not for you, or me, or anyone..."

Dyss frowned a bit, thinking. It was tough... In a way, though... Dyss had a lot to lose here. They were going to salvage or destroy Attis' research. The research that was intended to expand the lifespans of the four of them. If it was destroyed... Well, Dyss was perhaps the oldest of the group (except Attis, who was immune), and had an unknown amount of time left. Every day in this world or with Izumi could well be his last. He didn't resent Attis, but...

"If he does somehow change me, and you go far enough away for a while, you would probably just have to wait until... You know... I was gone."

"I . . ." Attis went silent again.

It felt like he was about to get choked up. Attis was an emotional man, though he never showed it. He always seemed calm and collected, never angry or upset. The only recent time he'd been upset or had any outstanding emotional reaction to anything in particular was when Milos said he'd summoned the Legionnaire. When Dyss said that Recheov was with the Legionnaire, Attis felt the urge to choke up the first time. Now, if Dyss left . . .

"I-- I won't let that happen," Attis breathed hard, "I came here to save people! We came here to save people! So I-- you--"

Who do you seek to save?

Dyss . . . and Milos, and Recheov. Izumi and the people of Hillcrest . . .

But they are not the same.

What . . . do you mean?

The people of . . . "Hillcrest," they are human. You are not. Why do you want to save something you are not?

Just because we're not human . . . doesn't mean we're without humanity.

Attis took a deep, calming breath. A small sound managed to help him regain his composure. It sounded like a bird singing-- tone-deaf, yet beautiful on the same.

"Rescue Izumi," he said, much calmer than before. "And meet me back here. Just-- whatever you do, don't let the Legionnaire touch you."

"Allright. I'll get Izumi and Milos and meet you back here..."

Dyss wasn't going to be able to convince Recheov to do something he didn't want to do, or else he would certainly try. The whole situation seemed even more dire, now... But he had to go back for Izumi, at least. And he planned to bring Milos back, too...

"They aren't far away, so if I'm not back soon..."

Dyss didn't say anything else, instead heading back along the path towards the woods and the small gathering of people apparently loyal to the Legionnaire. Or rather, confused. Dyss couldn't see any of the people there being truly loyal to the man...

As he approached slowly, he would project his awareness outward to his targets, watching the group. He had a major problem... The growth of the forest would make it impossible to approach silently, and any sort of visual illusion could only help so much. He had to figure out how to get them away safely...

". . . then I'll come beat the sense back into you," Attis said as he looked back to Dyss one last time. He was smiling, even though he knew Dyss wouldn't be able to see it, or recognize it for what it was-- but Attis was feeling something again. Confidence. Resolve.

He turned away and made haste to Galaens.

In the distance, Recheov said something, prompting Toushikyo by his side to comment in what seemed to be vague acknowledgment, perhaps even agreement. The Legionnaire spoke and Milos turned his head away from them. All eyes were on him soon-- even Izumi's clouded eyes --and after a half a minute of deliberating, Milos seemed to sigh, look upon the Legionnaire, and speak up with the utmost regret.

Despite everything, the concentration and the concern, Dyss would hear the bird. It was closer, now, and if Dyss scanned his immediate vicinity, he would indeed find the source of the deaf noise. The turquoise bird hugged the treeline, bouncing from branch to branch, as if following Dyss on his stroll down the path. It watched him. It followed him. And all the while, it continued its song as if absolutely idle. Its notes gathered in no tactical coherency. Its song was deaf noise, yet its notes were all wholly pleasant and learned.

A small, deaf songbird followed Dyss as if he were the only man in the world with whom she wanted to share her song.

Dyss, unfortunately, took little notice of the songbird. The situation seemed too dire for even that momentary distraction, as he looked for Izumi and Milos. From the sounds of things, he was dealing with an extremely dangerous man. Or rather, he was dealing with a dangerous man who was also insidious...

The first step was that of trying to get Izumi away from the rest of the others. In this situation, Dyss's ability to control light was less useful, particularly since Izumi was not herself... He could make people see things, but he couldn't make them move... At least, not on his own. Fortunately, Dyss had been around Izumi a long time now...

With that, Dyss would cover Izumi's eyes in an oppressive darkness. He couldn't make her feel as though something was pushing in, but he could certainly make her see something pushing in. However, he made sure to produce a tiny light, as if at the end of a long and dark tunnel. It would be difficult to guide Izumi through the trees by changing the position of the light, but Dyss first had to see if his illusion would inspire the claustrophic Izumi to action...

It wasn't long after Dyss attempted to change the light as-- hopefully --seen by Izumi Jinkou, that the light itself changed for him. His perception and focus would change entirely. It was like Dyss had stepped into the same place, yet at a completely different time-- and the way his perception changed . . . it would seem extremely familiar to him, so much like something that happened to him months ago, whilst traversing the dead lands . . .

Except this light was not old. Everything was solid and colors ceased to blend. Details became more and more apparent. Dyss would be able to see such things as facial features, folds in clothing-- everything. He'd be able to see himself and exactly how haggard he looked, and how no single object could be seen through. Everything was a solid mass. It would be like seeing the world through a different light. Through a different set of eyes.

It was everything Attis said it was.

Except everything was so off. Time was especially strange. Dyss would not be able to find Izumi or the Legionnaire anywhere, and where the grass should have been green and visible even in what seemed to be an orange evening glow, the ground was covered in thick white-- something Izumi once described as snow --for what seemed to be miles. In the distance, the village of Hillcrest was something of a mess. Most of the villagers were out and about, dressed warmly, and working on cleaning up a mess of structures near the center of town.

Only the turquoise bird that followed Dyss through the trees remained. Her song had begun to sound like notes on a piano.

Dyss, for the first time in his life, could see as a normal person did. Not exactly, perhaps, as his perception was still divorced from his body, but he saw like a normal person. Rather than patterns and precise degrees of intensity of perhaps hundreds of types of light, he saw an imprecise and muddled reality from a single direction at once...

As well as himself. It was remarkable, really. To see his own face as more than just a mirror... To feel something about it... To feel... Pity? Sadness? Confusion? Dyss looked horrible, and for once, he could actually see it for himself. No wonder he felt so bad...

Of course, that was of no importance, compared to the fact that his quarry was now gone... And the fact that the weather had gotten so cold so quickly, and all without warning... None of it made any sense at all. Dyss would continue towards the spot he had last witnessed Izumi and the rest, looking for any sort of clue through his now-limited vision...

The bird that was following Dyss seemed awfully strange... Particularly since it was no longer really a bird. At least, it was unlike any bird he had ever heard. Certainly, none had ever sounded like a piano. He would periodically try to watch the bird, as well, since it seemed to be watching him...

This was perhaps too familiar, yet something was vastly different. Dyss had experienced before, back at the Rubicon--but the colors were different. They were much more muted. They were old and worn, variations of brown, black, and white. But this-- this was just the same as anyone else. This wasn't an old image Dyss was looking at. It was new. It was too new for this day.

And soon, the sounds of a piano became a subtle accompaniment, background music to give an enhanced to the angelic words that followed:



It was a girl's voice and the sound of it would come to Dyss's ears just like the piano and the deaf songbird before it, as if he were the only one hearing it. As if he were the only one it was meant for. That bit of lyrics would seem all too familiar to Dyss, and so would her voice would-- but the last time Dyss heard it, she was tone-deaf. She had no control over her pitch and level, but this brief angelic song was her voice . . . or at least, it sounded close enough.

By the end of this, Dyss would see something. Someone. He walked down the path, moving from Hillcrest and making his way for Galaens. As different as he looked from Dyss, their haggard level of fatigue seemed perfect matches. He was a young man, a teenager for all intents and purposes. The boy trudged through the snow in warm clothes, a thick Cizokian like outfit. It seemed to match his ethnicity, at least. He had chin-length black hair and an average build. He walked with poise and purpose, but didn't appear to acknowledge Dyss.

None of that would be strange, not by comparison. All it would take would be Dyss recognizing the scythe held behind the boy's back in something of a makeshift sheath . . .

Dyss couldn't help but wonder if perhaps he was going insane... Particularly since Attis hadn't witnessed Izumi or Recheov with the Legionnaire. Only Dyss saw them... And now Dyss was here, seeing someone else with that scythe, when Attis had it just a minute ago? And he could hear the girl from the dig site, where she was fading rapidly?

Attis seemed strange at times since finding the scythe, however. With that in mind, Dyss would hide, watching and waiting. He still had no idea what was going on, but there were still only three people he had come for...

The boy passed. It was as if he didn't see Dyss at all, as if he were blind to Dyss's presence and deaf to the music that filled the air. He trudged on, looked back once, but did not linger for long. With austere urgency, he made headway for Galaens and let no further distractions take his attention away.

And the song faded. The piano dimmed and the light humming of the girl's voice fell to nothing. Time passed with reverse precision. It took sixteen seconds to wind back the clock. The boy's feet took him back to Hillcrest. Night rushed into day time and time over, clouds passed by overhead in rapid-fire; carts and horses and travelers on foot passed through with reverse momentum, and all far too quickly for Dyss to catch any single image of any of their faces. Only a few reoccurred. Only a few were noticeable. That boy came through with other girls with great frequency, and only one stood out enough to be noticed in the rush of it all-- a girl ethnically similar to Izumi, only that her hair seemed an odd blueish color.

He would see Attis racing back to Galaens, coming from a dead sprint from Hillcrest and flowing ever backwards until he reached the town in barely a fraction of a second.

Day backpedaled into night and stopped abruptly at a certain point at a certain time. At Dyss's time. At a known time. It was night again. Hillcrest was sleeping, and Dyss's perception would be caught between pure light and that muddled perception from before--as if he actually had a choice in how he could see the world.