Collisions
a re-enactment by Capow
dutifully compiled and capriciously edited by Dot

---

[Alex wrote, to inspire us:]

(A completely black screen.  Then, the sounds of calm 
breathing is heard, accompanied by the sounds of metallic 
clicks.)

Samui: Dreams..(click) Everyone has them.  But why can't 
(click) mine be normal like everyone (click) else's? 
*sigh*...  "Ours is not to reason why..."

[words flash across the screen]
THIS SEASON

(Quick shot of Jude suddenly sitting up in bed with a 
sharp intake of breath.)

[The screen fades back to black]

DIRECTED BY JOHN WOO
CHOREOGRAPHED BY YUN WU-PING 

(Quick shot of Ryan, standing directly under a hanging 
light, most likely in a warehouse, staring impassively 
into the darkness surrounding him)

[Fade to black]

{A driving techno beat starts to fade in, gradually 
increasing to medium levels}

(Scene of a small garden, two people facing each other, 
one wearing a conservative business suit,  looking like a 
body guard, while the other is wearing a large jacket, 
jeans and a baseball cap pulled down so as to cover his 
eyes)

{music pause}

Man: Who are you??

Person wearing cap: "...."

(Suddenly the person wearing the cap lunges forward, 
sending the other person flying, unconscious.  He lifts 
the cap to reveal Junsui.)

Junsui: No one of importance to you.

{The music continues, volume at "soundtrack-preview"}

(Cut to mid-scene of Jay engaged in a all-out sword fight 
with someone in what looks like a side alley, both swords 
merely blurs and quick flashes of light in the afternoon 
sun.  Drawing his companion sword lightning fast, he 
parries, then drives the short sword into the wall and 
pulls himself upward and around, katana performing a 
vertical slash--scene changes.)

(Back in the warehouse, with Ryan still standing 
impassively, Jude spins out of the darkness to stand 
back-to-back with Ryan, holding her gun.  Ryan's guns 
appear in his hands as he pulls his arms up from under 
his trench coat, still back to back with Jude as the 
lights in the warehouse flash in slo-mo, revealing armed 
goons closing in.  The lights go back off, except for the 
one light over Ryan and Jude, as the camera speeds back 
up to "normal" and they inhale...)

{music pause}

Jude: (Turns her head to look at him out of the corner of 
one eye) *slightly winded* I still don't like you y'know.

Ryan: (Looking out into the darkness) *flatly* Same here.

{music resume}

(..then blur into action, the camera performing a "freeze 
frame and rotate")

[Black screen]

ENDS MEETING

(Quick tease of Yugo jumping supernaturally (for normal 
people) from branch to branch in a forest, in a running 
fight, close shot of his expression raising in triumph..)

Yugo: *The Shrine!!*

(Quick tease of Dachend, sword drawn and pressed flat 
against a cinderblock wall.  Then the camera pans out and 
rotates to show him several feet up, and upside down, 
lying in wait..)

(Shot of Naomi strapped in a control cockpit.)

Naomi: Now lets see who's got the biggest gun!! (Grabs 
the control stick(s) and pulls)

(Screen cut to a mech, rising from one knee, hefting a 
_large_ gun, and firing)

[Black Screen/ Music stop]

(Calm breathing, then the sounds of bullets being loaded 
into a magazine, then the magazine being loaded, and a 
round chambered *Ka-CHAK*)

(Shot of Samui on the steel frame of a construction tower, 
wearing entirely black, looking through the scope of a 
sniper rifle.)

(Screen shot of looking through the scope, at two girls, 
one with a large wolf-dog beside her.  The crosshairs 
center on Jo-chan)

Samui: Target acquired.  Firing.

(The sound of a rifle shot is heard)

[Black Screen]

_COLLISIONS_

---

[Dare wrote:]

(the future)

	Samui took a hairpin and wedged it between the bangs 
of her green hair.  It was getting longer than she was 
used to.  Perhaps it was sign of how things changed.  She 
pulled out a pair of black gloves and snugged them over 
her nimble hands.  She flexed her fingers so that the 
gloves fit tightly but comfortably.  The rest of her 
attire was black as well.

	There was a small recorder lying next to her.  She 
picked it up and pressed the record button.  She opened 
her mouth to speak but the words were lost on her.  She 
clicked the stop button, paused to reflect and then 
started the recording again.

	She spoke calmly into the microphone.  "My name is 
Namida Samui.  I've reached the cliff's edge, and maybe 
I'm falling already.  I don't know.  But there's no 
turning back now.  This is the path that I have chosen.  
I truly regret everything that is happened, especially 
now.  I cannot believe I have come to this junction, but 
I see no other way out for me.  Everyone, I am sorry.
	"Talon, if you ever hear this message, then I want 
you to know that I...I...dammit!"
	She hastily pressed the stop button and gripped the 
small recorder tightly in her hand.  It was stupid and 
she knew it.  She never used to be so open about her 
thoughts, why now? It wasn't her.

	She put the recorder away and opened the metallic 
case lying on the cement floor.  She clicked the locks 
open and flipped the case lid.  Inside were the 
unassembled pieces of a long rifle.  Deftly, she pulled 
each piece out and reassembled the weapon.  It had a long 
metallic barrel, the main firing chamber and an arm piece 
to rest against her shoulder and absorb the recoil.  She 
pulled out a magazine clip and slapped it into the base 
of the firing chamber.

	Samui looked up and saw the clouds rolling across 
the blue sky.  It should not have been so sunny on this 
day, it was not right.  She crouched down and rested one 
elbow on the edge of the roof, cupping the barrel of the 
rifle with her left hand.  She placed her right index 
finger before the trigger and brought the rest of the 
weapon close to her body.  There was sighting scope on 
top of the firing chamber.  She flipped open the end of 
the scope and peered through it.

	The crosshairs realigned itself automatically as she 
moved from the top of the roof to the bottom street below.  
She was searching for her target and found it in no time.  
Two girls and a wolf dog standing under a street lamp.

	"Target acquired," Samui said aloud, a force of 
habit.  She held her breath.  "Firing..."

	The bullet sped on its way.

***

(Sometime in the past-- CAPOW Present Time)

	Talon Gauss shifted in his seat and stared at the 
letter in his hands.  He shot a puzzled look back at 
Itsuko, his superior.  "Is this correct?" he asked, 
waving the letter at her.

	"It's correct," she responded.

	"It's...just...very sudden."

	"You should be happy for the promotion, Talon," 
Itsuko congratulated him.  "STRA is very pleased with 
your performance.  The promotion comes long overdue."

	"But it says I'm going to be assigned a new 
partner." The concern on Talon's face was extremely 
obvious.  "What's to happen with Samui? Is she getting a 
promotion as well?"

	Itsuko glanced away from Talon's eyes and studied 
her office.  "There was nothing about Samui getting any 
promotions.  My superiors have told me that you were 
getting a new partner to train under you, just like you 
did with Samui.  That's all I know."

	"Oh."

	Itsuko smiled.  "Don't worry, I'll let you know more 
details as I get them, like who your new partner will be 
and what your assignments will be."

	Talon nodded soberly.  He folded the letter of 
promotion and inserted it back into the envelope.  He 
should have felt happier and prouder but he couldn't.

	He was about to leave Itsuko's office when he 
realized he forgot to ask.  "Oh, the reason I stopped by 
was because I was wondering if you knew where Samui was? 
She hasn't contacted me in several days."

	"Samui asked for some personal time so I gave it to 
her." Itsuko said no more than that.

	That surprised Talon in some aspects and not in 
others.  Samui was taking exceedingly more personal time 
lately but she did not disclose her reasons.  Why would 
she not tell him?

	"Tell you what?" Itsuko asked, her head tilted just 
slightly.

	Talon did not realize he had spoken aloud.  "Um, 
nothing." He waved with the envelope.  "Thank you for the 
promotion, Itsuko-san."

	Itsuko merely nodded.

---

[Dot then hijacked the story and wrote:]

(The Future Is History)

***

--Timeline A: A.D. 21XX--

	Washuu approached her prisoner cautiously.  "I don't 
like this any more than you do."

	"Then let me down."

	"You know why I won't."

	"Yeah, because you're too busy to really care about 
me."

	Washuu winced.  "Now that was a low blow, and you 
know it."

	"It's the truth, isn't it? You could have done 
something--anything--even something as simple as a mere 
warning.  But you chose to do _nothing_."

	Washuu wilted under the accusatory glare.  "It's not 
as simple as that..."

	"Really?" A sneer.  "I'd like to hear your 
explaination."

	Washuu looked away.  "I...can't tell you."

	"Why not? Because if you did, I would never 
understand? _This_ is what I don't understand, Washuu!"

	"I'm sorry..."

	"Damn right you are! Don't you dare turn your back 
on me! Where are you going? Come back! COME BACK!"

	Mournfully, Washuu closed the door behind her.  "I'm 
sorry..." she repeated in a whisper as she could no 
longer hold back her tears.  "I...I had no other 
choice..."

***

--Timeline B: Present Day--

	Trunk laid a hand on Samui's shoulder.  "I know you 
miss her, Samui.  We all do."

	"It's all right to cry," Hotaru added, sitting down 
next to the disturbingly silent mourner.  "Just let it 
out."

	"I can't," Samui forced out mechanically.  "It hurts 
too much."

	"It'll hurt even more if you keep bottling it up in 
there." Tenderly, Washuu reached out and removed Samui's 
veiled hat.  "Please, Samui.  Let's do this _together_."

	Trembling, Samui lifted her hand towards the 
tombstone before which she knelt.  "Bulma..." she 
murmured, running her fingers along the ephitaph.

	"Take as much time as you want," Trunks reassured 
his foster sister.  "We're all here for you."

***

--Timeline A: 20XX--

(Excerpted from _The Last Reunion_)

	A cold wind blew over the graveyard, but Talon felt 
nothing.  A soft giggle sounded behind  him, but he did 
not bother to turn, either.

	"So you came," the soft, feminine voice greeted with 
a touch of mischief.  "Made up your mind so quickly?" 

	Talon closed his eyes as the memories welled up from 
the depth of his soul and tore at his heart.  "Please.  I 
don't want to spend another moment in this world." 

	The figure floated silently before him, revealing a 
young girl with golden brown hair and large, playful eyes.  
"So impatient," she chided, shaking a finger at him.  
"Are you sure? Is this what she would have wanted?" 

	"I don't care!" Talon almost shouted, shaking in 
effort to contain the tears that burned at the corner of 
his eyes.  "I failed them! I failed _her_!" Softer, in an 
agonized whisper, he continued: "I wasn't there for her 
when she needed me the most!" His legs lost strength and 
he dropped to the ground.  "There's nothing for me to 
live for any more...nothing." 

	A gentle hand lifted his face and stroked his cheek.  
"Then I shall give you a reason to live." 

	The girl's eyes glowed faintly as she drew near.  
Talon made no move to resist as her lips touched his neck.

***

--Timeline B: Present Day--

	"...so I'll be staying at Bulma's a little while 
longer.  I know I should have told you earlier, but..."

	'But I'm still just your partner, after all,' Talon 
finished silently.  "No, it's all right," he half-lied.  
"This is a very hard time for you, and you should have as 
much time off as  you'd like."

	"You're...meeting your new partner today, aren't 
you?"

	"Yeah."

	"I'm scared." Samui's voice was now barely above a 
whisper, and Talon had to strain in order to hear her.  
"I don't want to be all alone again."

***

--Timeline A: A.D 205X--

	She was crying.  It wasn't just a few tears 
trickling down her face in silent sorrow, but  a torrent 
of sobs bursting forth from a heart completely mangled by 
those she had trusted.  Without anyone else to watch, she 
didn't hold anything in, but instead clutched at him as 
if he were the only thing keeping her afloat in a stormy 
sea and wailed with all her might.  If he were  younger, 
he might have snapped at her to stop salting his shirt, 
but time had taught him to keep his mouth shut when the 
occasion called for it.

	'Of course you realize,' he thought to himself, 
surveying the scene which had caused his younger 
companion such grief.  'This means _war_.'

	He was not a man easily provoked to true anger, but 
now he was _furious_.  He might have turned a blind eye 
before, but his opponent had practically flung the 
challenge straight in his face, and he could no longer 
remain on the sidelines.

	"So much for retirement," he muttered to himself, 
patting her on the head awkwardly.

***

--Timeline B: Present Day--

	Before Talon could consider crossing the street in 
order to avoid the grisly crime scene in his path, one of 
the people hovering over the body looked up and waved to 
him.

	"Mr.  Gauss!" The man called, going over to him and 
flashing a badge bearing the STRA insignia.  "I'd like to 
ask you a few questions."

	"Could this wait until after work? I'm going to be 
late if I don't hurry." Talon forced a  smile.  "I don't 
want to make a bad impression on my new partner the very 
first day I meet him."

	The agent's face was grim.  "That _was_ your new 
partner."

***

--Timeline A: A.D. 200X--

	"...I therefore find you, Namida Samui, guilty of 
first degree murder and sentence you to  life in prison."

	He turned off the television and smirked.  Another 
piece had fallen into place  wonderfully.  Now all he had 
to do was observe the panic that ensued and direct it for 
his purpose.

	"Beat _that_, pops," he muttered, lighting a 
cigarette and taking a long drag.

***

--Timeline B: Present Day--

	Raising his arm, he flipped his middle finger and 
made a thrusting motion.  "THIS to you and your 
hairbrained theories! 'Convergence Event' my ASS! It's 
entirely preventable and EVERYBODY here knows it!"

	"For the last time, _sit down_!"

	His hands clenched into fists until the knuckles 
turned white.  "HELL NO!" Seeing that he now had their 
full attention, he took a deep breath and continued in a 
calmer voice: "I used to think that _I_ was the sadistic 
bastard, but over and over again this _joke_ of an 
organization has proved me wrong.  So things don't always 
turn out the way you plan it.  _So the fuck what_? Didn't 
that last little incident teach you _anything_ about not 
abusing your powers?"

	"Are you saying...that you're _agreeing_ with your 
predecessor?"

	He mirrored the chairman's expression.  "At least 
I've got the guts to admit that I was wrong."

***

--Timeline A: A.D. 202X--

	/Awaken./

	"JOSEPH!"

	Pain.  Warmth.  Wet.  Red.

	Blood.

	"Don't worry, I know first aid! Just move your hand 
a little...oh God..."

	So much blood...

	"Hang in there, Joseph! Please, just hang on! Don't 
die!"

	So tired...

	/The sleeper must awaken./

	What?

	"Come on, Joseph! Joseph! Oh, God...HELP! Somebody! 
ANYBODY!"

	/You cannot escape your Destiny./

	My...Destiniy...?

	"Joseph? Joseph?!?"

	/OPEN./

	And then, he understood.  He _knew_.

	/There is Another Way./

---

[Dare wrote:]

-- Timeline B: Present Day / Frame of Reference: Talon 
Gauss --

	Talon walked soberly into the coroner's morgue at 
STRA headquarters.  Immediately, the lingering stench of 
dead bodies heat him full on.  Talon blinked several 
times and hoped his lunch wouldn't come back up.  Despite 
the cream he smeared under his nose, he could still smell 
the morbid odour.

	The room was also cold to help preserve the bodies.  
There was a lot of evidence to gather and the forensic 
scientists absolutely demanded everything be kept as 
close to the original conditions as possible.

	In the center of the morgue was a large metal table.  
Laid out atop was the body of Talon's new partner.  
Former new partner, he corrected himself.  According to 
the dossier Talon had received days before, his name was 
Shiro Yamashita.  He was only 23 years old, recently 
graduated from the STRA Training Academy on dimension 
32.45.112.4.

	It was Shiro's first assignment from school.  Talon 
sighed and said a quick prayer.

	"He didn't even have a chance to prove himself." 
That was Dr.  Criten Esterbrook, one of the chief 
criminologists with STRA.  He was heavy-set man well into 
his fifties and what little hair remained on his head was 
completely white, offset with a full gray beard.  He was 
dressed in his scrubs and latex gloves, carefully 
examining Shiro's corpse.

	"Yeah, my thoughts exactly," echoed Talon.  
"Anything you can tell me?"

	Dr.  Esterbrook pointed to the hole in the middle of 
Shiro's forehead.  "Bullet to the cranium, death was 
nearly instantaneous.  From the powder residue pattern, I 
would say that he was shot at nearly point blank range."

	Talon looked up.  "What else?"

	"Only one entry," Dr.  Esterbrook continued, "so it 
was fairly clean and efficient.  No visible signs of a 
struggle.  I suppose the killer just walked right up to 
him and put a hole through his brain."

	"Cold-blooded but with a personal touch," Talon said 
analytically.  "If the killer was just performing some 
hit, they could have easily killed him from a distance 
and done almost as good a job." He paused and looked away.  
"Have you got a bullet?" asked Talon.

	"Nope, went clean through, at that range." Dr.  
Esterbrook turned Shiro's head so he could show Talon the 
back.  It was a bloody mess of scalp, bone fragments and 
portions of gray matter.

	Talon felt an uneasy wave of nausea pass through him.  
He gripped the table nervously.

	"Are you okay?" the doctor asked.

	Talon waved him off and stood straight.  "Keep me 
posted," he said, turning around and left the morgue.

***

	Talon's next stop was Junya Tetsuku's desk.  Junya 
was attached to Itsuko's department and she was the best 
researcher they had.  She was a pretty woman, short black 
hair and only a few years younger than Talon.  She smiled 
briefly when she saw him approach.

	"Hi Talon, I heard what happened.  I'm so sorry." 
Her voice was warm but sincere.

	"Thanks," Talon smiled back weakly.

	"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.

	"No, that's okay..  it doesn't bother me too much.  
I mean, I hardly knew him." Talon noticed Junya's smile 
again and felt himself drawn to it.  There was always 
something pretty about her smile.  Talon paused and shook 
himself visibly, remembering his task.  "I, uh, came by 
to see if you can dig up some more information on Shiro 
Yamashita.  See if he had any enemies, either from his 
personal past, family, or ones he might have made at the 
academy where he studied."

	"Okay," Junya said.  "Do you think he knew his 
killer?"

	"Possibly," Talon said.  He was pleasantly surprised 
at her sharp her mind was, drawing the same conclusions 
that Talon was thinking.  "He allowed the person to get 
right up to him and put a gun to his head.  Dr.  
Esterbrook said it went clean through, straight."

	"Oh my," Junya said with sadness in her voice.  
"I'll see what I can find for you."

	"Thanks," Talon said and turned away.

	"You're welcome." But she called him back.  "Talon?"

	"Yes?"

	"Have you heard from Samui?" she asked.

	"No, I haven't.  She's taking some personal time but 
I don't really have any more details." Talon did have 
more details but he did not feel it was appropriate to 
share them at his partner's request.  There was one thing 
he could say and it was true.  "I don't even know where 
she is right now."

***

	Talon spent the next day going over Shiro's file to 
determine if there was someone who had a reason to kill 
him.  Staring at the computer for more than four hours 
straight was starting  to hurt his eyes and he took 
random breaks where his mind wandered around Shiro's 
death and Samui's absence.  He even caught himself 
daydreaming about Junya's pretty smile if it could get 
his mind away from reality.  He knew he was coming close 
to burning out but he had to solve this case.  Sleep 
could come later.

	The phone on Talon's desk rang abruptly, jolting him 
awake.  He found himself asleep, arms pillowed under his 
head on top of scattered files and papers.  Talon picked 
up the phone and mumbled, "Yeah?"

	"It's Dean Stanton, ballistics.  We found your 
bullet."

	Talon sat up straight.  "The bullet from the crime 
scene?"

	"Yeah," said Dean, "it was lodged into a brick wall 
several feet away from Shiro's body.   We're just 
starting the analysis on it.  Do you want to swing by?"

	Talon got up, the phone still cradled by his ear.  
"I'll be right there." He hung up before Dean could even 
acknowledge.

***

	Talon bent over the microscope and peered through 
the double eye-pieces.  Under the twin lens, he examined 
the grooved surface of the copper bullet retrieved from 
the crime scene.

	"Every bullet has a signature grooving on it after 
being fired," Dean explained.  "No two  guns are made 
exactly the same.  We can extract the pattern and run it 
through the computer to see who the gun might belong to."

	Talon looked back.  "With so many dimensions under 
our jurisdiction, how can we ever trace the gun? It could 
have come from anywhere."

	Dean shrugged and said, "Yes, you're correct.  It 
could possibly take a while." He picked  up the bullet 
with a pair of forceps and placed it into a scanning 
machine.

	The device scanned the bullet and began running a 
pattern search through the database.  To Talon and Dean's 
surprise, a match came up within seconds.

	"That was unusually fast," Dean noted.  Curiosity 
piqued, he sat down at his terminal and  began typing 
quickly.

	Talon sat down beside Dean's computer as well.  
"What does it mean?"

	Dean read the text on the screen.  "This can't be 
right...according to the computer, the bullet matches the 
barrel of a STRA-issued weapon.  That's why the search 
came back so fast."

	Talon had a sinking feeling in his stomach.  A STRA 
agent had killed Shiro.  The implications were chilling.  
"Who does the gun belong to?"

	Dean typed in the query and the computer began 
cross-referencing the gun registration to its owner.  
After a second, it displayed the employee's file.

	Talon stared with disbelief.  The computer was 
displaying Namida Samui's file.  "That's impossible! 
She's--" Talon started and realized he could not finish 
the sentence.  He didn't know where she was.

	"Do you know her?" Dean pointed to Samui's picture.

	"Yeah," Talon said softly, "she was my partner."

---

[Dot wrote:]

(Derailment)

***

	Talon stared at his hands, trying to summon up even 
an ounce of feeling from within him, but all he could 
manage was the empty numbness that had been gnawing at 
the edge of his mind ever since he left the ballistics 
laboratory.

	/Talon stared with disbelief.  The computer was 
displaying Namida Samui's file./
	Perhaps that was why he felt nothing.  The shock was 
simply too much for him to handle.

	/Itsuko's irritated voice could be heard through the 
door.  "Even if you are only on patrol, Samui, you need 
to carry your gun! We didn't issue you a weapon for it to 
rust in your safety deposit box!"/

	The database had not shown that Samui--or anyone 
else, for that matter--had taken the gun  out of storage.  
But she was the only one who could have had access to 
it...or was she? Over and  over again, Samui expressed 
her distaste of using deadly force.  At the same time, 
she also proved that she could--and _would_--kill without 
hesitation if she saw it to be the only recourse.

	/Samui pressed her gun at Nuku-Nuku's forehead.  
"Dodge _this_."/

	But this...to walk up to someone and shoot him in 
cold blood during broad daylight...could Samui possibly 
been the one to pull the trigger? The mere thought was 
enough to chill Talon to the bone.

	A shadow fell across his vision.  "You do realize 
that worrying is not only pointless, it  makes you look 
old."

	"What the hell do you know?" Talon muttered, not 
bothering to look up.

	"I don't need to know anything.  It's obvious that 
you're wasting brain cells trying to tackle a problem you 
can't solve."

	The words cut deep into Talon's mind.  "The...agent 
that that was arrested today..." he began feebly.

	"Oh, sure, murder charges are a terrible thing, but 
why should that matter to you?"

	"She was...I thought..." Talon trailed off, 
uncertain.  How could he explain Samui to a total 
stranger? He wasn't even sure himself exactly how he felt 
about her.  "But now..." his earlier doubts surfaced 
again.  "What if it's true, that..."

	"--she really did it? So what? Who doesn't have a 
little blood on their hands?"
	Talon felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

	/"Samui, you're not going to be any less of a person 
if you kill anyone."/

	"And of course there is always the possibility that 
she's innocent, y'know."

	/"I don't believe that for a second.  I know you, 
Talon, you're no murderer."/

	"What she's going through is at least ten times 
worse than anything you could imagine for  yourself right 
now, but I'd be willing to bet she's holding herself 
together.  And you know why?  Because she's already 
survived this long, and she sure as hell ain't gonna give 
up now."

	'But I haven't really thought about how her at all, 
have I?' Talon asked himself silently.

	/"I'm scared." Samui's voice was now barely above a 
whisper, and Talon had to strain in order to hear her.  
"I don't want to be all alone again."/

	"You can stay here and wallow in self-pity forever, 
or you can go out and accomplish something." The voice 
was further now, fading down the hall.  "So, Talon Guass, 
which will you choose?"

	Talon's head snapped up, but all he saw was the 
gleam of the large sword strapped to the agent's back.

***

	The room was bare and almost blindingly white.  
Samui sat alone at the center, directly under the blazing 
100-Watt blub.  Beyond the one-way glass were her 
interrogators, impatiently waiting for a response.

	"Well, Namida?"

	Samui looked directly at the spot where the agents 
would be seated and gave no answer.

	"You're only making things worse by your 
stubbornness, you know."

	Samui didn't so much as blink.

	"Some very...intersting things have come up in our 
investigation, such as how your friends and colleagues 
have been trying to cover your tracks.  If, however, you 
confess now, we promise we will immediately close your 
case."

	A scuffle could be heard outside, followed by the 
sharp tearing noise of metal cutting through metal.  
Confusion broke out as the door fell into four pieces and 
a man stepped over the debris into the room.

	"And why, might I ask, should Miss Namida confess to 
something she hasn't done?" The man queried, leaning 
against the glass in a casual but predatory stance.

	Samui recognized the face right away; there was no 
mistaking the perpetual five-o'clock shadow or the 
arrogant smirk.  "Adam, what are you doing here?"

	Adam grinned wolfishly.  "Why, I'm the Deus ex 
Machina, that's what."
---

(Homesickness)

***

--Timeline A: A.D. 200X--

	All over Capow but for one place, phones began to 
ring, bearing the same message.

	"You are being recalled to Yggsadril.  Come back at 
once."

	And where the order was given, it was obeyed without 
question.

	Except in one place.

	"What? At a time like this?" Kai had no idea what 
was going on, but she couldn't shake the sense of dread 
that clung to her.  Seeing Falora's increasingly 
distracted and tired visage, as if she was bearing the 
weight of some terrible burden.  "And wasn't I supposed 
to answer Your question first?"

	"That is irrelevant right now.  You are to return."

	"Why?"

	"You shall understand shortly."

	A dim, distant memory of a previous Recall 
mysteriously sprung into Kai's mind, and she recoiled at 
the horror of it.  "You're...closing Heaven's Door?"

	"Falora will remain to show them the Way."

	Kai felt her legs give way.  Falora? The mere 
smidgen of a Goddess, who wept even at the passing of a 
Lost One? And what of Jude, whom Kai had sworn to protect 
until the meaning of death  could be fathomed? Or the 
countless other souls in Capow that would surely be 
threatened without the tangible presence of God living 
among them?

	Disbelief turned to shock.  Shock turned to anger.  
Anger turned to defiance.

	"No.  I'm staying."

	"You do not know what you are saying."

	If Kai gripped the receiver in her hand any tighter, 
it would have shattered.  "Yes, I do! I'm.  Not.  
Leaving!"

	"Then you understand the price you must pay for 
disobediance."

	"I don't care!"

	There was a long pause at the other end of the line.  
When Kami-sama spoke again, it was with a heavy voice.  
"Should you repent of this decision--"

	Kai's voice, on the other hand, was iron.  "Never."

	A long, deep sigh.  "Very well.  Do as you wish."

	And Kami-sama hung up.

***

--Timeline A: A.D. 201X--

	"The Universe hates me."

	It had been a joke, once, between two strangers who 
became friends upon discovering that they shared the same 
malady.  Namely, a series of Very Bad Things would occur 
in a manner that had them convinced that Someone was out 
to get them.  Eventually, of course, Joseph discovered 
that quite the opposite was true, but by then, the phrase 
stuck, becoming a generic explanation for the Chaos that 
seemed to surround her.

	But it was only after...well, no noun sufficed for 
the unspeakable Horror that had been unleashed, so she 
merely referred to it as That.  It was only after That 
that she finally began to have some inkling of the 
gravity of her being.  Not her weight, of course--that 
was insubstantial--but her Purpose in this world, which 
for reasons she had yet to fathom held implications for 
all Creation.

	She was, to put it simply, a Catalyst.  She could 
not directly cause much, for that was beyond her power.  
But somehow, just by being in the right place at the 
right time, she would become the proverbial butterfly 
whose tiny, fragile wing movements would eventually 
result in a blistering storm.

	This was the reason when, given the opportunity to 
flee That, she had refused.  She knew that her Destiny 
was with the City, and although she had no idea what that 
Destiny was, she was determined to remain until it was 
fulfilled.  Besides, Anne had also elected to stay 
despite Washuu-chan's vehement protests, and there was no 
way Joseph was going to abandon the girl she had grown to 
consider a part of herself.  Falora remained as well, 
even after all other deities seemed to have upped and 
disappeared overnight shortly before That.  And when it 
became clear that the only options were either permanent 
exile or virtual imprisonment, Washuu-chan chose the 
latter, having really little choice in the matter.

	So life, at least in Washuu-chan's apartment, had 
remained the same.  The only new complication was that 
Falora was revealed to be part of Joseph's Destiny, and 
therefore she was obligated to the young Goddess as well.  
Anne was surprisingly compliant about this; she merely 
gave a few vague words about empathy and refused to say 
more on the matter.  At any rate, it was clear that 
Falora needed Joseph, or at least a shoulder to cry on, 
so Joseph provided it.

	She had no idea that she was going to give something 
much more dear until it actually happened.

***

--Timeline A: A.D. 202X--

	Morning.  A meaningless word in a City where no one 
could see the sun, but people clung to the word both out 
of habit and a desperate hope that perhaps, one day, the 
clouds would break and the warmth of day would shine upon 
them once again.  Falora, however, felt only dreading, as 
each new turning of the globe only brought more Death.  
Each day she sought pity, but found none, only tears.

	Tears when she allotted a soul for departure.  Tears 
when Kai--no, Azrael--showed the wayward Children their 
way home, both because another life had been taken from 
the Earth and another soul was closer to the Father who 
had forsaken her.  Tears when she looked out from her 
window and saw the ruins of the City she had failed to 
protect.  Tears even in her dreams, when she remembered a 
time she could still laugh.

	Joseph was her only refuge from endless sorrow.  
Whenever the pressures of Judgement proved too heavy to 
bear--an often occurrance--all she would have to do was 
show up at his door, and he would always open it for her.  
If Anne was the one that answered, she would give an 
understanding smile and step aside, for she knew too well 
the living nightmare that Falora was experiencing.

	The nights were the hardest.  With only a few 
precious generators providing energy for the remaining 
survivors, the City became plunged into darkness.  And 
thinking that no one could see them, the cowards who had 
already sinned in their hearts would put their plans into 
action.  Despite every fiber of her being wanting to run 
away from the whole mess screaming, Falora forced  
herself to watch, keeping a record of each infraction 
until exhaustion took over.  And then as the earth turned 
so that the City faced the hidden sun once more, the 
cycle would repeat itself.

	But now, the night had passed, and it was once again 
time for her to take up the hateful scales.  So absorbed 
she was in her self-pity that she did not notice whose 
life-spark was being measured to standard until the beams 
began to tip.

	/Mene--Your days are numbered./

	The golden counterbalances clattered to the ground 
as her shaking hands lost their strength.

	/Mene--Your life ends today./

	For the first time ever, she flew ahead of Azrael, 
not once straying the course even though she was weeping 
too much to see clearly.

	/Tekel--You have been weighed and found wanting./

	It was, as she had feared and known all along, too 
late.  Joseph lay sprawled against the  scorched earth, 
life spilling from his side where the bullet had pierced 
it.

	/Parsin--Your kingdom is divided./

	Falora felt her heart being ripped apart as her 
desires and responsibilities warred within her.   
Although Joseph was clearly fated to leave this world, 
she could still make the Ultimate Force reconsider in his 
favor.  Azrael merely stood, waiting, a silent testimony 
of how Kami-sama's plans always succeed no matter who 
attempts to defy it.  Jinx, equally distraught at the 
prospect  of losing Joseph, could give no helpful advice, 
either, and was too busy trying to close Joseph's wound--
and failing--to say anything anyway.  Only one option 
remained.

	Falora's trembling fingers closed around Joseph's 
cold, clammy ones.  "Jo..." she tried to go on, but her 
voice caught in her throat.

	Somehow, through a monumentous effort, Joseph 
managed to speak.  "It's okay."

	'No, it isn't!' Falora wanted to shout, but her 
mouth refused to move.  Water mingled with blood as her 
tears burst forth again and splashed onto the ground in 
perfect spheres.

	"It's okay," Joseph repeated in a near whisper, his 
eyes fluttering, but his mouth never once wavering from 
its reassuring smile.

	His next--and last--words were lost in the scream of 
anguish that tore from Falora's throat.
---

[Dare wrote:]

Felt like doing something..  given my rustiness, this 
post might have to be edited if there are inconsistencies.  
But I'm gonna try for the spirit of CAPOW and write based 
on what was written before and not on the ideas that have 
been popping up.

***

Timeline B: Talon's perspective

	An alarm went off and Talon bolted to his feet.  
"What the hell?" he blurted, looking around at his fellow 
colleagues.  They seemed as confused as he was.  Suddenly, 
from far away, here was an explosion.  It rocked the wing 
they were in and shook free dust from the ceiling.  Some 
of the personnel on the floor dove for cover while others, 
most likely field agents, unholstered their sidearm.

	"We're being attacked!" someone shouted.

	A squad of security forces rushed through the door.  
They were decked out in standard protective gear, helmets 
and assault rifles.  Quickly scanning the area, the lead 
officer shouted, "Floor 5 clear!" They dispersed, leaving 
a few of their men behind to remain on guard.

	Talon ran through the confusion of people and 
grabbed the officer.  "What's going on?" he demanded.

	"There was a suspect being interrogated and a man 
with a big sword came in and took her."

	"A big sword?" Talon's ear perked.  "Samui!" he 
whispered.  He ran past the security officer and took the 
nearest flight of stairs down to the main floor.  Along 
the way, he could hear security forces climbing the 
stairwell to each floor, obviously searching for Samui 
and the mysterious man.

	Just above the second floor stairwell door, Talon 
peered out the window.  His heart stopped for a second.  
They were running across the front courtyard.  Was he 
dragging Samui away or was she running with him, Talon 
wondered darkly.  Does that mean she's guilty?

	He reached the first floor and made a beeline to the 
exit.  People were still scrambling to their offices as 
the alarm sirens continued blaring.  His arm caught 
someone's hand and he reeled around.

	"Talon, where are you going?!" exclaimed an 
exasperated Junya.  "We have to report back to our 
floor!"

	Talon didn't even have time to respond.  He kept 
running for the main entrance.  He didn't know that she 
followed him.

	At the front lobby, security forces were gathered.  
Talon ignored them and ran through the gate.  "Hey, we're 
in lockdown!" shouted one of the officers and a squad of 
his men followed in pursuit.  Talon burst out the front 
doors and spotted Samui running alone after the 
mysterious man.  He now had about a twenty yard lead on 
Samui and was walking calmly.

	"Samui!" Talon shouted.

	Samui stopped and turned back.  She looked hesitant, 
even from the distance Talon could tell.  Then she turned 
and resumed running.
	The security forces caught up with Talon and spotted 
Samui, too.  "Stop her!" the squad leader shouted.  
Suddenly, his body jerked and he slumped back violently.  
Blood was pooling around his head.

	Another security agent went down.  Talon stood, 
shocked for a moment but quickly regained his senses.  
Across the street, in a tall building, he caught a 
glimpse of something metallic.  "SNIPER!" he shouted.

	Time slowed down and all he could hear was the 
beating of his heart.  His steps were slow as he turned 
around for cover.  In the same instant, another security 
agent fell to the sniper's bullet, then another, and 
another.  The last agent dropped to the ground, unmoving, 
leaving Talon the last remaining in the open.

	"Talon!" someone shouted and his body was knocked to 
the ground behind a pillar and some concrete flower 
planters.  Everything sped up, as if the slowdown in time 
was now trying to catch up.  A woman was lying on top of 
him.  He moved her over and noticed the patch of blood on 
his shirt.  Had he been hit? The blood was not his, 
however.  It was the woman's.  And the woman was Junya.

	"Junya!!" cried Talon, pulling her back against his 
chest.  The bullet had pierced her abdomen.  He pressed 
his hands against the wound.  It was warm and slick.  
"Junya!" he cried again.  He risked sticking his head out 
from behind the pillar.  "I need a doctor!"

	"T-talon.." Junya whispered hoarsely.

	"Shh..  don't talk! What were you thinking?!"

	"Don't call me the stupid one," she admonished him 
weakly, "because you were standing out there in plain 
sight.  Why d-didn't you just paint a bullseye on your 
chest, too?"

	Talon forced a smile.  "You saved my life.  Oh, 
Junya..."

	"Heh," she chuckled and coughed violently, "I always 
thought you had a pretty face, Talon Gauss.  Don't get it 
dirty."

***

[Dot wrote:]

(Exercise in Futility)

***

	"Where are we going?" Samui managed to gasp out as 
she tried to keep up.  She could do quick bursts of 
superhuman speed, but extended running like this was not 
her forte.

	Adam, on the other hand, seemed ready to jog all the 
way up to the roof of the building they were in by way of 
the stairs, at least until they got to the elevator.  "To 
find out who our sniper friend is, of course, to make 
sure that we're being helped and not shot at."

	Samui barely avoided getting clamped by the door.  
"You mean--that wasn't part of your plan?"

	"What plan? I'm just making this up as I go along."

	"You're...kidding."

	"Nope.  I've never been the plotting type in the 
first place, and I just found out about this whole mess 
about, oh..." Adam looked at his watch.  "One standard 
day ago.  Which isn't exactly a lot of time to formulate 
any coherent ideas."

	"Ah.  That would explain why instead of finding a 
nice, safe place to hide, we're going to meet the mystery 
person with a gun that might have been trying to kill us, 
but just so happened to hit all of our pursuers instead?"

	Adam grinned again, that stupid irritating 'I know 
you'll smack me for this, but I'm gonna say it anyway' 
smirk of his that somehow never seemed to bother Shelly 
at all.  "Yup.  It's one of the hazards of pulling stuff 
out of one's ass, ne?"

	Samui sighed.  "Does this mean I get to be the 
cannon fodder, or would you be so kind as to volunteer 
yourself?"

	The sword in Adam's hand seemed to melt, then 
reshaped itself until it resembled a large riot shield.  
"I may be cruel, but not so mean as to ask the lovely 
maiden I just rescued to take bullets for me." And here 
he grinned again.  "I'm putting you in charge of 
disarmament."

	Samui sighed again and wondered if things would have 
been easier if she just confessed.  "Whee.  I feel so 
honored."

	The bell chimed, signaling that the topmost floor 
had been reached.

	The door opened.

	The door closed.

***

	It was all wrong.

	It wasn't supposed to happen this way.

	_It wasn't supposed to happen this way!_

	Why? Why? WHY???

	I didn't mean to...I didn't...

	I...

***

	"Anybody ho~me?" Adam sing-songed as he peeked onto 
the roof.

	"Since we haven't been plugged full of holes yet, 
I'd say no." Samui walked to the edge of the roof and 
looked down at the chaos going on below.  "Looks like 
they've finally remembered to close the Dimensional 
Gateway.  Odd that they didn't think of it earlier, don't 
you think?"

	"I'm guessing part of this convoluted mess involved 
letting you escape, and I just happened to take advantage 
of it." Adam walked over to the gun that had been 
neglected and kicked it upright.  "This look familiar to 
you?"

	Samui studied the weapon carefully.  "It's similar 
in make to the Sting operation rifles, but I think 
there's some custom parts on it."

	"Guess you haven't been reading up on R&D much, then.  
The make of this fellow isn't due to be _produced_, much 
less available to anyone, for another five years at 
least." Momentarily, Adam lost some of his casual 
demeanor.  "Damn.  Now I know why Setsuna always gets 
headaches."

	It didn't take long for Samui to understand the 
implications of Adam's words.  "But...isn't that supposed 
to be impossible?"

	"Oh, _anything_ is possible, just not very bloody 
_likely_.  The Powers that Be aren't _so_ crazy as to do 
anything to jeopardize their own existence, but an 
undertaking of calculated _risk_, on the other hand..." 
Adam shook his head.  "Anyway, I think I've exposed you 
to enough danger for now." Reaching into his jacket, he 
produced his identification card.  "Please don't look 
directly into the Portal as it opens, as the Abyss may 
drive you insane."

	Samui coughed lightly to cover the laugh that she 
could no longer hold back.  "I'll be sure not to."

***

	"Welcome, visitors, to--" Gaspar nearly dropped his 
cane when he saw who materialized out of the pillar of 
light.  "Well, well, _well_.  This is 
rather...unexpected."

	"Aha! So you _can_ get taken by surprise, after 
all." Adam smirked.  "That secure line of yours still 
functional?"

	"Of course.  This place is the closest you can get 
to the Eternal without actually being there, after all."

	"Which is why I love it." A few quick, large strides 
later, Adam stepped into the door behind Gaspar and 
flipped the sign to read 'Do Not Disturb' before closing 
it behind him.

	Gaspar then turned his attention to Adam's companion.  
"I believe we've met before, but this poor befuddled old 
man is terrible at matching names with faces..." He 
tipped his hat apologetically.  "You'll have to re-
introduce yourself."

	The woman bowed deeply.  "Namida Samui.  It was a 
very long time ago when Shelly and I passed through here, 
Mr. Gaspar."

	"But 'time' has no meaning here, and yet you seem 
barely familiar to me!" Gaspar sighed.   "I really am 
losing it."

	"It's all right.  I'm not...intended to be 
memorable."

	"Don't worry," Adam interjected, having heard the 
last portion of the conversation as he came back out.  
"After I'm through with you, there won't be anyone in any 
universe that doesn't have at least some inkling of your 
exploits."

	Samui raised an eyebrow.  "Somehow, that doesn't 
sound very reassuring."

	Adam grinned.  "It wasn't...intended to be.  But 
enough joking around.  I'm sure you're dying to know what 
the hell is going on, and why you were unlucky enough to 
get caught up in it." He waited for Gaspar to create some 
chairs for the two of them before continuing.  "You'd 
better sit down, 'cause this is a _long_ story."
---

[Dare wrote:]

	Just short of entering Itsuko's office, Talon 
stopped and studied Junya's empty desk.  A half devoured 
sandwich sat on a white cafeteria dish and waited 
patiently to be eaten.  He rubbed his tired eyes and 
sighed before knocking on the door.

	"Come," Itsuko said from inside.

	Talon stepped in and closed the door behind him.  
Itsuko's office was very messy, as usual.  He noticed 
that she never had any time to keep it organized, 
evidence of her busy role at STRA.  Log books and files 
were strewn haplessly across her desk.  Her keyboard 
peeked out from under a stack of manila folders.  Talon 
was surprised there was nothing on the floor.

	"Junya's condition stabilized after they took her to 
the hospital," Itsuko informed him immediately.

	Talon breathed heavily.  "Thank God...  it didn't 
look that bad but I was in too much shock at the time.  
Inside, I feared the worst."

	"It'll probably be a month before she can come back.  
She'll need the rest."

	"Speaking of rest," Talon interrupted, "I want to 
take my vacation [now].  All of it."

	Itsuko's eyes narrowed, then she swiveled her chair 
away so she could stand.  She was a good foot and half 
shorter than Talon, and despite the fact she had to look 
up when addressing him, she seemed no less menacing as 
his boss.

	"Let me make it very clear -- no, crystal clear -- 
to you that you're not to be looking for Samui.  The 
higher-ups want you away from this case." Her gaze was 
steady and unwavering.

	Talon risked a look down and almost regretted it.  
He snapped his head back up, settling his gaze just over 
top of Itsuko's head.  "Yes, very clear."

	Itsuko stared at him a moment longer before 
returning to her chair and settling back.  She propped 
her chin on the back of her hands and smiled.  "That's 
the official party line, anyway."

	"Thanks, Itsuko," said Talon with a lopsided grin.

	"Don't get caught," she warned him.

	Talon nodded.  He didn't plan to.  But he had to 
find Samui and help her, somehow.  He knew, or rather, he 
felt, that she was caught up in something.  It would 
probably take a lot detective work to figure out what was 
going on but he owed it her.

	As he stepped out Itsuko's office, she called out to 
him.  He turned his head back and Itsuko said, "Remember 
your promotion, Talon? If you come back, you are to 
report to your new chief."

	"Understood," said Talon and closed the door behind 
him.  Then he stopped, and pondered.  _If_ he came back?

***

	Early mornings at the Retreat was slow business.  
The bar was empty and Miyuki stood at the counter holding 
a handtowel and a tray of glasses.  The dishwasher did a 
good job of rinsing them, but it was part of her daily 
tasks to wipe them clean of any spots.  A boring task.

	No more than five minutes had passed and two cups 
cleaned when she noticed a rattling.  She put down the 
glass and stepped to the window.  Across the far road, 
Miyuki spotted a column of vans, cars and a flat-bed 
truck carrying black-clad troops.

	'Who are they?' she wondered ominously.

***

	Itsuko sat back as Talon closed the door.  She 
picked up a pen and tossed it between her fingers 
impatiently.  Sometimes, she really hated her job.  She 
picked up the phone and pressed the redial.  Her voice 
was cold and stern, taking no pleasure in the next few 
words she was to say.

	"Yes?" the quiet, male voice on the other end asked.

	"He just left.  He'll likely be looking for her.  
Start with Capow."

	"Good." 

	The line clicked and went to a dial-tone.  Itsuko 
put the phone back into its cradle and frowned at herself.  
Did she even know whose side she was on anymore? She was 
glad of Talon's promotion and that he would be reporting 
to someone new.  She didn't deserve to have him or Samui 
under her.

---

[Dot wrote:]

(Explanations)

***

--The Present, Washuu's Bookstore--

	"Well, well..." Washuu arched an eye at her visitor.  
"It's not every day that you'd come here _voluntarily_."

	"Then you understand how important this is." Talon 
rolled up his sleeve.  "Take whatever samples you want.  
Tell me _everything_."

	The diminutive scientist tilted her head cutely.  
"It's not enough to know that Samui is in danger?"

	"At this point, I'm not even sure of _that_." Talon 
clenched his fists.  "Plus, I swore that I would never 
charge into anything without finding out what I'm getting 
mixed up in first."

	"Ah." Washuu smiled.  "No wonder Samui likes you." 
She pressed a button, and the bookcase leading to her 
Subspace laboratory swung open.  "This way, please."

***

--End of Time--

	"...and you know about the rest." Adam studied 
Samui's expression.  "You don't look too surprised about 
all this."

	"Shelly would joke about getting killed so much that 
I never really took her seriously, but thinking back..." 
Samui looked distant.  "I'm pretty sure she was prepared 
to die the first day going in as an agent."

	Adam rolled his eyes.  "Well, isn't _that_ cheerful.  
I sure hope you don't have the same illusions about a 
noble, meaningful death."

	"Not any more, thanks to you."

	"Good." Adam stood up and stretched, popping several 
joints in the process.  "Now that we've got everything 
clarified, I have to go back to work."

	Samui rose to her feet as well.  "Then I'm going 
with you."

	"Nope, you're staying right here."

	"I don't think so."

	"NUH-uh.  This is such a tangled mess that I'm 
having problems keeping _myself_ from accidentally 
serving someone else's interests.  Besides," and here 
Adam smirked again.  "I have immunity.  You don't."

***

--The Present, Capow--

	"Even with armed guards standing vigil at every 
street corner, the STRA continues to expand its presence 
in Capow despite vocal protests from its local residents.  
Authorities are strangely quiet on this matter..."

	Washuu clapped, and the television monitor 
immediately switched to a computer screen.  "Neat, huh?"

	"Please, Washuu, I don't have time for this."

	"That's Washuu-chan to you." She gestured, and two 
hovering chairs made themselves available.  "And if you 
want that information, then I suggest you humor me." With 
a snap of her fingers, her clothes changed that of a 
teacher's, had the teacher been into, um, _educating_ her 
students.  (Nudge nudge wink wink :)

	Talon sweatdropped.  "Washuu-chan?"

	"QUIET!" Washuu slammed her pointer on the desk that 
materialized in front of her, causing Talon to jump.  
"Class has begun!"

[--BEGIN META HUMOR--]

Talon: Hey, I thought this was supposed to be all serious 
and dramatic and stuff!

Washuu: You'll have plenty to angst about later.  The 
posts need some more comic relief!

Talon (sighs): At my expense, no doubt?

Washuu: Yup! XD

Talon: The universe hates me...  ;_;

[--END META HUMOR--]

	An immensely complex diagram appeared on the screen.  
"This is the STRA.  Since their main job is trying manage 
the time-space continuum, things have naturally gotten 
quite Wonky."

	Talon blinked.  "Wonky?"

	Washuu nodded.  "Yes, as in F-ed Up Beyond All 
Recognition.  But Wonky is easier to say.  But back to 
the subject."

	The slide advanced to what looked like a meaningless 
mess of swirls and loops.  "This is a simplified 
graphical representation of the time-space that has been 
explored so far.  I'm not going to try to make sense of 
it, and neither should you."

	"I'll...take your word for it."

	Next slide.  "This is Adam Anderson.  Based on the 
descriptions the STRA released, I'm pretty sure he's the 
only guy who would pull off a stunt that insane."

	"It's HIM!" Talon shouted, jumping to his feet.

	"So he _is_ involved..." Washuu muttered, mostly to 
herself.  She turned to Talon and smiled broadly.  "Well, 
then, you have nothing to worry about! Adam may be 
unconventional and irritating as hell, but he's 
definitely one of the good guys!"

	"Then why--"

	"Why the theatrics?" Washuu shrugged.  "Well, he's 
always liked to show off, even before..." she clapped a 
hand over her mouth.  "Oops."

	"Before what?"

	For a few moments, Washuu seemed to be hesitant.  
The she let out a long sigh.  "I suppose it's better if 
you heard it all now..." Next slide.  "As you can see, 
Adam is still listed as a fugitive--all of these 
accusations against him are _true_, by the way--but in 
actuality, he has been an operative since Shelly died."

	Talon's mind reeled as he skimmed through the 
biography.  "How's that possible?"

	"His son betrayed him.  As obnoxious and disliked as 
he was, all his enemies began actively pursuing him.  
Adam was desperate for a way out, so--" Washuu shook her 
head.  "Shelly was always too kind for her own good."

	"And you say that Samui's _safe_ with him?"

	"Safer than if she were still in custody, anyway."

---

[Dan wrote:]

	Talon opened his mouth to say something deeply 
relevant to the state of affairs in Capow, but the world 
will never know what it was that he would have said.  
That incredibly insightful comment has been forever lost 
because one perso-urk

Jude: Yo, author, yeah you, the one I've got by the neck, 
get to the freaking story already or I will kick your ass 
so hard you'll meet yourself coming.  Understood? 

Narrator: urk.

Jude: Thank you.

Narrator: *Ahem*

	Talon opened him mouth to comment when the door came 
flying open and one highly irrate ex-biker came stomping 
though door.

	"No," Jude told Washuu rather calmly considering the 
very obvious state of rage she had worked herself up into.  
"Fucking way."

	Washu arched an eyebrow calmly.  "No?"

	"I don't care _what_ I owe you," Jude snarled.  "I'm 
not working with that arrogant, stubborn, high-handed, 
control freak walking tin can!"

	"Oh," Washuu blinked cutely.  "You mean Ryan."

	"Yes, I mean Ryan.  We got any other tin cans 
walking around with more personal weapons than a small 
third world country's military?" Jude held up a hand when 
Washuu got a rather thoughtful expression on her face.  
"Don't answer that.  I don't think I want to know."

	Washuu became unusually serious in the space of 
three point five seconds.  Talon goggled in amazement.  
"You," she said softly, prodding Jude in the chest.  "Owe 
me a debt.  You owe me your _life_, if I remember 
correctly.  You are not in a position to disagree with me.  
Now are you?"

	"....shit," was Jude eloquent reply.

	"Good," Washuu patted Jude's hand maternally.  
"JOSEPH!"

	A small dark-brown head popped around the door, and 
two dark brown high-skeptical eyes regarded them warily.  
"What? I didn't do it."

	Washuu ignored that blatant admission of guilt.  
"Show Jude-oneesan the new toys I made for her."

	Joseph stepped into the room, crossed his arms, and 
frowned exasperatedly at Washuu as only a pre-adolescent 
could.  "You didn't make any toys for Jude-oneesan."

	Washuu turned around and walked back to Talon, then 
tossed Joseph a blinding smile over her shoulder.  "That 
would depend on what you would call a 'toy'."

	Joseph's jaw dropped as he was caught off-guard.  
"You can't mean you're giving her _those_?!"

---

[Dare wrote:]

	Washuu turned back to Talon and smiled again.  "So, 
you see, there's nothing to worry about.  Samui's 
perfectly safe." Talon blinked.  "Well, as long as she 
doesn't piss him off, heehee.." she added with a chuckle.  
"That boy can become very ticked off if pushed the wrong 
way.  But, alas, sometimes it's the only way that works."

	"So what am I--?" started Talon.

	"Well," Washuu interrupted, putting an arm around 
his.  "I suppose you can help Jude-san here with their 
little problem."

	"What?!" shouted Jude, stopping, her back turned 
towards the two.  She was being led out of the room by 
Joseph when she heard this.  Turning back, she stomped to 
Washuu and sized Talon up.  "I don't need this washed out 
cop helping me!"

	"Hey!" said Talon, slightly offended.

	"Shut up," Jude snarled at him.  "It's bad enough I 
have to work with the tin can, but I don't need a head-
case holding me back too."

	"Head case?"

	"Oh yeah, I know stuff about your past, Mr. Gauss," 
explained Jude with slight tone of belligerence.  "So, 
why don't you go run along and find your girlfriend, 
leave me alone!" She directed most of the last part at 
Washuu.  Grabbing Joseph by the sleeve, she dragged him 
out of the room faster than he could yelp.

	Washuu spread her hands with indifference.  "She's 
moody sometimes."

	"Uh, it doesn't look like she wants my help either."

	"Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some other 
matters to attend to!" Washuu said perkily and left 
without another word.

	Talon stared back, unsure what he should do next.  
Coming to Washuu's lab provided him with few answers and 
perhaps more questions.  It was clear he would have to 
find those answers on his own.

	The exit to Washuu's spacious lab led to a small 
room housed in a small building.  Clearly, it could not 
have physically held her lab.  Talon stepped out the 
front door and was trying to decide where to head next 
when something heavy and metallic was pressed to the back 
of his neck.

	"Don't turn around, keep walking."

	Talon's eyes went wide.  "Samui?"

	The gun was pressed harder against his head, 
preventing him from turning around.  "I told you to keep 
walking.  And lower your arms, you look silly."

	"Samui, I've been looking for you, what's going on? 
Where are we going?"

	They approached a red sedan parked on the street.  
"Get in and drive," Samui ordered him.

	Talon put his hand on the door handle but hesitated.  
"Please put the gun away."

	"I could have finished you off at headquarters but 
Junya was nice enough to sacrifice herself for you.  Now 
get in."

	"What? You're not, Samui! Who are you?" But the only 
response he got was the gun barrel.  He decided he would 
have to play along to figure out what was happening.  He 
slid into the front  while his captor got in back.  He 
checked the rear mirror and caught his first glance at 
her.  He swallowed.  It was Samui, except there were 
aspects about her that looked different.  Her green hair 
was a little longer than usual.  Her eyes seemed more 
empty than ever and a dark shadow cast over her face.

	"Put your seatbelt on and then place both hands on 
the steering wheel.  If you take them off, I will shoot 
you."

	"Why are you doing this?" Talon asked angrily as he 
began to drive.  "Who are you exactly?"

	Talon could almost see her smile sweetly, darkly.  
"Don't you recognize me, Talon dear? It's Samui, your 
partner.  I've come to do you favor."

	"Oh, what's that?"

	"I'll see you get a clean death and a decent burial.  
Compared to what's going to happen with the rest of Capow, 
it'll be a godsend."

	Talon drove and kept probing for more answers but he 
got no answers except directions.  As the car ride 
lengthened, he noticed the lack of any cars on the 
streets or pedestrians.  The town was strangely quiet.  
Soon, they had left the city limits and were approaching 
the parkway that ran along the beach and cliffs by the 
ocean.

	"Since I'm speeding along to my death, which I'm not 
entirely convinced you'll carry out, why don't you tell 
me some more details, Samui?" said Talon once more.

	"Hmm..  I suppose I'll humor you a little.  I 
suppose this is where I'll play the classic villain and 
divulge all the secrets," mused Samui.

	"Of course, but since I'm certain to die anyway..." 
agreed Talon.

	"On second thought, I think I'll keep it to myself.  
I'm not stupid, I've known you for a very long time.  
Consider this a gift from the fate I would be saving you 
from.  Even if Capow survives intact, the future that 
I've seen doesn't look very promising.  There are, after 
all, worse things than being dead."

	"Future?!" said Talon with surprise.

	"Then again, you were always a little naive," she 
muttered.  "Yes, Talon.  The future.  Everything was 
working out perfectly until he had to show up." [she 
punched the back of his seat.]  "Dammit, he's ruined 
everything!"

	Talon risked a glance at the rear-view mirror and 
was shocked.  Her eyes had gone wide and had drifted off 
to somewhere else.  Her face was clearly agitated and she 
bared her teeth as she spoke.  Something psychological 
was going on and it was the perfect distraction for him 
to act.

	The barrier along the seaside parkway was no match 
for a speeding car and Talon plowed right through it, 
over the side.  The sedan hurtled towards the water.  
Samui shrieked and actually fired her gun, but missed 
wildly, punching a hole through the windshield instead.  
Talon knocked the gun away and at the same time rolled 
his window down.  The car smacked into the water, 
pitching Samui into the front seat for she had not been 
wearing any seatbelts.  Talon got the window open and 
unbuckled, trying to escape.  Samui grabbed his leg but 
he kicked back.  His foot knocked the side of her head 
and she slumped back, unconscious.  Water had completely 
filled the rest of the car's cabin.  Talon slipped 
through the narrow window, just barely and pushed hard 
for the surface.

---

[Dot wrote:]

(Circular Reasoning)

***

	It felt like an eternity before he reached air, 
gasping and coughing as he gagged on the bitter, salty 
brine.

	"A little out of season to go for a dip, don't you 
think?"

	Talon blanched as he saw who was standing on the 
shore.  "It's you!"

	"Yup, last I checked, I'm still me." Adam tipped an 
imaginary hat.  "I'd ask you how you are, but obviously 
you're not feeling too hot right now."

	"What have you done with Samui? Where is she?"

	"I don't see her coming up and trying to finish the 
job of killing you, so I'd presume she's still 
underwater."

	"What?" Panicking, Talon tried to locate either 
Samui or the car, but the water was too dark for him to 
see anything.  "I kicked her in the head! She'll drown!"

	"Relax.  Samui's made of much tougher stuff than 
that.  She probably just faked it so you'd think she's 
dead, feel horrid about it, and plot some sort of revenge 
on the parties responsible." Adam drew in the sand with 
his shoe.  "And guessing from your expression, you look 
pretty convinced that I'm the man you're looking for."

	Talon was about to retort when a particularly large 
wave spilled over him.

	Adam shook his head.  "If you really want to save 
Samui, you'll have to do better than that.  Here." 
Reaching into his jacket, Adam produced a large manila 
folder.  "Even if you think this is my pitiful attempt to 
keep you out of my hair, give this a read when you have 
the free time." He turned and walked back up towards the 
highway.  "Or maybe you should just quit while you're 
ahead."

	And then he rounded the corner, disappearing from 
Talon's line of sight.

***

--Kami-sama's Office, Timeline A Branch--

	Ah, Shimaru.  You're just in time for tea.

	I found myself sitting down across from 
Him/Her/It/Whatever.  The Lord of Nifelheim poured me a 
cup, which I did not touch.

	"My, my, interrupting us during afternoon tea." she 
flicked a lidded glance towards me.  "You must have 
something terribly important to report."

	The rage that had been boiling inside me bubbled up 
again.  "Oh, I'm sure His Highness knows _everything_ 
already."

	Hela tsked as she munched on a biscuit.  "Look at 
him.  He's got 'I'm right and you're wrong, wrong, WRONG' 
written all over his face.  I would never put up with 
such questioning from _my_ employees."

	To each their own, Hela.

	I narrowed my eyes.  "Is that Your answer for me, 
too? Let me guess, if I asked You for specifics, You'd 
just say 'that's what free will is for'? You'd just sit 
up here and do nothing to prove a stupid _point_?"

	I am doing something, Shimaru.  Or, at least, I plan 
to.
	"Plan?" I sneered.  "Do You even need to plan? It's 
all been decided, ages ago, hasn't it? I know You, you 
love all that Fate and Destiny stuff."

	"Yeah, yeah, all's well that ends well, and so on 
and so forth," Hela interjected carelessly.  "But there's 
one small variable in the equation." She gazed at me, and 
I shuddered involuntarily.  "You."

	"Me?" I wanted to ask, sarcastically of course, how 
little old me could ever mess up the Almighty's great and 
wonderful plans, but Hela's eyes held me firm and I could 
not speak.

	"Yes, you.  Odd, isn't it, that He'd coerce even His 
own Son into doing His Will, and yet He seems to care so 
much about your feelings that He wants you to make your 
own informed decision?"

	It doesn't count if _you_ are the enforcer, then, 
does it?

	"Oops, you caught me." Hela turned and pretended to 
look embarrassed.

	I finally found my tongue again.  "So this is your 
little game, is it? You ruin a whole world just to see 
which one of you can play me like some sort of pawn?"

	"Ah, but that's the fun of it," Hela began, this 
time keeping her gaze averted, but I still found her 
absolutely frightening nonetheless.  "If you refuse, I 
win.  If you go unwillingly, I win.  And even if you have 
the slightest of doubts, I've got dibs to make your life 
totally miserable in the foreseeable future." She smirked.  
"And people wonder why I prefer to play the villain."

	This is no mere 'game', Shimaru.  This is a Contract 
I have pledged to hold up.  And if you are also willing 
to partake in it...

	Nothing.  No threats of burning divine wrath if I 
declined, nor throbbing waves of ecstasy if I obeyed.  
Just God on one side, a demon that could give _Satan_ the 
heebie-jeebies on the other, and a world full of really, 
really _screwed_ lives in the middle.

	The first time God was asked the Job Question[1], 
His answer was simple: _because_.

	This time, the Answer He had in mind was a little 
more elaborate.

	He wanted _me_ to be a part of it.

[1] Why does an all-good, all-powerful God allow 
suffering to happen to innocent, even pious people?

***

--Timeline B: Present Day--

	Talon spread out before him the contents of the 
folder Adam had left behind.  A seemingly nonsensical 
jumble of diagrams, transcripts, and illegible scrawl 
covered the table.  One of the papers in the middle had 
the questionably helpful words "start here" written on it 
with a pink highlighter.

	'This _is_ a waste of my time,' Talon thought.  'Why 
am I here in my apartment trying to make heads or tails 
of this mess when I could be out there--' he shook his 
head.  'Out there doing what? Get shot? Or hijacked by 
another Samui lookalike?'

	He tried to compile, once again, the facts that he 
knew, and they were pitifully few:

	One, a man--an STRA agent, no less--had been 
murdered in broad daylight.

	Two, all evidence seemed to point to Samui, and she 
only made things worse by escaping custody.

	(But then, what was she running away _from_? Or 
running _to_, for that matter?)

	Three, there may be another Samui in the vicinity, 
or at least someone pretending to be her, and yet it 
didn't completely make sense to attribute everything to 
this doppleganger.

	(Or, _was_ there an "Evil Twin"? What if...well, 
_what if_?)

	His eye drifted to one of the diagrams.  It was a 
detailed layout of the street where Shiro Yamashita had 
died.  Every distance had been meticulously measured, 
every spot visible to either casual passerby or watchful 
eye (human or electronic) marked with the appropriate 
color.

	The unfortunate victim was penciled in as a crude 
stick figure, the place on his head where he had been 
struck marked with an "x".  Next to him was what Talon 
guessed to be Adam's mischievous caption: "the dead guy".

	"Not the type to even let off the deceased, eh?" 
Talon muttered.  He pushed aside the documents lying 
around the one of interest.  He didn't notice that a 
transparency had been attached to the diagram until he 
nearly cut his hand on the paper clip.  "And here, 
too..." Talon shook his head, realigning the stick figure 
on the transparency with that of the one drawn on the 
paper.

	A simple, black ink line labeled simply "the Man" 
showed the official theory, that Shiro had been shot at 
extreme close range.  At the margin of the transparency, 
in the same black ink, the note-taker (and again Talon 
judged it to be Adam by the meticulously unkempt 
handwriting and cutting tone) remarked that although this 
was certainly the simplest explanation, it did not 
account for the shallow depth at which the bullet had 
been embedded.

	'That's right,' Talon realized, the images of the 
morgue bubbling up in his mind again.  'A gun that can 
cause a wound like _that_ would have completely buried 
the bullet.  And why would the only piece of evidence 
linking Samui to the murder be left at the scene...?'

	A muted red line labeled "Theory A" marked the 
possible path the bullet might have taken if shot by a 
sniper.  Adam's comment on this was: "coulda happened, 
but where are the witnesses?"

	'Yes, definitely odd,' Talon agreed.  'Not one 
single person reported anything unusual, and yet somebody 
must have saw _something_ if a gun was being set up...'

	The third line was marked using the loudest, most 
obnoxious shade of lemon-yellow [2] that Talon had ever 
scene.  This one, even Adam acknowledged, was 'whack 
conspiracy theorist stuff'.  And yet, it explained 
_everything_: the angle that the bullet had struck and 
its subsequent path, the absolute lack of any 
eyewitnesses, and the fact that the weapon could not be 
found but the bullet could be retrieved.

	The only question that this third line could not 
answer, however, was the most important, and Adam had 
written this in all-caps and underlined it multiple times:

	_WHO???_

	And, the bigger question, one that Adam had not 
bothered to put on any of his notes but Talon was sure 
lingered on his mind as well:

	_Why_?

[2] See also the new 'caution' color used by the Florida 
Department of Transportation. [3]
[3] Yes, it _is_ that icky.

---

[Dot Wrote:]

(Twist)

***

--End of Time--

	Samui stared at Adam, wondering what was going 
through her self-proclaimed guardian's mind.  "Wait, 
_now_ you want me to go back there?"

	Adam sighed.  "It's not the best half-assed plan, I 
know, but this place isn't really safe for you to stay 
that much longer, especially not if I'm running around 
fixing this horrid mess."

	"You still won't consider letting me help you, 
then."

	"Eventually it'll probably come to that, but..." 
Adam shook his head.  "Right now the only thing I'm sure 
is that Namida Samui is needed for whatever nefarious 
ends they're up to." He massaged the bridge of his nose.  
"And just when I thought I finally had gotten 
somewhere..." He shook his head again.  "At any rate, 
I've already shaken them up once by busting you out from 
right under their noses.  I'm willing to bet that they're 
going to make a show of keeping you locked up this time."

	"And if they don't?"

	Adam sighed a second time and leaned against the 
wall.  "Then I spring you again, I guess."

	Samui gave Adam another once over.  "You know, if 
you were willing to spend a little more effort thinking 
things through, you wouldn't be in such a pickle now."

	"I don't suppose you can come up with anything 
better."

	"I'll let you know if I do." Samui rose to her feet.  
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's turn me in."

	Adam chuckled and patted Samui on the shoulder.  
"That's the spirit."

***

--Timeline B, Present Day: Lurker's Retreat--

	Talon sipped half-heartedly at his drink.  The 
temptation to get drunk was getting more and more 
appealing by the minute, but he suspected it wouldn't 
really be worth the effort.  Besides, he wanted his mind 
fully functional, even if none of his thoughts went 
anywhere.
	At the moment, he allowed himself to drift, the 
ambient noise of the Bar washing over him.  Despite the 
heavy STRA presence in Capow--or, perhaps, because of it-
-the Lurker's Retreat had no shortage of patrons, and 
they continued to engage in animated conversation despite 
the large number of armed soldiers in plain sight.  
Perhaps, Talon mused, the seemingly daily occurrence of 
something dramatic has made everyone a bit jaded.

	He still found himself jumping, though, when the 
doors slammed open and every agent in the room pointed 
their guns at the entrance.

	"Hey, watch where you stick those things! Someone 
could get hurt."

	Talon nearly did a spit take.  Standing quite calmly 
(and smugly, to boot) despite under the threat of being 
plugged full of lead was Adam, his lanky figure almost 
taking up the entire doorway.

	"Will you please stop that?" A small, quiet voice 
asked from behind him.

	The sound of glass shattering was the only other 
sound in the room as Talon's shaking hands could no 
longer hold onto his drink when he saw Samui step out 
from behind Adam, her arms raised high into the air.

	"Sorry for the trouble, everyone.  I've thought 
things through," and here her gaze met Talon's.  "And I'm 
turning myself in."

	It took all of Talon's willpower to hold that gaze 
as two men approached her, cuffed her hands behind her 
back, and lead her out.

	Adam whistled.  "Wow, that went a lot easier than I 
thought it would." He took a forward.  "This calls for a 
drink!"

	This time, every unarmed patron flinched as a shot 
went past Adam's head, and a few even dived under their 
tables.

	The man who fired his rifle pulled back the hammer 
again and reoriented the barrel so that it was pointing 
straight at Adam.  "How dare you show your face in here, 
after what you've done?"

	With one deft motion, Adam whipped out his badge and 
flashed it at the agent, along with his middle finger.  
"'Cause I'm authorized to meddle where I please, [that's 
what]." A murmured grumble went up as weapons were 
lowered one by one and Adam sauntered into the Bar, 
sitting down so heavily that the stool seemed to groan in 
protest.  "Vodka.  Make it snappy."

	Miyuki didn't even bother to look up from the glass 
that she was polishing.  "Care to be a little more 
specific?"

	"I do suppose a whole bottle is a bit much," Adam 
remarked as he drew a PDA from his jacket.  "Just gimme a 
double for now."

	Talon watched Adam out of the corner of his eye, 
even more confused than ever.  What in the world was 
going on now? Why would Adam break Samui out of prison, 
then have her show up here, and then go on to bring his 
supposedly secret operative status out in the open?

	"Bingo!" Adam crowed, clutching his PDA as one might 
a trophy.  "This calls for a drink." He picked up the 
shot glass, stood, and raised it high in the air.  "To 
the diligent! Thanks to them, I can slack off." He downed 
the entire contents in one gulp, and then whistled.  
"Phew! Now _there's_ a drink for you." He winked at 
Miyuki.  "My complements to the barkeep."

	"Save your flattery," Miyuki replied.  "Just pay 
your tab."

	And now Adam actually managed to look a bit sheepish.  
"Aheh...I was afraid you were going to say that."

	Miyuki scowled.  "Don't tell me you're gonna try to 
pull a fast one."

	"I usually don't carry much--what with crime being 
so rampant, but..." Adam removed the small silvery loop 
that had been dangling from his earlobe.  "Would this do 
for the time being?"

	Miyuki crossed her arms.  "What do you think this is, 
a pawn shop?"

	"I'm not about to trade my most precious possession 
for a measly double, either.  But since you won't take me 
for my word, then I guess I can part with it for the time 
being."

	"You'll have to do better than that."

	"Aw, come on! This is pure platinum!" Adam offered 
the earring again.  "If you don't believe me, see for 
yourself."

	Although still suspicious, Miyuki relented and 
accepted it.  After a few moments of examination, she 
sighed.  "All right.  But if you don't come with real 
currency in one week, I'm selling it."

	"I have no doubt you would." Adam tucked the PDA 
into his pocket and headed for the door.  "And since I 
owe, it's off to work I go."

	Talon stared at the doorway even well after Adam was 
out of sight.  Then, having come to his decision, he 
stood up.  "I'm paying for him.  How much?"

	Miyuki blinked.  "What?"

	Talon slammed a hand on the table, a bit surprised 
himself at his determination.  "I said, I'm paying!"

***

--Timeline A, A.D. 211X: Capow--

	Talon kept a tight grip on Adam's earring as wave 
after wave of nausea hit him.  Of all his 
interdimensional trips, this had to be the worst, and on 
top of that there seemed to be no end to the disorienting 
nothingness that he was stumbling through.  The only 
thing he had to direct him was his Search materia, and it 
had proved to be dismayingly general.  Still, he wasn't 
about to give up after going this far, and he wasn't sure 
if he could find his way back out unless he pressed 
forward.

	Finally, his foot his solid ground, and reality 
abruptly popped back into existence around him.  
Completely overwhelmed by the information that was 
flooding into his brain, Talon stumbled blindly, 
eventually finding himself against a wall as he tried to 
catch his breath.

	"Took you long enough." A sardonic voice that Talon 
quickly recognized as Adam's cut in over the cacophony of 
sensations.  "Although I suppose I should be impressed 
that you even made it at all."

	The jolt of realizing that Adam _wanted_ Talon to 
follow him quickly reduced the disorientation to a 
manageable level.  "You--!" Opening his mouth, however, 
proved to be a mistake, as his body was not recovering as 
fast as his mind, and he heaved repeatedly, his legs 
giving away under him.

	Adam clapped a hand on Talon's shoulder.  "Easy! 
Yell at me all you want after you've regained some 
sense."

	This time, Talon didn't reply, but he glared at Adam 
as he tried to steady himself.  Another eternity passed 
as he slowly adjusted to the harrowing trip.  "You 
tricked me," he forced out.

	"My heart bleeds." Adam held out his hand.  "Now, 
then, I believe you have something that belongs to me."

	Talon was about to ask how Adam could have known 
when he remembered that the earring was still clutched in 
his hand for anyone to see, its pin pressing hard into 
his thumb.  "First, tell me: whose side are you on?"

	"My own, of course.  Did you even have to ask?"

	Talon groaned, but handed the earring over 
nonetheless, and Adam replaced it to its rightful 
position with practiced ease.  'I really should have seen 
that one coming, but it was worth a shot.'

	The sound of crumbling stone caught the attention of 
Talon's newly acclimated ears.  Now that his brain wasn't 
screaming about the noise, the horrid noise, he could now 
do a quick survey of the surroundings.  As far as he 
could see, the city (or what was left of it, anyway) was 
well on its way to becoming a ghost town.  The 
combination of willful destruction, apathetic neglect, 
and mere entropy had turned a once sprawling metropolis 
into a scene from some post-apocalyptic movie.

	"This...this is..."

	"A universe where everything went wrong." Adam 
shrugged.  "Or something like that."

	"I'll say.  What in the world are you doing here, 
then?"

	"To investigate the disappearance of the agent 
assigned here." Adam quickly consulted his PDA.  "In the 
year 2107, she was contacted by someone in the agency 
despite the quarantine placed on it, and hasn't been 
heard from since." He smirked at Talon.  "Three guesses 
on who the agent is, and the first two don't count."

	"Samui..." Talon murmured, wondering what sort of 
disaster had caused the STRA to forbid (almost) anyone 
from entering or leaving.  'No wonder I felt so awful 
when I was heading here.'

	"You catch on quick."

	It took a few more moments for the date to register 
on Talon.  "Wait a minute...2107? This is...the future?"

	"Well..._a_ future, anyway."

	"One that you're trying to prevent."

	"For where you come from, yes." Adam kicked aside a 
pane of glass in his path, shattering it.  "It's already 
too late here."

	"What? Why?"

	"The short answer is that we're not God." Another 
obstruction got the boot.  "The long answer...well, try 
reading _Temporal Mechanics_ sometime, and hope your head 
doesn't explode."

***

--Timeline A, A.D. 211X--

	_Washuu's Bookstore_ seemed to be slightly better 
maintained than its surroundings, although Talon wasn't 
sure if this was the result of actual human effort, or 
his own memories of what the Bookstore was like 
interfered with his perceptions.  He stepped in 
cautiously and looked around for Anne, who usually manned 
(maybe, he mused somewhat wryly, that should be 
'orangutanged') the counter, but the light proved to be 
too dim for him to really see anything.

	"Yoohoo!" Adam called as he barged in loudly, 
stomping his boots to rid it of the dust he had 
accumulated.  "Anybody home?"

	"Not much one for subtlety, are you?"

	"Nope." Adam continued forward in a similar manner 
and was about to pound on the door to Washuu's subspace 
laboratory when it slid open on its own accord.

	"VISITORS!" Washuu exclaimed gleefully, jumping at 
Adam.

	Adam rolled his eyes and stepped out of the way.  
"Oh, grow up."

	Washuu pouted.  "Aw, you're no fun at all."

	"If it makes you feel better, you can pretend that I 
care."

	"Nah, don't bother." Washuu snapped her fingers, and 
a piece of paper appeared in her hand.  "This is what you 
came for, isn't it?"

	"Short and to the point." Adam patted Washuu on the 
head as he accepted the offer.  "I like that in a woman."

	Washuu made a face.  "Flirt." She spotted Talon and 
waved at him.  "Hi, Talon-from-the-past.  Any luck with 
Samui-from-the-past yet?"

	Unable to formulate a cohesive response, Talon 
merely blushed and stammered.  "Ah...well...I..."

	Washuu shook her head.  "You're hopeless."

	Adam finished reading the paper, folded it, and 
tucked it into his sleeve.  "Thanks, squirt.  This was 
just what I needed."

	"Can't you stay a while?" Washuu turned to face Adam 
again, using her most pitiful-looking expression.  "I've 
been so lonely!"

	"Sorry, squirt, duty calls.  I have to find the 
Samui-that-belongs-here and make sure she doesn't do any 
more stupid stuff."

	Talon boggled at the notion.  "She could be 
anywhere!"

	"Maybe." Adam drew out his identification card.  
"But I have a few ideas on where to start looking."

***

--Timeline B, Present Day--

	This was the apartment they lived at, both before 
and after.

	This was the plates they ate from, the pots they 
cooked with, the silverware that they polished, together.

	This was the couch they sat on, his arm wrapped 
around hers.

	This was the sink that held their toothbrushes, 
where she would tease him about his absentmindedness when 
he used the wrong one.

	This was the closet that held their clothes, his on 
one side and hers on another.

	This was the bed they slept in.

	This was the bed they slept in...

	/What do you think you're doing?/

	Shut up.  _Shut up!_ This was all she had left of 
him now, and she wasn't going to let anyone take it away 
ever again.

	/Get out of there! Anderson is heading your way./

	_What_?

	/You heard me the first time.  Pull out!/

	Yes, she heard.

	_Anderson_.

***

--Timeline B, Present Day--

	Talon blinked as he recognized the stylized numbers 
on the door.  "This is where I live! How did you--"

	"It's called the 'White Pages'.  Any idiot can look 
up your residence, since you're listed."

	Talon didn't feel that much smarter himself.  "Oh."

	Adam's expression suddenly turned serious for the 
first time.  "Stay behind me.  And if I were you, I'd 
watch my back."

	Talon was about to ask what the matter was when Adam 
drew his sword.  "Right."
---
Ooh, cliffhanger! Stopping here 'cause I have some second 
thoughts about what happens next.

Meanwhile, I'm surprised that none of the residents seem 
to be upset about Capow coming under STRA occupation, 
hint hint. ;p

---

[Dare wrote:]

	The noise came from inside Talon's bedroom.  He 
usually kept the door open but at the moment it was 
almost closed.  Adam slid up to the opening and peeked 
through.  Quickly, he wedged the door open a little more 
and rushed in.  Talon came soon after, STRA firearm 
raised.  He shuffled sideways the door, opposite from 
Adam so they stood side-by-side with the door between 
them and their backs to the wall.

	Movement from the curtains caught Talon's eyes.  
"Come out!" he shouted.  There was no response.  Talon 
squeezed the trigger and fired two rounds.  Immediately, 
Adam's hand lowered Talon's arm and gun.

	"Easy there!" Adam shouted.  He had already sheathed 
his sword and walked over to the curtain.  He pulled it 
aside, revealing nothing except two bullet holes in the 
walls.  The open window was blowing the curtain.  "Aren't 
we a little [too] trigger happy?"

	Talon almost turned red.  "Sorry, I'm a bit stressed 
out now.  After [all], the other Samui [has] tried to 
kill me twice."

	Adam leaned over the big bed.  "Well, you were right 
about Samui being here, though."  He picked up a strand 
of lime-green hair lying on the pillow and held it to the 
sunlight. "Unless, you and the Samui-from- this-era are 
pillow-friends, too."  He arched his eyebrow suggestively.

	Talon definitely blushed this time.

	"What is it with you and her, anyway," Adam 
continued prying.

	"Well, err," started Talon.

	"C'mon, now, spit it out!"

	"Well, we're partners--"

	"Bullshit, there's more to it than that."  Adam 
looked up at him.  "You love her, it's obvious." Talon 
couldn't find words to respond.  Adam continued.  "The 
way your pupils dilate when I asked you is proof enough.
	"Ah, love.  Hmm...even I remember a time I was just 
like you.  Sort of.  I don't know what she saw in me.  
Maybe it was better if we hadn't gotten together, who 
knows.  I don't regret it though.  Let me give you some 
advice, Talon, that I passed on to my son.  If there's 
something you want, you have to take it, without 
hesitation or doubt.  Otherwise, opportunity will never 
come again and you'll regret it."

	"You have a son?" asked Talon with a bit of 
amazement.  Then he realized that Washuu had mentioned 
this to him before.

	"Yeah.  Damn brat took my words a little too close 
to heart, the bastard."  Adam definitely looked angry.  
"So, what did we learn today, boys and girls?"

	"Err...that you have a son?"

	"No, you idiot."

	"Look, my feelings for Samui are my own to deal with.  
I'm not trying to hide them, I just need time to, uh, 
sort them out."

	"Since when did you become so hesitant and unsure of 
yourself?" Adam countered.  "Was it after the incident in 
Rodick?"

	"How do you know about that?" asked Talon sharply.

	"I've studied a bit of your past.  You showed a lot 
of ambition when you were younger.  Eager and sure, you 
could have risen up through the ranks of SOLDIER very 
quickly."  Adam's voice became thoughtful.  "If I had 
known you back then, hmm..."

	"What?"

	Adam grunted.  "Nothing.  Just remember what I 
said."  He continued examining the strand of hair.  "Oh, 
and if you ever repeat what I just told you, I guarantee 
those will be the last words your tongue speaks before I 
rip it out.  You get me?"

	"Yeah, I get you," Talon replied sullenly, glad the 
conversation was over.
	"Good," said Adam. "Yep, she's definitely been here.  
What the hell was she looking for anyway? Memories?"

	"Well, Mr. Smart-guy, where is she going next?" 
asked Talon.

	Adam gave him a stern look. "Don't get cocky with me.  
Besides, if she's been here, isn't it obvious where she's 
going next?"

	"No..."

	Adam smacked his forehead.  "God, you are dense as a 
brick sometimes! Use that fricking noodle of yours! Who 
are the people closest to Samui besides you?"

	Talon thought hard for a moment and only one person 
came to mind.  "Washuu?"

---

[Dot wrote:]

(Da Capo)

In case the title isn't clear enough, all of the 
following scenes take place at the "beginning" of the 
story as far as causality goes.

***

--Timeline A: 202X--

	He pulled out his phone and began dialing with one 
hand, massaging his throbbing forehead with the other.  
"Yo.  It's me."

	"That was...rather fast."

	"Yeah.  Just popped in, took a look, and double-
checked the references."

	"I take it that your initial pronouncement hasn't 
changed?"

	"Nope.  It really was just a random hit.  I'm 
guessing your Hitchhiker either strayed into some 
crossfire, or some nut went postal and started shooting 
at anything that moved."

	"So, basically, he was in the wrong place at the 
wrong time."

	"You could say that."

	"Thank you, Mr. Anderson.  We greatly appreciate 
your help in the matter."

	"Well, it's my job to provide straight answers, no 
matter how unpleasant they may be." He flipped the 
phone's top shut and took a long look at the landscape 
below.  'And I have a sinking feeling that I definitely 
won't like what I see once I get to the bottom of this 
mess.'

***

--Capow Grand Central Headquarters--

	He picked up the phone, turning on the video feed 
despite knowing that the call would be monitored.  It 
would be simple enough to edit the evidence if he really 
needed to, and it was much easier to deal with his 
clients if they believed they had the advantage.

	"Good morning," he greeted with a cordial smile.  "I 
take it from your expression that my father has somehow 
gotten the quarantine approved?"

	"That bastard--"

	He cleared his throat.  "Please.  Let's not get 
personal.  After all, if you insult him, you also insult 
me."

	"He went over our heads and appealed straight to 
Section Y!"

	He raised an eyebrow and whistled.  "I wasn't even 
aware that Section Y could be appealed to." He smiled.  
"I apologize.  He _is_ a bastard, and a mean one, at that.  
And speaking of bastards, did you find out who could have 
tipped him off?"

	"Not yet, but we did rat out some potential leaks.  
They've been plugged."

	"Really? Too bad.  They could have been useful."

	"We've already tossed out a bunch of false leads."

	"Unless we keep supplying them, my father _will_ 
find my trail.  He always suspects my involvement, and 
he's _quite_ persistent.  What we need is a scapegoat."

	"I'll draw up a list."

	A notion hit him.  "Actually...don't bother." He 
smiled again, and this time it wasn't a mask to hide his 
true self.  "I have the perfect candidate."

***

--Timeline A: 21XX--

	Washuu wasn't quite fast enough to press the "mute" 
button on her remote controller as the unmistakable sound 
of two modems talking broke over the speakers.

	"It's them."

	A chill ran up Washuu's spine as she heard the 
pronouncement.  "Nono, just me running the usual boring 
old ping program, haha." A trickle of cold sweat beaded 
and dripped onto her clenched fists.  "Go back to sleep, 
Samui."

	"It's them.  I know.  They're coming for me."

	Washuu's knuckles were starting to turn white.  "I 
won't let them take you."

	"They won't need to.  I'm going."

	Washuu turned to face her 'daughter' for the first 
time.  "Samui--"

	"That's Miss Namida to you, Hakubi."

	Washuu blanched.  "You...the restraints..."

	Samui calmly wiped away the blood on her wrists.  
"Did you think you could keep me there forever like some 
ornament?"

	Washuu felt her legs give way beneath her.  "I...I 
wanted to keep you safe..."

	"Given how things turned out, I'd say you've done a 
pretty bad job."

	"No...please...stop..."

	Samui picked up her phone.  "No, Hakubi.  This is 
the choice I make.  And if I am damned, then so be it."

	Washuu could only stare helplessly.  "No..."

	"This is my choice," Samui repeated.  She shut 
Washuu out completely as the line picked up.  "It's about 
time."

	"No..."
---
[Dot wrote:]

(Reunion)

	"What's the matter, Hakubi? You look like you've 
seen a ghost."

	Washuu clutched Anne's and Joseph's hands tightly, 
forcing herself to remain calm for their sake.  "I'm just 
a little...surprised, that's all."

	The Other raised an eyebrow.  "I didn't think you 
could be surprised."

	"I don't know everything."

	The Other sneered.  "Perhaps.  But you knew enough.  
And you did _nothing_."

	Washuu continued to maintain eye contact.  "I have 
no idea what you're talking about."

	"Oh, but you _do_, Hakubi.  As part of Section Y, 
you _have_ to.  You _knew_, Hakubi, but you chose to keep 
it to yourself because you thought the crises would bring 
your precious children closer to you." The Other laughed 
bitterly.  "And in the end, you lost them all anyway, 
precisely because you couldn't bear to part with them!"

	"Washuu would never--" Falora screamed as a bullet 
missed her head by a mere fraction of an inch.

	The Other loaded another shot into the chamber of 
her gun.  "Ah, but that's exactly what happened.  The 
things we thought would 'never' happen to us, the 
horrible nightmares we hardly dared imagine to be 
possible, the _living hell_ that we were intent on 
avoiding--they all came true.  And she knew.  _She 
knew_!" The Other was shouting at the top of her lungs 
now.  "Don't you understand? She stood by and _let Capow 
die_ when all along--" She suddenly stopped, and when she 
continued her voice was eerily calm.  "But what do I know? 
Maybe finding out that the home you love is doomed and 
there's nothing you can do about it is worse than having 
the disaster fall on you suddenly." Her demeanor shifted 
again, and a chill ran down Washuu's spine.  "It's too 
bad, really, that I never had the chance to find out."

***

	"Explain to me again why we're not hurrying over to 
Washuu's when we know that an insane, gun-wielding psycho 
is there?"
	"Hey, some future version of you _married_ that 
insane, gun-wielding psycho." Adam flipped open his phone 
and began thumbing through the electronic address book.  
"Besides, it's so much more convenient to bring her to us 
instead of continuing this little wild goose chase."

	"She's not gonna fall for such an obvious trap, is 
she?"

	"Who says this is a trap?"

	Talon stared at Adam, but he only kept grinning.  "I 
take my assessment of Samui back.  You're definitely much 
crazier than she is."

	"Except my 'madness' is the kind that actually makes 
sense."

	"I don't suppose you care to enlighten me as to what 
that 'sense' is?"

	"Nope."

***

	"Anderson."

	The word was not so much spoken as hissed, as if the 
volumes of rage coursing through Samui's body had robbed 
her of her voice.

	"Guilty as charged." Adam, on the other hand, was 
loud and relaxed, almost even jovial.  "And you must be 
Samui of the Dismal Future, here to cause the Paradox 
From Hell."

	Samui somehow became even paler at those words.  "No! 
This time, it's going to be different!"

	"That's what they all say.  Anyway, since you're 
still at Washuu-chan's place, I take it that you haven't 
riddled her full of bullets yet, so I'd like to talk to 
her."

	Washuu waited for Samui to indicate her permission 
before speaking.  "Go ahead, Adam.  We're on 
speakerphone."

	"Are you sure about this?" Talon could be heard 
asking faintly in the background.

	Adam scoffed.  "If I waited until I was sure, 
nothing would ever get accomplished."

	Samui tightened the grip on her gun.  "What are you 
doing with Talon?"

	"Oy, oy, don't give people the wrong idea.  Talon's 
just riding along until we reach HQ.  Whether he wants to 
visit the 'other' you after we get there isn't my 
business."

	"Didn't you break her out?" Washuu blurted out 
before she could stop herself.

	One could almost see Adam shrug.  "I changed my mind.  
I _am_ entitled to doing that, aren't I?"

	Once again, Samui's expression darkened.  "You did 
_what_?!?"

	"Oh, I'm sorry, did I mess up your plans again?"

	Samui's eyebrow twitched.  Once.

	Washuu pulled the children even closer to her.

	And then, all emotion disappeared from Samui's face, 
and this frightened Washuu even more than anything else 
that had happened so far.  "I don't think so, Anderson.  
I will not allow you to bait me again." She lowered her 
gun and turned her attention back to Washuu.  "I'll deal 
with you later."

	Washuu waited several minutes after Samui finally 
stalked out of sight before letting a sigh of relief 
escape from her lips.  "That was...entirely too close."

	"What the heck was that about?" Joseph wondered out 
loud.  "It sounded like Samui wanted to hold Washuu 
responsible for something she hasn't done yet..." he 
scratched his head.  "Er, won't do...or something."

	Adam sighed.  "It's a long, complicated story that 
can only get worse from here."

	Washuu blinked as a piece of paper came through on 
the fax.  "This is...?"

	"What Samui accused you of knowing and doing nothing 
about.  Make of it what you will."

***

	"So...you gave Washuu the information that she gives 
back to you in the future?" Talon asked as Adam hung up.

	Adam shook his head.  "It's just a formality so that 
Washuu isn't suspected of knowing things she's not 
'supposed' to."

	"Is that why Samui went to Washuu? To warn her not 
to let history repeat itself?"

	"Something like that." Adam paused briefly to the 
guards, who waved them past with a scowl.  "But remember: 
Capow's _always_ one blink away from falling off the face 
of the earth.  Anyone who thinks they can secure 
everlasting peace here is a deluded fool."

***

	"You're here just in time.  Good." Despite these 
friendly words, guard didn't look too pleased.  "Word 
just came from upstairs to drop all charges and let Agent 
Namida go home."

	Talon's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.  "What?" 

	"You don't have to rub it in, Gauss." He turned to 
Samui.  "You got everything back, right?"

	Samui nodded.  "Yes, thank you."

	"Don't thank me, thank whoever pulled the strings," 
the guard shot Adam an angry look, but he merely shrugged 
back.  "If it were up to any of us, we'd make you never 
took another step out of your jail cell for the rest of 
your life."

	Samui waited until the guard had left before 
speaking.  "What now, Adam?"

	"Good question."
---
[Dot wrote:]

(Uncharted Territory)

---

	Talon stared at Yamashita Shiro's file again.  "I 
still don't see how analyzing this is of any use."

	Samui sped read another page.  "It's the only lead 
we have right now.  Additionally, I have half a notion 
that he might not be dead."

	"How could he still be alive? I saw his body in the 
morgue!"

	"You saw _a_ body," Adam corrected as he leafed 
through Shiro's biological records.  "Besides, there's 
always time travel."

	"But why would Shiro fake his death?" Talon wondered 
aloud, staring at the picture of the young man smiling 
enigmatically back at him.  "And if that's really his 
body there, then why go through the trouble of killing 
him and dumping his body back in time?"

	"In answer to your first question, the STRA often 
uses a system of partnering where one acts as the 'front' 
man, operating in the open, while the other takes a more 
surreptitious approach." Samui took notes on something.  
"As for the second...I don't think I can answer that 
until we have a better idea of what's going on."

	"Well, this is interesting..." Adam mused, pointing 
at a line in the blurb on Shiro's supposedly short life.  
"Says here he did a brief stint at 'Andrew's Juniors, 
Limited' before signing on at the Academy."

	"Do you think it's that particular company, though?" 
Samui asked thoughtfully.

	"It's certainly possible."

	Talon raised his hand tentatively.  "Um...mind 
explaining what's going on?"

	"It's a play on words.  Andrew's Juniors - 
Andersons." Adam gave Talon a look.  "I hope you're smart 
enough to figure the rest out."

	Realization did not hit Talon as quickly as he would 
have liked, but the answer came to him nonetheless.  
"It's a front--for your old gang."

	"The politically correct term is 'associates', but 
you've got the right idea." Adam scowled, as if suddenly 
remembering something unpleasant.  "And knowing the 
current CEO, the other agent in this equation is Miss 
Borderline Insane Girl."

	"And I wouldn't be at all surprised if they were 
using my mailbox as the point of contact," Samui added 
glumly.

***

	Talon watched Adam and Samui open envelopes, feeling 
completely out of the loop.  "Is it just me, or does this 
have 'trap' written all over it?"

	"Of course it's a trap." Adam tossed another 
'important letter' from some credit card company onto the 
table.  "The only question is if the bait is worth it."

	Samui held up an envelope marked with the logo of 
Adam's former company.  "With something this blatant, it 
had better be."

	"Well," was all Adam could say for some time, 
actually managing to look somewhat flabbergasted.  Then 
he leaned forward and put on his ever-present smirk again.  
"I think it's about time we sprung this trap."

	"And as usual, I'll be the one running along 
rooftops?" Samui asked with only a slight touch of dismay.

	"Of course." Then, to Talon's surprise, Adam turned 
to address him.  "And in case you thought you were 
sitting out on this little adventure, you're the key to 
making this thing work."

	Talon blinked.  "I am?"

	Samui nodded.  "It's too risky for us to keep in 
contact or otherwise track each other's movements.  
That's where your Locate materia comes in."

	"But it can be really vague sometimes," Talon 
protested weakly.  "What if I can't find you in time?"

	Adam stood, strapping his sword to his back.  "Then 
I suggest you concentrate real hard."

***

	'My God, he _is_ insane,' Talon thought, horrified, 
as Adam strutted out into the open towards the "other" 
Samui and Shiro before Talon could report on the 
"present" Samui's whereabouts.

	Shiro seemed to have a similar opinion, despite 
possibly expecting Adam to show up.  "Mr. Anderson.  
Fancy meeting you here."

	"Cut the bull, Shiro." Adam's expression had not 
changed, but the air of menace about him inexplicably 
became much more palpable.  "You know why I'm here.  So 
spill."

	"Why should I have to tell you anything?"

	"Because I haven't seen so much as a single note 
card about your so-called mission." Adam crossed his arms 
and this time his eyes hardened.  "So explain yourselves, 
and I suggest you be quick about it."

	"And what if I don't?"

	Adam shrugged.  "Fine.  Be that way." He spun on his 
heel and walked back to here Talon was hiding.  "Let's go 
find Samui.  Hopefully she's had better luck than we 
did."

	Talon, completely taken off guard, stood up.  "What? 
That was your plan? Ask him politely to tell you what 
he's up to, then leave if he says 'no'?"

	"Well, no, not exactly." Adam drew his sword.  "By 
the way, Samui might not have gotten to all the snipers 
yet, so I suggest you duck."

	Talon was about to ask if Adam was kidding when the 
sword changed into a giant boomerang.  He quickly 
squatted down again, keeping an eye on the scene.  Shiro 
had similarly ducked behind a car, looking for their 
unseen assailants, while Other-Samui was firing back 
wildly.

	Talon felt a strange sense of deja vu as his eyes 
swept across the street.  He had been here before--but 
when? The last few days blurred together in his mind 
until they were one incomprehensible mass of data.  He 
seemed to remember something about uniformed troops 
occupying Capow, too--so where were they now? Why wasn't 
the entire area swarming with armed guards? The 
implications were, to say the least, chilling.

	Other-Samui emptied her ammunition into the air, 
continuing to pull the trigger even as she ran out of 
bullets.  The now otherwise quiet neighborhood echoed 
with the click-click-click of Other-Samui's gun.  Shiro 
emerged from his hiding place, looking rather shaken, 
while Adam remained where he was, calmly extracting slugs 
from his sword.

	"Why so surprised, Shiro? You're already 'dead', so 
that makes you expendable." Adam returned the sword to 
its sheath.  "And even if you really don't know anything, 
they might plug you anyway just to make me think you had 
some sort of unmentionable secret."

	"You can't scare me," Shiro said, not sounding very 
convincing.

	"Just stating the facts." Adam walked over to Talon.  
"You still got a bead on 'our' Samui, right?"

	"Yeah, but..." Talon trailed off, giving Shiro a 
surreptitious glance.

	"But nothing.  He's beyond help if he thinks that 
he's actually somehow 'important' to all these 
machinations."
---
[Dot wrote:]

(Convergence)

---

	Talon peeked at Samui worriedly out of the corner of 
his eye.  She hadn't said a word since he and Adam had 
found her standing over the body of the only sniper who 
did not get away--instead of fleeing or surrendering to 
the police, he had chosen to end his own life.  Agents 
filled the area searching for clues, but they were 
careful to give Samui a wide berth.  Even Adam, who 
otherwise always seemed to have some sort of wisecrack 
ready, busied himself with his phone.

	He didn't know how long it took him to work up the 
courage, but he finally did.  "Are you going to be okay?"

	"Even after all this time, when I see someone die, 
it feels like part of me is gone, too," Samui murmured.

	Oh, boy.  "It wasn't your fault."

	"I know." Samui twiddled her thumbs idly.  "They say 
that some day, I'll get used to it, but I don't think I 
want to."

	Talon thought back to his own time in training, when 
similar words had been said to him, and what that had led 
to.  "Yeah.  Me neither."

	A long silence passed before Samui spoke again.  
"Just before everything happened, they offered me a 
position in Covert Operations.  I was supposed to give 
them my decision after I came back from Bulma's funeral." 
Samui drew in a shuddering breath.  "I would have said 
'no'."

	Talon felt himself grow cold as he digested this.  
"So, that 'other' Samui...they wanted her like that _on 
purpose_?"

	"All they needed to do was find an alternate 
universe with the right conditions," Samui sighed, "or 
outright manufacture one."

	"What else did you expect a bunch of brats would do 
with a shiny new toy, actually put it to _good_ use?" 
Adam interrupted, rapping Talon sharply on the head with 
his knuckles.  "You can angst all you want later.  Right 
now we need to find Miss Walking Time Bomb before she 
does any more stupid stuff."

	"But I couldn't possibly--" Talon began, rubbing his 
head and glaring angrily as Adam cut him off with a 
careless wave of his hand.

	"I already have a good idea of where she's headed.  
All you need to do is stay on your toes and not get shot, 
which shouldn't be _too_ difficult since I'll be the one 
she's more interested in plugging." Adam considered this 
a moment.  "At least, she would be if she hasn't 
completely gone off the deep end."

	Samui sighed again and stood up.  "I'll guess that 
means I provide cover."

	"Ha ha ha ha--no." Adam crossed his arms.  "It'll be 
enough trouble making sure idiot boy here isn't in the 
line of fire.  I can't be bothered to have you along in 
this state.  You're going to Washuu's."

	"But--"

	"You don't want Talon to get you confused with your 
psychotic killer evil twin, do you?" He didn't wait for 
Samui to reply.  "Thought not." He made a shooing motion.  
"Now get going, so he doesn't distract himself with 
worry."

***

	The few remaining agents--largely administrative 
staff who had not been called to assist in the occupation 
of the city--were reluctantly ending their work days 
early under Adam's orders.  They had mostly vacated the 
offices by the time he arrived there with Talon in tow, 
but a few lagged behind to give him a piece of their mind.

	"What's more important, your paycheck or your life?" 
Adam retorted to one particularly hostile office lady as 
she stormed out while complaining loudly about her tight 
weekly budget.  He then returned a rude gesture with a 
similar one as he headed towards Itsuko's office.

	"But why would Samui come back here, of all places?" 
Talon wanted to know, then quickly amended himself as 
Adam shot him an 'Are You Retarded?' look.  "Other than 
the fact that she's lost it, I mean."

	"There were some rumors floating around that your 
boss was leaking certain sensitive information." Adam 
tested the doorknob, and finding it locked, knocked on 
the door in a surprisingly polite manner.  "Whether or 
not it's actually true, Samui might be desperate enough 
to believe it."

	The door opened, revealing a rather dark-eyed Itsuko.  
"I didn't think you'd knock." She looked up, and upon 
seeing Adam, did an almost comical double take.  "You?!?"

	"Yeah.  I really exist.  And I don't look like a 
legendary agent of crime busting.  Etcetera etcetera." 
Adam smirked as he strolled into Itsuko's office.  "I get 
that a lot." He walked over to the phone, picked it up, 
and began dialing.

	Talon entered tentatively, looking behind him both 
to see if anything had gone awry and to avoid talking to 
Itsuko.  "Um...Should I close the door?"

	"Only if you want to jump out the window if things 
get dicey." Adam tapped the receiver and cleared his 
throat a few times, then smiled as it echoed on the 
public announcement system.  "Attention.  Will the Crazy 
Miss Namida please show up.  Agent Anderson wishes to 
have a tete-a-tete with you at Itsuko's office.  Please 
do not make him scour the building for you, as this will 
make him quite cranky, irritable, and not to mention 
violent.  Thank you." He hung up with a flourish, dusting 
off his hands in the process.  "That should do it.  Too 
bad I couldn't add that godawful feedback squeal, too."

	Yet again, Talon found himself staring at Adam in 
abject disbelief.  "Did you just basically _ask to be 
shot_?"

	"Yeah." Adam turned to Itsuko.  "Got anything to 
drink?"
	"And what makes you think I have alcohol in my 
office?"

	"Because even I get those stupid little bottles 
wrapped in a gold ribbon plus complementary shot glass 
every time they're too cheap to give us bonuses." Adam's 
eyes lit up as he saw something to his left.  In the 
blink of an eye, he had taken down the aforementioned 
cheap bonus from a shelf, knocking down a plaque for 
'Employee of the Year' in the progress.

	"I've been saving that--"

	Despite Itsuko's protest, Adam had already popped 
the cork and began pouring.  "I'd say waiting for a 
trigger-happy whacko to show up at your door is event 
enough, don't you?"

	Itsuko sat down into her chair heavily, rubbing her 
temples.  "I give up.  Do what you want."

	Talon watched nervously as Adam sipped from the 
glass, his back to the door.  Beyond it, every desk 
looked like there was something lurking behind it, and 
every shadow seemed to be that of a sniper rifle.

	'Calm down,' he ordered himself, taking deep breaths.  
'This is the wrong time to panic.' He wiped his hands on 
his pants and resumed his shaky grip on his bo.

	Another agonizing minute passed as Adam finished his 
drink.  He poured himself a second and was about to start 
on that one when Samui's voice came on over the P.A. 
system.

	"Three blind mice," she sang, softly, as a mother 
might to a child at bedtime.  "See how they run."

	Adam scowled and put down the drink, drawing his 
sword in the process.  "Lovely.  She's off the deep end."

	"They all ran after the farmer's wife, who cut off 
their tails with a carving knife."

	Itsuko stood and backed up against the wall so 
quickly that she nearly tripped over her chair.

	"Did you ever see such a sight in your life as three 
blind mice?"

	Talon felt his senses go into overdrive.  Now he 
understood why Adam didn't want him to close the door: it 
would have sealed off a means of escape.  And although 
diving out the window was feasible, it was an option that 
practically invited death.

	"Itsuko..." crooned Samui, still in singsong.  
"You've been a naughty little rodent.  I've always known 
you were never trustworthy." She giggled.  "Now I'm 
coming for you."

	Talon made another scan of the outer room, but once 
again saw nothing.  He was about to do a second, closer 
visual inspection when a movement at the edge of his 
vision caught his attention.  He was about to dismiss it 
as a figment of his imagination when Adam noticed and 
followed his line of sight to the ceiling.

	"GUN!" He shouted, diving to the floor.  In that 
same instant, the bottle sitting on the table erupted in 
a shower of glass and wine.

	Itsuko screamed and made a run for the door.

	"Get down!" Talon roared, using his Materia to fire 
off a Bolt as quickly as he could towards the gun that 
emerged from above.  Itsuko screamed again as the bullet 
tore through her shoulder.

	"Save your screaming for later," Adam snapped as he 
drew his sword.  "This is just the warm-up.  We need to 
get our asses out of here before she drops too many 
unpleasant surprises on us."

	"And how do you expect to do that, when I can move 
faster that you _blink_?" Samui asked coldly as she hung 
upside down from an unseen pipe.

***

	Samui paused from checking her ammunition and looked 
at Washuu.  "Aren't you going to say anything?"

	"Would you change your mind if I did?"

	"I don't know." Samui sighed.  "For once, I wish I 
could be sure that I was doing the right thing, that I 
wouldn't end up regretting something."

	Washuu sighed as well.  "I'm afraid that's something 
we mere mortals always have to live with.  Absolute 
certainty is God's territory."

	Samui inserted a clip into her gun but did not pull 
back the slide.  "And in the other me's future, God let 
the world go to Hell in a hand basket."

	A pained expression came across Washuu's face.  
"What in the world did Adam tell you?"

	Memories of that conversation replayed itself in 
Samui's mind again, and her resolve strengthened.  "That 
there are some things I can't run away from, no matter 
how hard I try."

***

	Talon wasn't sure which hurt more, his arm or the 
gun digging into the small of his back.  "This isn't like 
you, Samui."

	She--the Samui from the future--laughed icily.  "It 
isn't? Then tell me, Talon, what _would_ be like me? To 
renounce my violent ways and become a staunch pacifist?" 
With just a slight turn of her wrist, she forced him to 
walk out of the small office towards where he last saw 
Itsuko and Adam.  "A little late for that, don't you 
think?"

	Talon took his steps as slowly as she would allow.  
"But this makes absolutely no sense at all!"

	A figure approached the door.  Somehow, Talon was 
not surprised.  Samui--the one who 'belonged' in this 
timeline--stepped into the room, her gun pointed to the 
floor.  "I don't think she's thinking about sense at this 
point anymore," she said.

	The grip on Talon's fingers nearly slipped, but it 
quickly reasserted itself.  "You! What are you doing 
here?"

	"I work here." Samui stepped into the room and was 
about to head towards the desks when the gun at Talon's 
shoulder moved to the back of his head.

	"Stop right there! Don't move, or--"

	"Or what? You'll blow his brains out?" Samui asked, 
complying nonetheless.  "He's not very useful as a shield 
if you do that, don't you think?"

	She laughed again, or perhaps it was a crazed giggle.  
"You can't fool me.  You're trying to trick me into 
letting him go, so you can have him all to yourself." 
Talon nearly yelped as she twisted his arm further.  
"Well, it's not going to work."

	"Really? What if I do..." Samui raised the gun 
slightly and unlatched the safety, "this?"

	"You...you wouldn't dare!"

	"If you want to try me, then I have no choice but to 
oblige." Samui fixed her steely gaze on her future 
counterpart.  "For the last time: let Talon go."

	The gun moved again, this time to point shakily at 
Samui.  "No! You can't have him! He's mine!"

	For the first time since she had entered the room, 
Samui met eyes with Talon, and it took all of his courage 
to look back.  'Do you trust me?' she seemed to ask 
silently.

	Memories of a rainy evening played itself out in 
Talon's mind.  This time, it was for real.  One wrong 
move meant certain disaster, but Talon had no doubts in 
Samui's abilities.  And she would never suggest such a 
drastic action if she didn't think it could save his life.  
Plus, it wasn't just him, either: Itsuko and Adam still 
lay bleeding somewhere, and with each passing moment that 
he was currently wasting--

	Talon steeled his resolve.  He said nothing.  He did 
not need to.

	His eyes spoke for him.

	There was an anguished scream as Samui's gun fired, 
and Talon dropped to the floor, forgotten.  He pulled 
himself out of sight while Samui continued to fire, 
drawing the other one to go after her.

	'I hope I never have to go through _that_ again,' 
Talon thought, inspecting his leg.  'Doesn't look like 
I'll need to use a Cure on it.  Best save my Materia for 
now.' Using one of his socks to staunch the flow of blood, 
Talon carefully crawled to where he hoped Itsuko and Adam 
were.

	He found Itsuko back in her office, holding a towel 
she had probably brought along with her to take to the 
gym afterwards to her shoulder.  Said towel was now 
soaked with fresh and not-so-fresh blood, but the gaping 
wound in her shoulder continued to seep dark red 
everywhere.

	Talon uttered a short prayer that he was not too 
late as he cast his healing magic into the wound.  The 
blood finally stopped, but Itsuko showed no signs of 
stirring.  Fearing the worst, Talon felt Itskuo's neck, 
then sighed a breath of relief as a faint but definite 
pulse registered.

	'Okay, now Adam...' Keeping an eye on the gunfight 
between the two Samuis, Talon followed what he hoped were 
Itsuko's bloodstains.  They ended near a desk that did 
not quite seem to match the layout of the others.

	"Took you long enough to get here," an ashen-faced 
Adam muttered as part of the desk seemed to melt away.  
"I was starting to seriously consider slicing up my 
pants."

	"Your pants are safe, for now," Talon answered as he 
marveled at the impromptu bandaging Adam had managed with 
his shirt.  "But you'll still need medical attention.  
All I can do is stop the bleeding."

	"That'll be enough for now." While Talon applied a 
Cure, Adam touched the walls of his 'desk' and it quickly 
shrank back to its familiar shape.  "Help me up.  I'm 
going to give the bitch that plugged me a little 
payback."

	"But your leg--"

	"I can't feel a thing.  Either I've done too good a 
job tying myself off, or those fucking hollow points took 
out my nerves.  I'll be damn lucky if I can even stand 
straight again, much less walk." Adam glared at Talon.  
"Do I have to say 'pretty please'?"

***

	'Okay, change of plans,' Samui thought as she rolled 
toward a desk while the alternate future version of her 
kept shooting.  'The non-violent solution is getting more 
and more unlikely.' She kicked a chair forward, throwing 
the other off center long enough for her to circle around 
from behind and fire.

	The bullet hit the other square in the wrist, but 
instead of dropping her weapon she simply switched hands 
and kept shooting, forcing Samui to run for cover again.  
"You'll have to do better than that if you intend to 
replace me, you imposter!"

	Samui banked sharply at the last minute, the bullet 
intended for her stomach barely grazing her side instead.  
She twisted accordingly, pretending to have caught the 
brunt of the shot, and fell just out of sight as the 
other aimed a second shot at her head.  Samui winced as 
the desk lamp behind her shattered, sending shards into 
her back before she could completely get out of the way.

	"Get up!" The other screamed, jamming a new clip 
into her gun.  "Don't try to trick me--AAAAUGH!"

	"How's _that_ for a blindside?" Adam's voice crowed 
triumphantly while the air crackled with electricity.

	A moment later, Talon was helping Samui up.  "Are 
you okay?"

	"I'll live." Samui, however, was mostly concentrated 
on her other self, who had fallen to her knees and was 
still twitching from the Bolt that, knowing Adam, 
probably hit her square in the back.  "I didn't know Adam 
had that Materia."

	"He doesn't.  I, uh, loaned my bo to him." Talon 
followed Samui's line of vision and grimaced.  "And now I 
kind of wish I didn't."

	"What else was I supposed to do?" Adam groused as he 
changed his sword into a makeshift crutch.  "Bleed on 
her?"

***

--Three Weeks Later--

	Adam rose to his feet, leaning on his crutch heavily 
as he did so, but did not turn around.  "How long have 
you been there?"

	Steven Anderson stepped forward and placed a bouquet 
before his mother's headstone.  "I just got here.  The 
meeting took longer than I thought."

	Adam smirked.  "Your cohorts couldn't handle losing 
as gracefully, hm?"

	"Between all the shouting, finger-pointing, and 
backstabbing, I'd say we managed to work out an 
acceptable compromise." Steven held out his wrists, palms 
up in a submissive manner, and smiled wanly.  "What do 
you think?"

	Adam stared, completely taken aback.  "Is this some 
kind of sick joke?" He finally asked, limping towards the 
iron gates of the cemetery.

	"Come on, pops, would I do something like this for 
laughs?" Getting no response, Steven pouted.  "It's bad 
enough that I've been thwarted at every turn and my 
partners voted me to take the fall."

	Adam kept limping.  "My heart bleeds."

	Steven grabbed the gate before Adam could get to it 
and held it shut.  "Okay, okay, I'll say it: I lost.  You 
won.  Really.  No tricks, no catch."

	"We'll see." Adam pulled out his phone just as it 
began to ring.  "Yeah?" Steven strained to listen in as 
an indistinct female voice spoke to him, but Adam pushed 
him away.  "Uh-huh." He grinned wolfishly.  "Serves them 
right.  Okay, drive on up." He snapped the phone shut and 
drew out a pair of handcuffs.  "All right, that should 
take care of all the variables."

	Steven feigned hurt.  "You still don't trust me?"

	"Of course I don't," Adam answered, snapping the 
cuffs on.  "I'm your father." He walked Steven to the 
approaching car, then opened the door for him as it 
slowed to a stop.  "After you."

***

--Timeline A: A.D. 21XX--

	"Is voyeurism part of the 'Joy of Motherhood', too?"

	Washuu quickly turned off the monitor that was 
showing a despondent Samui-A huddling in STRA 
headquarters' psychiatric ward.  "Aheh! Adam! What are 
you doing here?"

	"Lay off the theatrics, Hakubi.  I know you're 
worried about Samui, in your own, sick, 'if I can't have 
her nobody can' way." Adam tossed a piece of paper at 
Washuu, who fumbled a few times before she could get a 
handle on it.  "And I don't have time to baby-sit her 
anyway, so I figure I might as well make it official."

	Washuu ran a hand over the signed and sealed 
certificate naming her Samui's legal guardian.  "I 
thought you hated my guts."
	"I still do.  But I also have promises to keep and 
all that."

	Washuu smiled.  "Aha! So you _did_ have a thing for 
Shelly! I knew it!"

	Adam crossed his arms.  "Every man's entitled to his 
delusions."

	"And yours is that someday, you'll find a version of 
her that you can live happily ever after with?"

	Adam narrowed his eyes.  "Do you want to keep that 
certificate or not?"

	"Okay, okay," Washuu raised her arms in mock 
surrender.  "Don't get yourself all worked up over a 
joke."

	"It was so funny I forgot to laugh." Adam reached 
over Washuu's shoulder and turned the monitor back on.  
"Now, get to work."

***

--Timeline B: Present Day--

	Talon played with his fork, trying to calm the 
butterflies in his stomach.  He had rehearsed the words 
countless times by now, but as he was now facing Samui 
instead of his own reflection he found his tongue 
sticking in the roof of his mouth.

	Samui, meanwhile, ate calmly, seemingly oblivious to 
Talon's predicament.  "It's been a while since we last 
had dinner together."

	"Y-yeah." Talon wondered if she could see his ears 
flush deep red.

	"By the way, Adam told me not to worry about the 
Covert Operations thing." Samui took a sip from her glass.  
"I was kind of afraid to ask how he accomplished that, 
but I think I can take his word for it."

	Talon bit his lip as a tinge of jealousy threatened 
to overtake what was left of his calm.  For someone who 
claimed to hate everyone equally, Adam did not seem as 
harsh to Samui.  In fact, it would not be too much of a 
stretch to imagine that he, too, cared for Samui.

	This time, Samui stopped eating and looked at him 
intently.  "You've been awfully quiet this evening.  And 
between the two of us, I'm usually the non-talkative 
one."

	"I guess I'm still trying to digest everything 
that's happened," Talon managed to stammer out somehow.

	Samui nodded.  "Between all the time travel, plots, 
and hidden agendas, it _has_ been kind of overwhelming."

	"I'll say." Talon thought of the other Samui again, 
and her strange words when she held him hostage.  His 
hand unconsciously went to his leg, tracing the stitches 
that had yet to come out.  No doubt the scar would stay 
with him for the rest of his life.

	"How's your meal?" The waiter asked, stopping by to 
clear some dishes.  "Would you like any desert?"

	Talon snapped back to reality.  That had been the 
agreed-upon signal for him to act, while the staff 
readied a bottle of their best wine.  There was no 
backing out now.  He grabbed Samui's hand, causing her to 
blink in surprise.

	"I don't know what the future will be," he began 
slowly, focusing on Samui's eyes and nothing else.  "And 
I don't know what I can do if it really does turn out as 
awful as that other you said it would." He took a deep 
breath.  He could do this.  He _would_ do this.  "But 
what I do know is that, whatever happens, I want to be 
with you." The other patrons began to whisper among 
themselves as Talon dropped to one knee, but he did not 
care anymore.  "Samui, will you--"

	Samui's lips met his before he could finish his 
question and held them there until she, too was kneeling.

	"Of course I'll marry you, you idiot." she whispered, 
taking his other hand into hers.  "I've been waiting for 
you to ask since you saved me from myself."

	Talon boggled.  He had nearly forgotten about the 
Contact, when he went into Samui's mind after she had 
retreated from reality.  But she had remembered.  "You 
mean, all this time...?"

	"Yes." She kissed him again.  "What took you so 
long?"
---
So...
*All plotpoints (except Falora's, who'll be taken care of 
in due course) taken care of, check.
*Closure for everyone (again, except Falora), check.
*Happy ending for my most abused character, check.
*Some non-contrived explanation for what Adam was doing 
in the story, check.

I think that covers all of my concerns.  So I officially 
declare this story done! YATTA!