Chapter XII
The Priest's Side

Silver looked at the sun, straight ahead of him. It was barely elevated at all, telling Silver that it was maybe nine in the morning, if even that time.

But time did not matter. Light was the only thing that held any relevance out on the plains of the Ruins of Midgar. Light was the only thing that told them when to pause, and when to continue. But even something as powerful as light did not hold sway over Tailz. His determination overcame it, surrounded it until it will simply existing; but in an existence that mattered no longer. Time, and light, were bent to his will. Only when he felt it was necessary to stop did they do so. And so did Silver find such truths out, as the Sun rose in the sky. No matter how high or low it would become, Tailz was the only one who would decide how their path was trek.

Tailz had the power. But how long would it last?

Silver thought of how much longer it could last, as he followed Tailz towards the mountains.

Amarant watched as the land where he was told his danger faded away, replaced by a calm blue ocean. Staring at it found him no peace, however. Once they left the island he knew he would have to leave White Magic, and her wisdom, to pursue his best friend and greatest enemy. He had time before that did happen, as White has told him that she would help him gather information on Tailz's whereabouts, even though she didn't yet know his name.

Amarant had told White Magic nothing of Tailz, but he knew that could not last forever. With her helping him directly, he would have to reveal who Tailz truly was, so that she could help him with all her knowledge.

Amarant continued to look at the ocean, thinking about his path. Today would be to gather any information he may need, and hopefully set out tomorrow on the right path. He would be alone, but he wanted no companions: he felt no one else needed to be hurt, or killed. In his mind, the two kills that Tailz had done were too many, and he did not want to add others to the count.

"Why do you keep silent?" White suddenly spoke out, seperating Amarant from his thoughts.

"I'm just thinking." He calmly replied.

"Well, I know that, but why not speak your mind?"

Amarant hesitated, knowing what he was to answer, but still finding it none the easier to say. "I would rather not talk about him. Not until I must."

"That could come sooner than you wish." White said, before going back to concentrating on their flight. Amarant wondered at these words; because she told him of Jenova and Sephiroth, would she force him to tell of Tailz, and their connection?

Amarant looked out of the cockpit once more, and noticed that the ocean was now behind them. They were flying over land once more, and it didn't take White too much longer to begin their descent. However, after lowering a few hundred feet, they continued to fly on.

Soon, Amarant noticed a small town they were approaching, and also noticed something rather odd on the roof of the tallest building. As they got closer, Amarant realized that it was a telescope, and instantly knew the location. "Cosmo Canyon." He said.

"That's the place. But we are not going there." White flew past Cosmo Canyon, and pointed a bit into the distance. "That is our destination."

Amarant squinted at the place White had pointed out, and made out what looked like a small white building. As they got closer, though, he found out it was a large temple, built for many.

"So that is where we are heading." Amarant said. "Yes." She replied. "That is where we will we will gather information on your friend and send you on the right path. Hopefully, you will be on your way tomorrow, ready to confront him and stop him."

"Yeah...I don't want to delay this much longer." He said. Even though the information White had told him about Jenova and Sephiroth was immensely useful, it did set him two days behind from where Tailz was. And now that he didn't know where his enemy was now, it seemed somewhat hopeless.

It only took a few more minutes for White to set the jet down, and Amarant soon found himself walking inside the large Temple, following White Magic's path. Everyone they met along the walk bowed in respect for White, but then usually gave a glance Amarant's way: just like at the encampment. Amarant ignored the looks as they walked along the long corridor.

"And here we are." White said, showing Amarant a mostly-empty room. Other than the bed and night-table, there was nothing in the room. "I assume this is the guest room." Amarant said. White nodded. "It is. Now, by the door here is a map of the Temple. If you feel hungry or anything, just use it to find the kitchen. If you need to find me at all, just follow the directions to the Head Mage Room. But you won't need directions at the moment. Just throw your spare clothes on the bed and follow me."

Amarant did as instructed and continued to follow White down the straight stone corridor, taking a left or a right at certain intersections. While it took several minutes to get to the guest room, less than a minute passed before they reached their next destination.

At the end of a long corridor was a door. Normally, that was nothing special, but in a Temple, extremely few rooms had doors; most of them just had a stone doorway that you entered to go into a room. But the room they were approaching had a door, and by the looks of it, it was a very solid door, most likely to sound-proof a room. White turned the handle on the door, and entered. Then, Amarant saw why it had such a door on it.

Inside the long room was an equally long table, beset with many chairs on either side and one at the very end. Amarant knew very quickly that it was a conference room, where plans were made that the less-'experienced' Mages and Monks need not be privy to. But this room was not empty, for at the chair at the very end of the table sat a man with bright white hair. "As usual, no one would confirm you would be here." White said quickly. "As always." The man said, standing up about as slowly as he spoke. White walked around the table to meet him, and ushered Amarant to follow. The man left the vicinity of the chair, offering it to White. "Thanks." She said, sitting down. He then took the next seat, with Amarant sitting opposite him.

Amarant looked at the man, taking into account his unusual attire. He wore the uniform of a priest, but had no collar that could be seen. His hair was short, but quite unkept, unlike most of the Priests who were very well groomed. His hair was not groomed in any manner, but was just there, so to speak. And Amarant noticed that the man was equipped with a sword that could be seen when the man stood up. "What manner of priest is this?" Amarant asked himself.

"Who is this?" The man said deeply, and just as his words did before, greatly contradicted White's speed of voice.

"This is Amarant, one with quite a problem on his hands that effects us all, or will soon. He'll explain that soon enough. But you have news to tell, otherwise you would not be here."

"That is true. Perhaps you should introduce me though."

White smiled. "Well, if I must. Amarant, this is Menschlord, our 'Mage at Large', so to speak."

" 'Mage at large?' " Amarant repeated. "I traverse the world as a source for the Temples." Menschlord said, still retaining his slow and deep voice. Amarant nodded in agreement.

"What is your news?"

"This man should not hear it." Menschlord said, leaving Amarant stunned at the bluntness of the comment.

"It may have a great deal to do with his problem, so he must."

"As you wish. 4 days ago, I was at the bar in Kalm, just listening to the banter for anything that might be noted. During that night, a man walked into the bar with a great scythe and sat in the corner booth. He waited barely a moment before waving me over, and without any other talk, asked me where he might find the Black Materia."

Amarant felt his grip tighten on the chair's armrest as Menschlord talked on. "I left at the remark, but soon heard that the man killed another in the bar before leaving town. I followed the man's tracks for the night, and in a nearby forest, found that the man had a fight with some other person. The tracks were confused after that, and as time would tell, I choose the wrong tracks to follow from that conflict."

"C'mon man! What's wrong with you?" White blurted out. Menschlord scoffed at the remark, but it was a light-hearted scoff.

"The poor choice had justice in the end. The next morning, I was challenged to battle by a kid calling himself Silver. No doubt his name was improved after Midgar, but his fighting was not. I gave the kid a chance to leave alive, but he refused it."

"So you just killed him?!" Amarant did not sound pleased, and was very surprised. "I did not mention death. Yet." Menschlord responded.

"Let him finish, Amarant. Jumping to conclusions will only waste more time." Amarant looked at White as she said this, and just nodded his head.

"From the beginning, it did not take much to overwhelm this kid. His skills were rough, and his strategy nonexistant. After giving him a chance to entertain me, he was knocked to the ground as I prepared the final blow. The strike was stopped, however, by that killer from Kalm."

White blinked a few times. "I'm sorry, the killer stopped you from killing that young man?"

"Yes. He froze my blow with his scythe, then spoke of the boy's foolishness as 'courage.' He then attacked, preventing me from finishing the kid."

"That's...surprising." White said. "Tailz still has Mark inside of him. He made him stop the kid from dying...if it is Tailz."

"It didn't matter for the moment. I could sense this man was dangerous, and I could tell he would be skilled with the weapons he possessed. The fight went evenly for several minutes, as this man was as quick and skilled as I am in my darkness. But soon, we both took a risk and paid for it."

"A stalemate." Tailz said.

"For the moment." The Priest said.

The two held still, for both were a movement away from ending their own, or their opponent's, lives. Both of them stood facing each other in no unusual stance, but the manner of their weapons was the reason for this. The Priest had his rapier across Tailz's neck, and he had his short sword pointed directly into his enemy's chest. And quick slice or stab from the respective fighters, and one would die. Or, with such a problem, both could die, solving nothing. They looked into each other's eyes, both pairs flaring with hatred and respect to the other. For many minutes, each eye was solely fixed on another, waiting for it to give a sign that movement was coming. But that never happened.

Still more time passed, and the eyes gave no sign that this stalemate would end. Then, suddenly, Tailz spoke. "One moment." He said. Menschlord nodded at this, and saw as Tailz grasped the short sword with his left hand, letting his right go free. Fire instantly burst forth in his right palm, and with a quick motion, a fireball was shot behind Menschlord. Silver took the blast head-on, and rolled across the ground several times before coming to a stop.

"Try to interfere again, and you will not be able to beg for your death fast enough for the pain to end it!" Silver looked up at Tailz with horrified eyes, and nodded in a quick panic.

"He does not have honor." The Priest said. He knew the kid was crawling towards him slowly on the ground, due to his injury, and he knew he would have to deal with him when he got close enough to strike. But as Tailz had dealt with his incoming threat, he could completely focus on his opponent once more.

"Indeed." Tailz took the his short sword's hilt in his right hand again, and the stalemate continued once more. Several more hours seemed to pass by, but in reality, it was no more than an hour, or two at most. The sun was starting to fall when it becames the Priest's turn to interrupt the standstill.

"This is accomplishing nothing." He said. Tailz smiled at this. "Are you ready to forfeit and die then?"

"I do not forfeit to such fate." The Priest stated. "However, I am needed elsewhere. This standstill proves that we can stand: nothing more."

"True enough. Then we will continue this another time."

"Indeed." Tailz nodded in response, and they both sheathed their weapons.

"A truce, until we meet again." Tailz said. "What is your name?"

"You desire it now?" The Priest replied.

"Just in case someone mentions it on the road ahead, I will be ready."

"It is Menschlord. Shall the courtesy of your name be mine as well?"

"Tailz." Menschlord nodded slightly at this, and then started to walk away from the battle.

As he walked, he heard Tailz approach the kid and say 'You owe me your life. But until morning, you will speak of nothing."

"I slowly made my way here after that battle. I knew you would be interested in the tale." Menschlord said to White.

"Indeed I am." White said, looking at Amarant. "Indeed I am."

The light was getting scarce as Silver and Tailz walked among the mountains of Midgar. The sun was not quite near the horizon yet, but the mountains trumped that easily with their height, blocking most of the sun's light. And since the path that Tailz had ventured through was not the path well-known, it was difficult even in full light to walk along. Climbing in such faded darkness, even though that was rare, was not easy either. But for now, Silver could think of just sleep, for Tailz had just stated they would stop for the night.

Silver took a quick look around the small cave they had inhabited. It wasn't a very high cave, being perhaps 4 feet from stone floor to stone roof, nor was it very deep: maybe 6 feet. But it was shelther from the incoming weather, which looks poised to unleash a storm within a few hours. "Probably when we go to leave the cave, the storm will start." Silver was not a fan of stormy weather, and would much rather stay in a dry cave until the storm had passed. But knowing Tailz was not patient meant that they would travel through the storm, no matter the hazard.

"We should arrive in Junon in two days." Tailz said, forcing Silver to look at his Master. "It is there that we acquire supplies and cross the sea."

"Acquire supplies? What supplies to we need?"

"You need new clothing, and a new sword. I need a new weapon as well, for this short sword is not durable enough." Tailz held up his small weapon for Silver to see. "It is showing signs of wear already. I need a normal sword, nonetheless."

"I don't need a new sword." Silver stated. "All I need is access to some pure sand, and I can repair mine."

"The blade is comprised of glass. Impressive." Silver smiled. "Your geo-powers must be the reason for that."

"Just another ability I discovered I could do while in exile." Silver then looked at his attire. "But clothes I do need. The blood and cuts from these are sure to draw attention in the city of Junon."

"Indeed. But you must enter the city alone."

"Alone? Don't you need to enter Junon to cross the sea?"

"You do, but I cannot enter the city."

"Where you exiled from Junon like I was Mideel?" Silver blurted out.

"No."

"Then why can't you enter the city?"

"Perhaps you need to look upon me once more." Tailz held his right hand up, and with flames ignited from his palm, his face was illuminated in the darkness.

Silver tooked at Tailz's face with critical eyes. He took into account every detail; his shoulder length white hair, his electric green eyes, his dark demenor despite the light, his thin but muscular neck. For some time, Silver didn't see why he could not enter Junon. But then he stared into Tailz's eyes, and it dawned on him.

"Sephiroth..." Silver whispered. "You look like Sephiroth."

"Yes." Tailz squelched the flames in his hand.

"But how is that possible?"

"I do not know. But that is the reason I cannot enter Junon in full view. The only thing I would accomplish is wide- spread panic and the arrival of troops to either apprehend me, or kill me. I do not wish for that distraction. The only thing that matters is the Black Materia, but I do not feel the need to slaughter many troops to complete my goal. But if it comes to that, then it will be done."

Silver blinked in the darkness. "How can he look like Sephiroth..." He said quietly, and with a puzzled look.

"I will rest, for it seems you have much to think about." Tailz kept his position, leaning against the wall, and closed his eyes.

"You know Tailz." Menschlord said. Amarant nodded, knowing that his emotions as he was told how Tailz killed a man and saved another told Menschlord so. "Explain how this is possible."

"He wasn't always Tailz. About a year ago, he was Mark, my closest friend in Filo-Finale Oril. We call it Filo for short, and I moved their was I was about 7 or 8. I met Mark along the way, as both of our families stopped for the night at Kalm. I was moving from Midgar at the time, and Mark from Junon. Filo offered both of our families what they wanted; a getaway from the city life for Mark's family, and an escape from the rotten city of Midgar for mine."

"Midgar was decaying, even that long ago." White added.

"Exactly why we moved. Filo was to be a small community far enough away from Midgar to have the country-life, but keep a small-town atmosphere, and that is what truly appealed us to leave Midgar. We didn't have much money, so we had to rent when we first arrived, but I wasn't concerned with that. Mark fast became a great friend of mine, and we would spend hours around the town, discovering the new land we had moved to. As the years went by, we become bored with just exploring, and decided to train each other in the art of combat."

"Without any sort of knowledge, correct?"

"More or less. We had a book or two, but we quickly found out the best way to learn is to do it on your own methods. For nearly 4 years we trained many times, with each 'battle' close to the very end. Mark was quick and accurate, but I had the power and the strategy down much better. However, a year ago, it all changed." Amarant smiled. "I remember it vividly, exactly like it was yesterday. Mark was very excited since his parents had footed the bill for a plane tour of the Northern Crater, and he left on a thursday I believe for the tour. Three days later, he called me on the plane phone, telling me what he saw so far. The call was cut short, though, due to interference."

"Don't tell me that was the same plane that crashed with all the tourists."

Amarant looked at White. "It was. I saw the newscast on it later the same day." Amarant lost his smile. "It took me two months to leave the house. But all I could do for a month was wander to the last place I ever saw Mark, in a nearby forest. That's where I met Tailz."

"He attack you, or just show up?" Menschlord asked.

"He didn't attack me at all. He showed up, dressed all in black, and called me by my true name. Then he lost consciousness. I carried him to my house, and cared for this man for nine months, not knowing exactly who he was."

"Explain why." Amarant looked at Menschlord. "Why I took care of him, if I didn't know?" Menschlord nodded. "His necklace. Mark had worn a simple rope necklace with a maple leaf on it, symbolizing his love for cold climate, and snow in general. This man had the same necklace on, so I hoped against belief that it was Mark. When he awoke in nine months, though, the truth was revealed. This wasn't Mark. At least, not how I knew Mark."

"Something changed him."

"Yeah. I don't know what, and either does he. His memory does not exist before the time he awoke, though he somehow still remembered who I was. He left later on, after threatening my life and stopping the attack, saying 'Mark would not have wanted to harm you.' The next day, though, was even worse. I met this Tailz in the forest where I had saved him, and he told me he had been called upon to find the Black Materia."

"Then he wished to unleash Meteor once again." Menschlord stated, and to that, Amarant shook his head.

"He doesn't even know what the Black Materia does. He said that finding it, or the quest to obtain it, would answer the questions he had about his memories. He has no true idea of what the Black Materia does. But something is calling to him."

"Could it be possible that Mark is a successful Sephiroth clone, and that Sephiroth is calling him from beyond death to finish his goal?" White asked the two men.

"No. His eyes were green, but not that of a Sephiroth clone. He is human enough."

"Alright. Are you done, Amarant?"

"There is one more thing. After telling me that he would search for this item, despite the risks and rumours surrouding it, I told him I would stop his quest. He laughed at this, and cast something like a Sleep spell upon me. When I awoke later in the day, Tailz told me that he combined his blood with mine, giving me 'advanced senses.' " Amarant made a fist, and clenched his teeth. "I called it a curse, something I never wanted. He said that I was now an adversary worthy of competition."

"He doesn't want to defeat a weakling. He wants to have something to look forward to. Your death."

Amarant looked at Menschlord, the 'priest's' gray eyes staring right back at him. "I never thought of it that way...but something else happened when he made me stronger. Somehow, we have a mental link."

"A mental link?" White asked.

"I don't know how it is possible, but we can send thoughts to each other. We can communicate whenever we wish, just by concentrating our thoughts. We can't 'hear' each other thinking; we can only hear it when the other person chooses to 'think' to the other. But that is what I needed to say. We need to find Tailz, and we need to do it now."

"Mental communication. Not a talent I've ever seen in a human."

White put her head in her hands and looked at the desk."So that is why you were yelling..."

Amarant looked over at White Magic. "What was that?"

White looked up at him. "You remember the first night on the island where you slept outside?"

"I do."

"Well, that morning, I heard you yell out your friend's name, before you cursed him to his own private hell."

Amarant let a breath go. "I hoped you didn't hear that. But I can tell you why I said such words."

"By all means."

"Tailz told me that he got someone by the name of Silver to join his quest. He also mentioned that he was young, and that he didn't know what he was geting into. I exploded, and yelled out those curses then." White let a grave look take her face.

"So the seeker of the Black Materia has taken an apprentice." Menschlord said. "The kid I fought. That was his name. Silver, like I stated before." He leaned back in his seat. "This does not bode well."

"Now we have two enemies to worry about." White added. Menschlord nodded. "I was speaking along the lines of power. If Tailz trains Silver, or goes so far as to embue him with that power, Silver will not just be another enemy. It will be similar to having a clone of Tailz in this world. If that happens, the world will suffer."

"Well that settles it." White said, standing up. "We are coming with you."

"This is my problem. You've done enough already, White Magic."

Menschlord stood up. "It is the world's problem if they find the Black Materia."

"I cannot stand idly by while this planet's fate is turned towards doom. You have my full support, Amarant, and whatever resources I believe we need, we will acquire." White smiled. "One of those resources is Menschlord."

She faced the deep-voiced man. "You will suspend any missions you had planned, and you will follow any order I give you, that I deem relevant for the survival of this planet."

Menschlord bowed. "For now, I will radio all Temples and warn them of this new threat, and to keep watch for this man." Menschlord left the room in a swift walk.

Amarant stood up. "Thank you, White Magic."

"Thank me when this is over. When the threat of world destruction is at an end."