Phoenix: Shadows of the Past
By Nike
********************************************************************************
 Chapter One: Goldenfire  

In the beginning... 
The dark alleys of downtown Alexandria…
       Janus stared at the scraggy-looking thin young red haired girl, with amusement in his eyes. It was clear that she was an orphan, like the rest of them. Just another child whose parents probably abandoned her since birth. An orphan was not an uncommon site in this dump. He probably would have ignored her; he had already a lot of orphans to take care of in his gang anyway. But there was something in that kid’s eyes that drew him. 
       Her eyes didn’t have that desperate, hopeless look that he saw in the others. 
       Her eyes shone with a strange kind of fire…pride, maybe?
       Janus smiled. He was sure that this kid is a survivor, all right.
       “Who are you?” 
       “Goldenfire.” 
An eyebrow lifted. “Goldenfire? Who gave you that name? Your parents?”
Dark green eyes narrowed. “I don’t HAVE any parents.”
       Janus snorted in amusement. “Come on, you don’t REALLY believe that you don’t have ANY parents.”
       “I don’t believe in anything except Death, because I’ve never seen a miracle, but I’ve seen lots and lots of dead people!”
       A frown. “Do you want to join my gang?”
       “Do I get to have some food?”
       Janus nodded. “Only if you could pick a man’s wallet from his pocket without him noticing it, then you can.” He replied. “Do you think you could learn that?”
       “Yup. I learn fast.”
        A smile. “Welcome to the my gang, Goldenfire.”
***
	A year later in downtown Alexandria…
	The Blood Plague.
       A gasping cough drew her attention and the young red haired girl quickly ran towards the weak form huddled in a corner of the abandoned warehouse.
       “Janus?”
       Another hacking cough. “I’m…here…Goldenfire.”
       She handed him a piece of leftover bread. The only thing she could find this plague-ridden city. “Here, Janus, eat this. I was able to find something while scavenging.” She forced a smile. “I guess I was lucky, huh?”
       The sick boy turned his deathly pale to a small window nearby. “They are all gone.” He whispered. “The plague took them.”
       Goldenfire  nodded. “We’re the only ones left.”
       Another hacking cough. “Goldenfire…there’s something I…want you…to do…for...me, before I go…”
       Green eyes widened with panic. “Don’t say that!” she shouted. “You are going to get well soon!”
       He shook his head. “No.” Cough. “I could feel my insides turning to pus already.”
       “Janus!”
       “No, let me speak. Goldenfire, you were my best thief despite your age and I’m glad that you didn’t get the plague. Unlike the rest of us. Must be some kind of miracle, you know?” He managed a faint smile before succumbing to another hacking cough. “You remember the gun that we got from that soldier a month ago? I want you to get that gun and…kill me.”
       “Janus?”
       “Please, I don’t want to feel the pain anymore. Goldenfire, please end this now.” He gasped. 
       “Janus.” She hugged the sick boy tightly as tears of despair fell from her eyes.
***   
	Minutes later, the red haired girl stood before the sick boy, holding a gun in her hand.
       <I must do it. > She told herself as she slowly raised the gun.
       “Do…it…”
       She hesitated, looking miserable. “I’ll miss you.” She whispered, lowering the gun. “You were the first friend I had.”
       "I will always be with you." The sick boy smiled weakly despite the pain that wracked his body. “Do it now, Goldenfire. Stop the pain…I don’t want to die like the others…”
       The girl hesitated. “Janus…I…”
        “Do... it, Goldenfire…”
       The girl never smiled as she raised the gun once more, still looking directly into her friend’s eyes. Her expression never changed as her finger tightened on the trigger. 
       And it still didn't change as the body became still, a pooling stain of red appearing on the muddy ground, or as she dropped the gun and huddled herself in the darkness. 
       <Goodbye, Jan.> she thought and then the tears fell from her eyes. <I don’t believe in anything except Death, because I’ve never seen a miracle, but I’ve seen lots and lots of dead people! >
******
Chapter Two: Nixe Goldenfire

       A young red haired girl, dressed in a black shirt and pants, sat on the steps of an orphanage, staring up with wide-eyed wonder at the glittering stars. She was hugging both knees to her chest, shivering in the cold night air. There were no clouds on this night, and the false machine-weather created a fantastic tapestry of stars against the dark blue-black velvet of the sky. A wistful little sigh shook her tiny form, as her eyes picked out the brightest star, then closed tightly as she formed a wish. 
       "Nixe?" 
       She turned at the sound of her name, the new name that was given to her when they took her in, the only survivor when a plague struck one of the rundown ghettos of the country, and smiled at the woman who had taken the place of the nameless mother of her dreams. It was one of the few times he had seen her without her customary veil, and her curly blonde hair shimmered like gilt silver in the artificial light. In her hands, she held a thick quilted blanket, which she set around her shoulders, before sitting beside her. 
       "It's cold. You should have worn a jacket." There was no anger in her voice; only a gentle reprimand. The girl who was called Nixe made a face, then leaned against her, sighing again. She placed a slim arm around the girl’s shoulders and hugged her lightly. 
       "Why such a great sigh?" she asked gently, tugging lightly on the end of her ponytail. 
       "Nothing important," she assured her, with a sigh. She tousled her blood red hair gently with her fingers, combing through the loose strands gently, waiting with inexorable patience until she finally gave in, and sighed a third time before snuggling closer. 
       "I want to know who I was," she told her seriously. "I want to know what my name was, before I became Goldenfire, and I want to know what my mother looked like. But, I've been with Janus' gang for as long as I can remember, and then I came to stay here. I know she's dead. I still want to know what she looks like, though..." she trailed off, her voice wistful. "I want to know what it's like to have a mother." 
       The woman was silent for a moment, before running her fingers through her hair again. "Nixe, no matter who you were, or who you are now, your mother is a part of you," she said gently. "If you were radically different from as you are now, she would still be inside you. Your mother - even death can't destroy the link you have with your mother. It doesn't matter if you never knew her, or don't remember her face, or the name she called you. What matters is that you remember she's with you, no matter what. She'll watch over you, and make sure you're safe, even at the end, when death comes for you." 
       Nixe shivered, and she suddenly felt guilty for talking of such serious matters with such a young girl. But the eyes that looked up at her, dark green and thoughtful were old; they were mature and intelligent, and she could see her processing her words carefully. After all, Nixe was no stranger to death.  But she had been so happy, here, at the orphanage, and she felt bad for reminding her for death's ever-waiting presence. 
       Finally, Nixe nodded, as if satisfied with whatever conclusion her mind had come up with, and smiled up at her, an earnest little girl once more. "Thank you very much, Sister Artemis," she said formally, wrapping both thin arms around her waist and burying her face against her side. She smiled, sadly, and touched her thick hair again, before looking up at the wide, stretching expanse of dark sky over head. 
       A shooting star streaked across, catching her by surprise. Superstitions whispered uneasily in her mind, but she ignored it, looking down at the girl who had now climbed into her lap and was on his way to dozing off. Nixe was different and she saw shooting stars as good luck. With that thought in mind, she closed her eyes and made her own wish, before sweeping the sleepy girl into her arms and carrying her to bed. 
***
       “I don’t believe in anything except Death, because I’ve never seen a miracle, but I’ve seen lots and lots of dead people!”
       The old man closed his eyes, his fingers knotted together under his chin. Around him, he could hear the terrified whispering of the orphans, and the restless shift of nervous bodies. He ignored them all, even the gentle one who touched his face with cool hands and helped him to sit up. His thoughts were focused entirely on the young red haired girl he had taken in, and adopted as his own. 
       “If I come with you…will you let them all go?” 
       Prayer had not helped the poor child before; prayer would not help her now. 
       <Nixe, poor girl, you’ll never know…>
       Voices spoke sharply over his head, saying things he only half-heard. 
       "Stop! He's an old man - what harm can he do to you?" 
       "Shut up, woman! We'll do as we damn well please!" 
       "This is a holy place! You can't just -" 
       "I said shut UP!" 
       There was the sound of flesh striking flesh and a pained cry as the woman who supported him fell aside. A rough, black-toed boot gouged him roughly in the side. "Hey! Old man! Look at me when I'm talking to you." The old man raised his eyes; hands still tightly clasped together. The soldier stared down at him with cold, hard eyes, hefting his gun ominously. "We'll give you a chance to save your sorry asses. Let us have the kid. She’s a firestarter. We could use someone like her around the base." 
       There was an outraged murmur from all the women of the temple, and he heard Artemis speak again. "No! Father, we can't give Nixe to people like them!" 
       "Shut up, bitch!" 
       There was a sharp cracking sound, and Artemis cried out once more. The old man's expression never changed, and he continued to stare fully into the face of his tormentor. 
       "Well, old man? What's it gonna be?" 
       He closed his eyes. 
       <Forgive me, little one. Maybe someday, you’ll understand. >
       "I can't do that. I WON’T do that. If you take Nixe, it will not be with my consent." 
       The soldier laughed. "Old bastard, we don't NEED your permission. If you're not gonna cooperate, we'll just have to do this the old-fashioned way." 
       Over the roar of blood in his ears, he heard the sound of a gun being lifted and cocking. 
       He only had time to whisper a single word: "Don't." 
       There was a sharp retort, echoed by a woman's shrill scream. His world fell away into a misty haze of red, and he landed heavily on the cold stone floor, staring with empty eyes at the ceiling. 
       Somehow, through the growing darkness, he could still see the delicate figures etched in the stained glass, the faces of the temple women and of the orphans... 
       And he saw a little girl who looked at him doubtfully as he spoke of mercy and goodness, hesitant, but finally beginning to understand. 
       And he saw that fragile trust destroyed. <Forgive me, my child. >
       “FATHER HELLAS!”
       And the last thing the old man was aware of were the flames that started to engulf the orphanage and the cries of all those who were trapped inside. 
*** 
 	<I won’t believe. >
       A little red haired girl sat huddled against the broken body of a gentle woman and stared blankly at the charred gray landscape of shattered stone all around her. 
       <I can’t believe. >
       The dying red rays of sunlight found and sparked off the sharp metallic edge of a golden flame-shaped locket. Dull green eyes followed the sharp gleam, and a small, grubby hand reached out, closing around the fragile chain. 
       <I WON’T believe! >
       Fingers tightened, and the locket made a soft clinking sound as it swung from the sudden movement. 
       <Not ever again! >
       Tears of blood fell from the young girl’s eyes as she stared at the charred remains of the temple.
       <I could have believed. Once. I could have believed that there is something good in this world. But I can’t anymore. Father Hellas was wrong. >
       Dead green eyes looked up at the sky, where the faded pink-blue of sunset was melting into the deeper violet glow of twilight. 
       <The only thing that I believe in is Death, because there are no miracles. Only the dead. >
*******
Chapter Three: Peacekeeper Agent 02

       Somewhere over Olympia, Seven years ago….
	<This not the way it should end, >  
       Peacekeeper Agent 02, Nixe Goldenfire, said to herself as she sat by the hijacked plane’s navigation system and watched her companions argue among themselves on who would stay behind to steer the plane away from the city below while the rest parachuted to safety. The pilot was wounded and unconscious and the battered plane was losing fuel fast. There were five of them and there were only four parachutes left. It was clear that one would have to stay behind to allow the rest to live.
	She brushed loose strands of her long, blood-red hair that was tied into a ponytail, away from her dark green eyes that was the color of emeralds and stood up.  <Time was running out, > she thought as she narrowed her eyes, making then blaze with a green fire. <This crate will crash any minute. >
	Peacekeeper Agent 4, Jasper Serpiyente stood by the door, his short black hair being blown by the wind, and gestured at the four parachutes lying on the battered metal floor. “We have to leave, now!” he shouted over the roar of the wind. “This bird will lose fuel any minute soon! ”
	Peacekeeper Agent 3, Hecate Darkmoon, shook her head, her long dark green hair flying in all directions and pointed at the pilot who was being guarded by Vinze. “But we can’t just leave the pilot behind!” she argued at him. “And someone will have to stay behind to make sure that the bomber won’t crash into the city!”  
	Peacekeeper Agent 5, Vinze Ironlance, glanced up and passed his fingers through his unruly brown hair. “Great idea, Kate.” He began, frowning. “And just how are we going to get someone to stay behind?”
	“I’ll stay.” A quiet voice spoke up from the plane’s navigation system behind them. They all spun around and saw Nixe Goldenfire standing silently with her arms crossed.
	“Nixe?!” Hecate spluttered in surprise upon seeing her best friend. “What the-----!?”
	Nixe stepped forward, her pale face making her eyes seem to blaze with some kind of green fire. “There is no need for you people to argue, Vinze.” The red haired young woman began and solemnly stared at them. “I’ll stay behind and pilot this crate away from the city.”
	“No!” Hecate shouted angrily as she faced her pal. “We’ve already lost one in our team! I will not lose my partner too!”
	Nixe then glanced at her friend, her face expressionless, and then placed a hand behind Hecate’s neck. “”Forgive me, Kate.” She whispered softly as she pinched a nerve. Suddenly, Hecate collapsed to the ground, unconscious. “This is for your own and everyone else’s good.”
	Jasper stared at their red-haired companion after glancing at Hecate. “Nixe?” he began in a mixture of shock and surprise as he kneeled before their unconscious pal. “What did you do----!?”
	Nixe glanced down at her. “Don’t worry, she’ll be all right. Kate will only be unconscious for while and then she’ll wake up with a headache.”  She replied and then faced the other two. “You guys better strap the other two parachutes on her and the pilot and then prepare to jump. This metal bird is going to crash land any minute now.”
	Vinze glanced at her as he strapped the pilot into a parachute. “Nixe?” he began as stood in front of her. “I-----”  His voice trailed off at the same time his light brown eyes met her dark green ones.
	She took a deep breath and to steel herself from the gaze. “Don’t even think of stopping me, Vinze.” Nixe warned him while narrowing her eyes.
	He bowed his head. “I am sorry, Nixe,” he whispered as he carried the pilot in his arms and walked towards the open shuttle door. “Good luck,” he added as he jumped off.
	Jasper carried the unconscious Hecate Darkmoon in his arms and stood before the door. Nixe sadly smiled and then placed a hand on her friend’s forehead. “Tell Kate that I am sorry, but I have to do this.” She said in a hushed voice. 
	Jasper stared at her. “Stormshadow’s death wasn’t your fault.”
	Nixe shook her head. “No, it was.” She replied in a hard voice, then she looked down. “Goodbye, Jasper. I guess this is it.”
	Jasper looked away, to hide the tears that were streaming down from his amber colored eyes. “Goodbye, Nixe.” He murmured as he jumped.
	Nixe watched from the open door as her friends parachuted away to safety. The she took a deep breath and glanced at the shuttle’s wrecked controls. “Well then.” She whispered softly, walking towards the controls. “Let’s get started.”
***
	Hecate woke up as she hit the lake below. “OWW! My head! Wha-what happened?” she moaned as she tried to shut off the construction sounds going in her head. She then glanced around as the memory of what had happened earlier flashed before her mind. “Nixe? Where’s Nixe?!”
	Jasper pointed to the flaming shuttle as it headed towards a nearby mountain. “Kate, look!” he shouted at her. “It’s going to crash on Mount Olympus!”
	Hecate watched in horror as the shuttle hit the steep mountaintop, making the spot explode with fiery bang. “Nixe!” she screamed. “No!”
***
	<It’s done. > A pair of dark green eyes glanced at the burning remains of the plane. <It’s better this way. Better for them to believe that I was dead. It will be a lot easier for me to kill the bitch that caused all of our suffering in the first place. >
	 Her eyes narrowed. <Athena Triumph WILL pay! > She thought and then disappeared in the darkness.
***
	The scruffy little ten-year-old darted from shadow to shadow, shoulders hunched and head bowed, trying to appear inconspicuous. It was late enough that few people were out milling on the streets, and those who were paid no heed to her. After all, she was small and dirty, another orphan who had most likely escaped from her shelter. Another unaccompanied child. An unremarkable event during a  chaos-torn period of time. 
	No one stopped long enough to see that, in his small, seven-year-old hands, she 
held a gun. No one stopped long enough to see the dead blankness of too-old eyes 
in a too-young face. After all, she was just another orphan. 
	No one special.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    	It was this disinterest that acted in the girl's advantage. Her small feet pounded furiously over the ground as she ran from hiding place to hiding place, almost bent in half in order to conceal the gun, in case someone did decide to stop and try to shuffle her to some silly little shelter. 
       She couldn't let that happen. She had a mission, and that was everything she had left. So, it was probably better that no one was feeling particularly righteous this evening. 
       She had little problem with killing, whether it was a civilian or a Target, but the mess it would cause was not worth the trouble. 
       The house of her Target loomed tall and dark ahead, growing larger with every step closer. She could see the yellow glow of lights from the windows, and the tall, menacing form of a barbwire fence. It seemed like an impenetrable defense system, to the untrained eye of a casual observer. 
       But then, she was far from untrained. 
       Or casual. 
       With an ease born of long, long practice, the girl pulled a knife from her oversized boot and sliced quickly through the harsh twisting metal, pulling the cut sides apart with her bare hands, ignoring the sharp bite into her unprotected flesh or the way her ragged clothing tore as she wriggled through the tear. 
       As she drew closer, she could hear the unwelcome snarling of dogs, and froze as one let lose a deep, baying howl that seemed to echo endlessly in the cold night. When it trailed off, she advanced slightly, extending one hand in a gesture of peace and keeping absolutely still, her breathing and heartbeat slow and easy. Two hulking forms shaped themselves out of shadow and leaned forward, and two sets of cold, wet noses were thrust into her proffered limb, sniffing suspiciously, until she was graced with a warm, damp swipe of a dog's tongue. 
       <Dogs always know when people are gentle, or when they're afraid. Or intend danger towards them. > Her trainer's words rang in her mind. <Remember that. Few people keep guard dogs any more, but there are some with which traditions die slowly and hard. > 
       The animals had wandered off, leaving her alone to complete her mission. 
       Shifting the weight of the gun, she padded closer to the building. A single glowing window beckoned to her; in accordance to the crispness of the night's weather, it was cracked open to allow air to circulate. The girl shifted onto her toes to peer in; she could see her Target seated comfortably in a large, plush chair. 
       Alone. 
       <Perfect. >
        Setting the gun down carefully at her feet, she began to tug gently at the window with both hands, easing it wider with every exhaled breath, senses trained on detecting when to ease up on the pressure, to prevent the pane from squeaking a protest. 
       Finally, the crack was wide enough for her to slip through, and she sent the gun in first, now uncaring if she was detected. It was a youthful carelessness that she would most likely regret later if she gets through this alive. 
       But it didn't matter. 
       This mission was personal. Her Target must pay. For creating the Peacekeepers. For causing Winter to kill himself. For using them and taking away their innocence. For ruining their lives.
       <She MUST die! > The thought formed strongly in her mind.
       The girl crawled in after her gun, hitting the ground lightly and crouching. She looked up, straight into the eyes of her Target, who was staring at her with a strange mixture of surprise and…pity?
       It didn’t matter.  
       Peacekeeper Agent 02: Nixe Goldenfire smiled thinly as she raised the gun, still looking directly into her Target's eyes.  “Athena Triumph, I presume?”
******
Chapter Four: Phoenix of Olympia
       
       Somewhere on the slopes of Mount Olympus…
	The young woman with long blood-red hair kneeled on the grassy ground with her head bowed down, deep in thought. She stared her dark green eyes at the small ordinary marker standing on the ground. The soft gentle breeze blew on the dry brown leaves that littered on the grass, making them dance around the cold hard, gray gravestone. She glanced up at the clear blue ocean of air above her. It was such a nice day.
	It seemed hard to believe from looking at her surroundings that they were having a Civil war. Everything seemed so peaceful. Birds were hopping from tree branch to tree branch and singing around. The lake nearby was so calm that you could see your reflection clearly at the surface. Still, she wasn’t a bit surprised. The area around the mountain was holy ground. No Firebird or Harpy would dare break the peace around here.
	“Phoenix!”
	She looked up upon hearing the familiar voice in the air and faintly smiled to herself. Dazzler and the others must have discovered that she was missing from the group. They were probably combing the entire mountainside for her by now. 
	<Well, > the young woman thought as she got up on her feet. <I mustn’t keep them searching for me. Dazz is one of my closest friends. I’d hate to see her worry just because the leader of the group decided to play hooky on the others for a few minutes. > She placed a hand on the surface an ancient gnarled tree beside the gravesite. It had been a long while since she had come to this certain spot in the mountain, that it was almost forgotten. In fact, she was the only Firebird who knew about this place.
	“Phoenix…” the voice seemed to be getting closer.
	<I’d better go before they find this spot, > she thought as she cast her eyes towards the direction of the voice. She could hear their footsteps already.
	As she turned to leave, her eyes fell on the gravesite. She felt a pang of sorrow touch her beating heart. She didn’t know why she always felt like that every time she visited the place. She wasn’t even sure why she visited the same spot every year. She didn’t even know who was the person whose name was on the inscription. She only knew that she fulfilling a debt she had owed to this person a long time ago.
	“Goodbye,” Phoenix of Olympia whispered softly as she plucked a small red wildflower that was growing nearby and placed it on the top of the marker. Then she sadly turned her dark green eyes at the site and melted away into the shadows.
	A beam of sunlight shone on the engravings carved on the stone’s surface. It read:

Nixe Goldenfire
1980-1999 

***
	Dazzler brushed her long blond hair from her sparkling blue eyes. She glanced at her watch. <It was getting late, > she thought to her herself as she watched the others look around for their missing leader. <Odd, > she said to herself. <This is definitely not Phoenix’s normal behavior. She had never tried to sneak away from us before. >
	She leaned against a nearby tree and wiped the beads of sweat that were starting to form on her forehead. She remembered that her friend’s odd behavior had started when she had asked, no, insisted her to join them for a picnic on the mountain. Phoenix didn’t want to go and when she had asked why, her friend had ignored the question. <She even remained silent during the whole trip, > Dazzler shook her head at the memory.
	“A penny for your thoughts, Dazz?” A familiar voice from above suddenly interrupted her thoughts. Dazzler looked up and saw Phoenix of Olympia standing on a branch of the tree that she was leaning against. Her friend was looking down at her with an amused smile on her face. “Phoenix!” Dazzler exclaimed in her surprise as she straightened up and faced her friend. “Where have you been? Don’t you know that we have been looking for you for the past fifteen minutes?” she angrily demanded at her.
	Phoenix shrugged her shoulders. “Sorry, Dazz,” the red haired woman replied in a flat voice and then leapt off the tree branch, landing on the ground a few feet away from Dazzler. “I didn’t notice the time.” She added as she silently turned her gaze back from where she had came.
	Dazzler studied her friend’s eyes, wondering if there’s something that Phoenix wasn’t telling her, and then thought better of it. Whatever it was, Phoenix can tell it to her later. “It’s getting late.” She reminded her friend in a soft voice.
	The red haired woman nodded and glanced up at the sky. 
       “I know. Tell Hotshot and the other Firebirds to start heading back for home now. I thought that I heard a faint rustling sound from the other side of the mountain and I know that they weren’t caused by you people.” She frowned quietly for a few moments before facing Dazzler. “Even though this is holy ground, I still don’t trust Hecate and her troops a bit. They might be watching us and waiting for the moment when we are out of the mountain’s boundaries to strike. Our small party can easily be outnumbered.” She added and a faint smile shone on her lips. “Besides, I don’t want to be the one to carry you all the way back home if you ever get wounded in battle.”
	Dazzler grinned. <This was her friend, all right. > She thought as she shook her head. <Whatever had been eating her friend a while ago, it was gone. She’s back to her normal self again. 
       “I’ll contact them now.” She replied as she raised her wrist communicator. “I don’t think I want to be the one to carry you back to the base if ever you get wounded either.” 
***
       Meanwhile, somewhere outside the boundaries of Mount Olympus, Hecate of Olympia, Majestrix of the Harpy Fleet stood near her assault group and waited. One of her spies had seen tracks heading towards the mountain. <So, it seems that the Firebirds were fools enough to leave the safety of their base with only a small party, > Hecate thought, narrowing her dark green eyes. <It would be so easy to destroy them and, at the same time, test my new invention, the molecular accelerator ray. >
	“Hecate!” Gale, a Harpy soldier with gray eyes and grayish blue hair spoke up. “The Firebirds! They’re coming!” he shouted as he pointed to the direction of the sound of faint footsteps.
	The Harpy Majestrix nodded and narrowed her eyes. “I see.” She replied and then glanced at the other two Harpies who were manning the ray. “When I give the command, fire the ray at the first person that steps out of the woods.”
***
	“Dazz! Wait!” Phoenix shouted as she tried to catch up with Dazzler. “Stay close to the group! Don’t try to go ahead of the others!”
	The blond woman glanced at her friend who was fast approaching her and grinned. “Oh, come on, Phoenix.” Dazzler began, “We haven’t found any signs of those miserable wretches the moment we got here. What could go wrong?” she added as she parted the bushes that were blocking their path.
***
	Hecate’s sharp eye’s noticed the bushes moving. “Steady,” she whispered softly and pointed at the bushes. “Aim the ray at those plants.”
	The bushes parted, revealing Dazzler, the blond second-in-commander of the Firebirds, standing beside Phoenix of Olympia, the Firebird Majestrix.
	“Fire!” the Harpy Majestrix, shouted.
  ***
       Dazzler had her face turned towards her friend when she heard the shout. She quickly spun around and saw the Harpies surrounding them. “Huh? What the--?”
       “Dazz, look out!” Dazzler heard Phoenix shout. Then she felt someone or something push her from behind, sending her body flat on the ground.
       Phoenix gasped in pain and felt the ray jolt her body and sent her back crashing into the woods. She jerked involuntarily as her body rammed through trees and bushes. Finally she slammed her back against a huge rock.  Then Phoenix of Olympia bowed her head and knew no more. <Kate….>
***
       Dazzler glanced up and saw her friend being thrown away by the ray. “Phoenix! No!” she shouted in her shock. Then she faced the Harpies. “Merciless scum bags! Take this!” she cursed as she blasted the enemy with a hail of laser fire.
       Blast swept her bluish black chin-length hair as she turned to glance back at their second-in-commander. “They’re too many of them!” she yelled, narrowing her dark blue eyes. “ We have no other choice but to fall back and retreat!”
       Dazzler nodded. “Cover me while I’ll go and get Phoenix!” She replied as she dived back into the bushes.
***
       She found Phoenix lying with her back against a huge boulder. Her friend was unconscious and her body emitted a strange fiery glow. Dazzler wasn’t alarmed, she had seen her friend like that a couple of times before, especially when flying or fighting in the air. 
       “Phoenix?” Dazzler whispered, nudging her friend by the shoulder. “Wake up. Phoenix?” 
	No answer. For a moment, Dazzler thought that her friend might be hurt more than she seemed to be. Gently, she tried to carry her friend, supporting her incredibly light body on her right shoulder, and made her back to their other companions.
	“Phoenix?!”
	<Kate, > Her friend’s mind touch sounded in Dazzler’s mind. 
       Dazzler raised an eyebrow. <Now, why would Phoenix call out the Harpy commander’s name instead of her? > She frowned, thinking that her friend will soon snap out of it when they reach the base. 
***
       "Is she all right?" Dazzler asked, worriedly. If it wasn't for the faintest glimmer of energy in that still form, she would have taken her friend for a corpse, lying there on the bed, barely breathing and features drained of color. 
       "Yes," Red Cross murmured. "But Phoenix's very weak. The ray must either be very strong or it must have struck a weak spot of hers to keep Phoenix knocked out for this long. But she’ll be okay soon." 
       Kit watched the proceedings with interest, peering thoughtfully at their unconscious leader. She gasped as she noticed something. "She's sealed, Phoenix was sealed!" she remarked with some surprise. 
       Red Cross frowned as she glanced at her. “What do you mean?”
       Leaning over Phoenix, Kit laid her hands over the Firebird commander’s chest and a puzzled frown creased her already wrinkled forehead. Pushing apart the half-opened shirt, she uncovered a single fist-sized rune that had branded into her flesh. “Look!” 
       Hotshot widened her eyes in surprise. “What’s that?”
       “It’s a seal.” Kit replied, frowning. 
       Dazzler raised an eyebrow. “A seal?”  . 
       Kit nodded. "It’s been a long time since I’ve seen one of them on a person before but I’m sure its what I think it is. It's used to lock away something that the caster wanted to get rid off without destroying the sealed one as well. Memories, perhaps? It's practically unbreakable…" 
       “You mean, Hecate sealed Phoenix up?” Dazzler asked in a mixture of surprise and worry.
       Kit frowned and then shook her head. “It wasn’t Hecate. See that marking?” she pointed at the symbol on the seal. “It means that it was done by Athena Triumph.”
       Hotshot blinked. “But WHY would Athena Triumph seal up Phoenix? Phoenix’s her student!”
***
       Kit raised her head from the papers that she was working on and watched as the red haired Firebird commander approached her in an almost hesitant manner. To a casual observer, it would seem that she was worried at the increasing attacks done by the Harpy forces on their base. But nevertheless, Kit sensed that something was distressing the young Firebird commander. Phoenix had become more melancholy, almost depressed, since that incident with the Harpies happened.
       “Kit," Phoenix asked softly, "Can you tell me more about the seal?" 
       The question surprised her, of all the things that could have been the cause of the Firebird commander’s moodiness, this wasn't high on the list; coming after the bloodthirsty Hecate who seemed intent on hunting them down. 
       Taking a deep breath, Kit wondered how she could broach the subject, better from the beginning… 
       "Long ago, even before the problems with the Harpies came into the picture, Cassandra, Circe and Athena Triumph devised this spell. With it, you could erase a person's entire personality." 
       "It was very effective weapon against criminals, no bloodshed…" She picked up a pen from the desk and twirled it between her fingers. "But there was always a danger that the caster might seal too much away, that the one being sealed would lose so much of himself that he could not survive afterwards." 
       Phoenix looked shocked, Kit didn't blame her. For a society of people that seemed relatively on the side of good, the leaders before her sometimes employed brutal, even cruel, methods to ensure stability and order.  
       "What happens when the seal is broken?" she whispered. 
       "I do not know," Kit admitted honestly." I've never heard of such a thing happening before." 
       "Will what I am be lost to what I was?" Phoenix murmured more to herself. "Will 'Phoenix' be dead?" 
       Searching her face, Kit questioned tentatively, " Is that what is worrying you?" 
       "In a way," the Firebird commander finally admitted. "I've thought about it for quite awhile, trying to find out when I got this mark." Her hand fluttered tersely over the seal hidden under her shirt.  
       "The spell is very old and very powerful, Phoenix, I'm not sure that it CAN be broken." 
       "I know, but WHY would my own mentor seal me up?" Phoenix whispered morosely, shaking her head. "It makes me wonder what kind of person I was…" 
       "Don't," Kit advised her. “You have no way of knowing. Tormenting yourself over it wouldn't change anything and you'll just wear yourself down." 
       "Maybe. " Phoenix threw her arms up in frustration. "I just wish that I KNEW…maybe I deserved…never mind," she finally concluded. "You're right, the seal can't be broken so there's no purpose in worrying over it." 
***
       Incredibly bored, Phoenix sat on a fallen log, staring at the sky. There was nothing for her to do, they hadn’t had any trouble from Hecate yet for quite sometime and everything seemed so peaceful.
       The park was nearly deserted, it was late evening.
       Suddenly, the ground under her feet begun to rumble ominously… 
       Falling to her knees, Phoenix clutched her chest, trying not to black out as wave after wave of painful nausea hit her squarely. 
       The earth was cracking, splitting open under her, ripping apart as some great unseen creature forced its way out through the dirt and grass. Clutching the edge of the bench, Phoenix lifted herself to her feet, horrified realization dawning on her face… 
       It was the wasteland rose that escaped from Flare’s lab. She should have known that it could be lurking around at this time of night.
       A hundred tentacles erupted from the ground, each writhing limb arching towards her like a hundred hungry mouths. As cold, scaly tentacles clutched at her, Phoenix blasted some of them into flaming explosions…but there were too many of them, too many to hold off… 
       As they closed around her, Phoenix sent out one last, frantic mental cry… 
       "DAZZLER!" 
***
       <Dazzler! > 
       Dazzler jerked upright, her breathing labored. "Phoenix," she whispered hoarsely. " No…" 
       Grabbing her jacket from where she had carelessly thrown it on the chair, the Firebird-second-in-commander had one arm in its sleeve when she ran into Hotshot. 
       Startled, the kid stumbled backwards. 
       "Dazz…" 
       "Not NOW" Dazzler snarled, shoving her aside to pass. 
       Before Hotshot could even format a reply to that uncharacteristic display of temper, Dazzler was already out the door, not even bothering to close the front door as she ran out of the base. She hesitated for a spilt second before she ran after Dazzler.  
       Something was wrong…terribly wrong. 
***
       It was her worst nightmare come true. 
       Dazzler skidded to a halt a few meters from the wasteland rose that escaped in Flare’s lab a few weeks earlier. That THING had sprouted a hundred tentacles from the deceptively solid ground. Just below that plant’s hungry mouth was its pulsating heart…Dazzler glimpsed a lock of red hair and a limp hand barely visible through the half-closed pod. 
       "Phoenix!" She didn't think, and later on wouldn't even remember when she got a gun and pointed it at the monster. "Let her go!" 
       She blasted the parasite, piercing through the tentacles that came up to defend itself against his attack. Shrieking, the creature brought its entire arsenal down on this enemy. 
       A tentacle slammed into her chest, hurling Dazzler towards the ground with tremendous force. The impact would have likely broken every bone in her body if she hadn't forced her body to relax and become limp. Even then, she bounced twice, finally lying there on the ground as the world spun crazily around her. 
       A hungry tentacle curled around her foot… 
***
       <Alone…> 
       Struggling against the enveloping darkness that threatened to swallow her consciousness, Phoenix tried to pull herself back from the endless dreamscape of the plant’s parasitic hold. 
       <Tired…can't fight…chest HURTS…> 
       The parasite pulled her deeper inside its embrace, drowning her consciousness, letting her sink into the oblivion below. 
       <Dazzler…help…me…> 
       The seal, already weakened by years of possession, and now, with this sudden, violent reoccupation started to splinter at the edges… 
       <What's…happening? > 
***
       Through her mind's eye, she could see it happening.
       Dazzler was being dragged towards the deadly plant's gaping maw, unconscious… 
       Helpless. 
       Never had Dazzler's frailty been so obvious.  
       <Damn you, monster…damn you. > 
       She couldn’t use her powers or Dazzler would get incinerated too. But she NEEDED to do something; she couldn't not stand by and let that monstrosity have Dazzler for a quick snack. Bracing herself, Phoenix flung her will against the monster's will, trying to force its limited consciousness to release the person that it was about to devour. 
       The monster struck back ruthlessly with the mental equivalent of slamming her against a solid stone wall with enough force to break it. 
       Gasping from the pain that seared through her mind, Phoenix flinched, retreating back into herself. There HAD to be another way around it. 
       A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. 
       The seal…already was unraveling at the edges. 
       Breaking the seal that had existed between them for long time would probably result in a vicious mental whiplash; it would probably hurt like hell. Being torn apart from within its mind like that…excruciatingly painful…
       Agonizing… 
       <Good. >
       Slowly, Phoenix gathered her will… 
       "Goodbye, Dazz…" she whispered in the quiet emptiness of the dreamscape prison, knowing that her bestfriend could not hear her, hoping against all hope that it would not be the last words that she spoke in this lifetime. 
       She threw everything she had against the splintered seal… 
***
       "Dazzler! Look OUT!" she heard someone shout. 
       Groggily, Dazzler registered the fact that her foot was but inches away from a slavering maw full of teeth. Barely aware that it was Hotshot, who had come to her rescue, her concentration was fully fixed on the limp fingers that lay barely visible through the partially opened pod. 
       A laser beam whistled past her right ear, severing the tentacle around her leg. Suddenly free from it, Dazzler surged froward, ignoring the kid's shout of warning, wholly focused on those pale fingers… just within reach.
       Plunging her hand into the moist, slimy interior of the pod, she snagged Phoenix's wrist by pure instinct alone. A burst of energy behind her indicated that Hotshot was keeping the parasite very well occupied. As she pulled her arm backward to yank Phoenix free, Dazzler felt another upsurge of fiery energy.  This time from within the pod itself. One that swelled like a breaking wave, cascading over all three of them; Phoenix, the creature and herself. 
       The monster screamed… 
       Dazzler stumbled backwards, pulling Phoenix's slack body out of the pod as they both tumbled onto the ground. Holding the unconscious Firebird commander close in her arms, she could feel the faintest thrum of a heartbeat against her pale cold skin. It was the only thing that convinced her that there was life in that limp, unmoving form. 
       <What the hell had Phoenix done? > 
       "Dazzler!" Hotshot's voice snapped her back to attention. 
       Half-dragging, half-carrying Phoenix, she staggered to a relatively safe distance away and collapsed to the ground, her head still spinning from the blow that the plant had delivered. 
       The creature was still screaming… 
       Hotshot grimaced as the inhuman wail rose to the upper reaches of her hearing, nearly splitting her eardrums. Flicking her wrist, she blasted off another writhing tentacle. It was just like pruning a disobedient bush. However, the plant was ignoring her completely; the pain she was inflicting comparatively minor to whatever damages that fiery surge of energy had done earlier. 
       The creature, half-mad with pain, deciding that there were easier prey to be had than in here, recalled its tentacles, slipping back into the ground as Hotshot's gun blasted at one retreating limb. 
       Then, it was gone… 
       “What was THAT about?” Hotshot demanded.
       “Phoenix.” Dazzler whispered more to herself. “Somehow she was able to send the monster away from us.”
	Hotshot blinked and finally recognized the energy signature in the surge earlier. That was definitely Phoenix all right. She nodded.
	Dazzler’s face darkened as she gazed at her unconscious friend’s too pale face. “Come on, let’s go back to the base. Phoenix needs medical attention.” 
******
Chapter Five: Awakening

       The red haired young woman came awake in the darkness. 
       Jerking upright, the blanket slipped off her shoulders to pool around her waist. Other the faintest gleam of moonlight spilling into the room, she might as well have been in total darkness. Casting her glance around the room to make sure that she was truly alone, she slipped a hand under her shirt to feel for the old scar over her heart. 
       It was gone. 
       "How…interesting." 
       She stroked her fingers over the soft material of the blanket, feeling the unfamiliar cloth scratch at her skin. 
       So strange… 
       The last thing she remembered was fighting for her life, when she had undermined the power of her Target.
       Beyond that, it was blurred, shadowy like someone had pulled a blanket over her mind… 
       And then, she had awakened here, in THIS unfamiliar room. 
       Unless she was very mistaken, something had happened between that last memory and the instant that she had opened her eyes. SOMEONE had brought here, healed her wounds… but who? Why? 
       Slowly, she got to her feet, albeit unsteadily. The window was open and she could smell the sweet scent of spring. She didn't know what had happened, but as far as she was concerned, the less time she spent in this state, the better. 
       The woman frowned, slightly critical.  No doubt the Target would be waiting for her as soon as she tried to complete her mission. Unless of course, that bitch was already dead … 
       Dammit, why couldn't she remember what had happened? 
       Almost before she had finished that thought, it hit her like a sledgehammer in the gut… 
***
       “You can't escape, young child. There's nowhere to go.” 
       “You know, if I weren't such an optimist, I would be very discouraged by that." Her eyes flickered to the gun that Athena Triumph had struck off her hand using a psionic blast. “I WILL kill you, you know. I’ve never missed a target before.”
       Blue eyes still looked at her with pity, which further infuriated the red haired girl. “Why are you doing this?”
       Dark green eyes narrowed. “Why?” she replied in a bitter voice. “I’ll tell you why, you manipulating bitch. You did this to us, you took away our own lives!”
       Athena Triumph frowned. “Who are you?” she asked, wondering why there was that dead blankness of too-old eyes in that too-young face of her attacker.
       The red haired girl smiled, bitterly. “Peacekeeper Agent 02, Nixe Goldenfire.”
       Recognition flickered in her blue eyes. “Nixe Goldenfire? But you were reported dead when that plane that you and fellow Peacekeepers had escaped in crashed at Mount Olympus?”
       Nixe chuckled. “Let’s just say I came back from hell.” Her bitter smile transformed into a snarl. “You transformed us into a group of terrorists when you created the Peacekeepers. You ruined our lives and now you caused Winter Stormshadow to kill himself, bitch.”
       Athena Triumph shook her head. “Peacekeeper Agent 01’s death wasn’t my doing.”
       Nixe’s eyes blazed with fire. “YOU ordered the suicide microchip to be placed in HIS brain and MINE, you monster!” she shouted angrily and then calmed down. “Fortunately it never worked on me, so here I am.” Her eyes narrowed. “You must pay for everything, bitch.”
       “Is that what you believe in?”
       The dark green eyes narrowed further. “The only thing that I believe in is Death, because there are no miracles. Only the dead.” And in a swift motion, she went after her gun and then pointed the weapon at her Target once more. “Die.”
       Athena Triumph shook her head. “I don’t think so.” She whispered softly. 
       A brilliant flash of light drowned out everything… 
       Her chest felt like it was on fire… 
       The last thing she heard were her words, somehow filled with sorrow and pity. 
       "I will take away your pain, child." 
***
       As the memory receded, Nixe Goldenfire found herself curled up on the floor, clutching her sides and shaking from the force of the experience. 
       Athena Triumph, that damned bitch. She had SEALED her. And she had nearly died because of it. 
       "Payment will be forthcoming," she hissed between clenched teeth. She was going to kill her, even if she had to go through that earlier pain again. 
***
       Sliding open the door, Kit stepped into the darkened room. She thought she had detected sounds of someone moving about in the room earlier on. It was probably Phoenix waking up from her healing sleep. Setting the tray she was carrying down on the table, she searched briefly for the light switch. "Phoenix, are you awake?" 
       "Who…?" came a soft whisper from the darkness. 
       The light came on in a burst of brilliance… 
       Phoenix sat cross-legged in the center of the room with her hands on her knees, her fingers rippling in an odd, punctuated rhythm. Lifting her green eyes, she regarded her for a long moment, with no recognition in her eyes. 
       "What am I doing in this room?" she asked in a cold voice. "What happened to…" she winced slightly as if the memory was painful to her. "Kate and the others…? The seal… " Her face darkened, became murderous. So unlike the Phoenix that she knew that Kit felt a sliver of fear run through her. "The seal…" A flare of rage. "It was one of YOUR superiors, Security Officer." 
       Getting up from the bed, she started to stalk towards her. Her shirt was half-opened; Red Cross’ healing skills had smoothed away the injuries she had sustained, leaving the flesh unmarked, a good day's work… 
       <…Unmarked… >
       Kit gasped. 
       Her eyes came up swiftly to meet the red haired young woman’s green ones, and there it was. 
       Older…colder…menacing. The Phoenix they hadn’t known before… 
       The REAL Phoenix… 
       Kit started fumbling for the doorknob. 
       The red haired young woman caught her by her shoulders, slamming her against the wall with enough force to make Kit let out a choked cry of pain.  "Did SHE send you to finish the job?" she hissed, inches away from her face. "Kill me, like what Athena Triumph failed to do when that bitch put that accursed seal over my mind." 
       "No… you and I are friends…" Her hand tightened against her throat, slowly squeezing the breath from her lungs. 
       "Nice story, Security Officer…but I don't HAVE any friends." The maniacal gleam that shone in her green eyes had certainly never appeared in Phoenix's before. "Too bad, it was a good try." A crooked, half-grin touched her lips. She chuckled. "I don't believe that today is your lucky day." 
***
       Hotshot paced the room, wondering what was taking Kit so long. Its been ten minutes already, surely it shouldn’t take that old lady THAT long to check on Phoenix. She frowned.
       "I'm going to look for Kit, Dazzler.” She told the blond Firebird second-in-commander. 
       "Fine. Go ahead." Dazzler nodded, barely paying attention. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Hotshot stalked away impatiently.
***
       Impatiently, Hotshot jiggled the doorknob. It had to be stuck or something. 
       <Why would Kit lock the door behind her in order to see Phoenix?> 
       Gripping it tighter, she gave it a sharp twist followed by a mighty heave. The door groaned painfully in protest and then, suddenly gave way, thrusting him into the room. 
       "Phoenix, where's Kit" she asked, spotting the red haired woman standing stiffly by the wall. 
       Nixe whirled around… 
       Behind her, Kit’s unconscious form slowly crumbled to the ground. Her eyes were closed. The slender curve of her neck marked with angry, dark bruises…that fit Phoenix's handprint perfectly. 
       "KIT!" Rage consumed every rational thought in her mind. "NO!" Hotshot shouted as she took out her gun. 
       "A kid with guts," Nixe Goldenfire murmured with some surprise. The manic gleam was back in her eyes again, "How… interesting." 
***
       If the Hotshot’s voice hadn’t alerted them, the sight of the west wall of the command center crumbling would have been a pretty good indicator that there was a battle going on. As the two combatants scrambled with each other among the broken stone and twisted metal, Dazzler grabbed Firefly by the collar and yanked her backwards just in time to avoid being crushed by a falling chunk of the wall. 
       Dazzler recognized Hotshot’s form before anything else in the smoke. At Firefly’s surprised exclamation, she registered that her teammate’s opponent was actually…Phoenix? 
       She knew that Phoenix had the power to take out all of them if she wanted to. But she wasn’t even aware that Phoenix could actually bring herself to take out one of them. Much less Hotshot? 
       “You bitch, you hurt Kit!” Hotshot yelled. 
       <What? > Dazzler could barely believe her ears. 
        Phoenix laughed a careless edge-of-insanity laugh that grated warningly on every instinct in Dazzler’s mind. Grabbing Firefly’s arm before she could dash foolishly into the fray, the Firebird second-in -commander shook her head, frowning. 
       “Something’s not right.” 
       “But Phoenix…” Firefly’s voice trailed away in shock as she watched the red haired young woman ducked Hotshot’s blast, driving her foot into the kid’s knee. Hotshot staggered slightly, shooting another wild blast. This time, taking off a few strands of Phoenix’s hair. The red haired woman chuckled humorlessly. 
       “I know.” Dazzler nodded, worriedly. “She…she isn’t supposed to be like this.” 
       “Dazzler,” Lance’s deep voice sounded behind them. Turning around, Dazzler saw that he had Kit cradled in his arms. Even as she watched them, the older Firebird was stirring, her gray eyes fluttering open. 
       “Phoenix…the seal,” she whispered in a hoarse voice. Her throat ached terribly. “The seal is gone. She thought that I was trying to kill her.” 
       “Phoenix wasn’t even using her powers.” Red Cross whistled as she examined the extent of Kit’s injuries. “And I thought Hecate was brutal…” 
        “We got to stop them.” Dazzler whispered. “Phoenix needs help, we got to stop her before she kills Hotshot!”
***
       Nixe was having fun. 
       The rush of adrenaline in her blood, the promise of Death in the air… it felt GOOD, rather like the return of a familiar friend. Toying with this kid was entertaining, but she was beginning to tire of the game. <Time to end it. > Carefully, Nixe weighed her options, her opponent’s weaknesses and obvious flaws. <Hmm… >
       She felt her opponent knock her footing off in a low sweeping kick. Tumbling onto the ground, Nixe scrambled backwards as she tried to regain her footing, but failed. Lifting her face, she looked up at Hotshot, green eyes widening in blank shock as she watched her death descending upon her. 
       Hotshot hesitated… 
       <Idiot. > 
       Nixe flung her hand out in a wide arch, snapping her wrist backwards. A stunning blast exploded from her fingertips in a burst of fiery energy, hurling Hotshot down the floor. 
       The gun fell off her hand and landed on the floor… 
       Nixe got to her feet; absently brushing off the dirt that clung to her pants. <Some people were just SO stupid…> her lips twisted into a contemptuous smirk. 
       Bending down, she picked up the gun that her opponent had dropped. It was loaded. Just what she needed to end this little fight. 
       After this one, maybe she could play with the others… her gaze flickered to where she could feel the presence of her spectators. Three others. Oh yes, the possibilities were interesting indeed… 
       The kid was barely conscious. Nixe had been very careful to miss any of the REALLY important parts; she wanted to kill this one slowly, relive the bittersweet taste of taking a life. Watch it flicker out of its shell like a candle being snuffed out…gods, she was getting poetic, it had really been too long under chafing restraints of that seal. 
       Lifting the gun, Nixe started to laugh. 
***
       A little piece of Dazzler’s heart flickered and died inside her chest. Phoenix, leader of the Firebirds and closest friend…about to murder one of them, ENJOYING it. If she killed Hotshot, it would be the final step to oblivion. Phoenix of Olympia would be lost to them forever. She could not let it happen… 
       “NOOOOO!!! Phoenix, DON’T!!!” 
        Dazzler leaped over toward the battle site, landing lightly on her feet. She quickly blasted at the gun that Phoenix held in her hands. It disintegrated into splinters, making the redhead jerk backwards, a curse hissing from her mouth. 
       “More Targets.” She started to gather her energy… 
       Something about that particular person caught her attention. Those dark sapphire eyes were filled with betrayal and hopelessness, almost frightening in their intensity, directed towards…her? Sweat had plastered her blond wet hair against her face; a face that was beginning to look too damned familiar… 
       A memory, not entirely hers, rippled at the edge of her awareness. Two personalities, so opposing to each other that they could not exist in the same mind together.  ‘Phoenix’ had been destroyed when the seal was broken and she had averted back to her original identity.  Nixe Goldenfire, Peacekeeper Agent 02. But the memories lingered, hidden in the depths of her consciousness, and with them, the FEELINGS they inspired… 
       <Da…DAZZLER?!>. 
       “WHA--!??” Nixe snarled between clenched teeth. “WHO--!??” It was like a physical pain searing through her. As if she had been standing in icy cold water and someone had poured a bucketful of warm liquid over her shivering form. It drove her to her knees, clutching at the red-hot needles that seemed to be stabbing into her head. 
       Those who had tried to get close to her in the past; she had either killed or they died before any one of them could touch her. 
       Evil wasn’t supposed to feel anything. It was empty, cold. Exactly what she was, inside and out.  Alone and chilling devoid of any compassion. 
       But now, she burned like fire… like never before. 
       A lifetime of death and violence, a reputation born from the thrill of the hunt, the kill. It was everything to her, before the sealing, and after the seal had been broken. No mercy, no emotion, just survival and the instinct to destroy anything that got in her way. Now… 
       A moan escaped her. Somewhere, fate had to be laughing her head off. She might not be ‘Phoenix’ anymore but she remembered everything, FELT everything that person had experienced, including… 
       That lady. Dazzler. Was. Her friend. 
       <No, not THAT. >
       “Athena Triumph…what have you…done to me…?” she gasped out before falling into the sinking darkness that claimed her.  
******
Chapter Six: Phoenix Nixe Goldenfire

	Lance stared at the unconscious Phoenix on the ground. “What was THAT about?” he demanded.
	Dazzler ran her fingers through her blond hair. “Wish I knew.” She whispered.
	Hotshot was breathing heavily on the ground as she stared at Phoenix. “Phoenix….she…she almost KILLED me!” she exclaimed.
	“She isn’t Phoenix.” A weak voice sounded from behind. Everyone turned to look and saw Kit leaning against Firefly for support. “Or at least, she isn’t the Phoenix we knew.”
	Hotshot frowned as she slowly got up. “What are you talking about?”
	“Hotshot, the seal on Phoenix is broken. She isn’t the same person we knew anymore.” Kit explained, softly. “She probably reverted to the person she had been before Athena Triumph sealed her up. That’s why she didn’t recognized all of us.”
 	“So, then let’s seal her up again, Kit.” Firefly suggested, hopefully. “Surely you know about the spell, right? I’m sure Magic and Adriane could do it right if you could teach it to them.”
	Kit shook her head wearily. “That’s impossible, only Athena Triumph and Circe knew about how to do the spell and they are no more. Besides, even if I DID know how to do it, we could seal up the Phoenix we knew in the process too.”
	Dazzler’s face became hard. “So, she’s gone now, isn’t she? Phoenix is gone now. Forever.”
	Kit frowned. “Not necessarily.”
       “What do you mean?” Hotshot asked.
       Kit paced back and forth. “The seal had hidden away a PART of Phoenix’s personality. Which means the ‘real’ Phoenix was partly THE phoenix we knew.” She replied. “It’s possible that she could return back to normal soon.”
       Dazzler frowned. It was, at best, a weak piece of speculation, but it was all they had. She nodded. “All right, let’s take Phoenix to her room.” She began. “We’ll see if Kit’s theory is right WHEN she wakes up.”
***  
       Minutes later, the young red haired woman opened her eye to the unfamiliar ceiling. She sat upright, allowing the blanket to slip off her shoulders and pool around her waist.  She hissed in pain as the memories of both Nixe Goldenfire and Phoenix of Olympia came to her. 
       It was crazy. Nixe Goldenfire, the person who swore to kill Athena Triumph was also Athena Triumph’s own protegee. 
       The Fates must be definitely laughing at her now.
       And the worst part was Hecate Darkmoon, her former PARTNER, was now her WORST enemy. And she couldn’t do a thing about it because that DAMN Matrix of Leadership that Athena Triumph had passed on to her was INSIDE her and preventing her from leaving her responsibility.
       Of course, it didn’t help that she had all these past memories of happier times when she was still a student of Athena Triumph, of the times of laughter with the other Firebirds…  
       Strange, somehow thinking of it somehow lessened her anger. Somehow she actually felt…grateful? 
       Ever since that incident at the orphanage, she was sure that she could never feel happiness again. That she could never care for anyone anymore because they would only die.
       But Athena Triumph proved her wrong and for some strange reason she didn’t want to let go of it.	
       She got up and walked towards the mirror. Who is she now? She thought as she stared at the mirror. <Phoenix or Nixe Goldenfire? >
       As Nixe, she was technically a fugitive, though everyone thought that she died from the crash and certainly NO ONE recognized her as that person.
       That meant she had no choice but to remain as Phoenix, the Firebird commander.
       Athena Triumph’s own protegee.
       “Athena Triumph…” Phoenix Nixe Goldenfire whispered and angrily punched a fist on the mirror’s surface causing the glass to shatter and cut her hand. “DAMN YOU!” she shouted ignoring the sting and pain. “Damn you…” she whispered softly, taking deep breaths as she stared at the blood that began to line her arm and drip to the floor.   
***
	CRASH!
	The sound of glass breaking jolted the attention of everyone outside the room.
	“What was that?” Hotshot exclaimed.
	“It came from inside. Do you think….” Lance replied pointing at the door.
	Dazzler nodded her face grim. “Phoenix must have regained consciousness.”
	Firefly glanced at the door, unsure. “Do we…?”
	Dazzler shook her. “No, I’ll go in myself.”
	“I’ll come with you.” Kit began.
	“And so will I.” Hotshot added, glancing at Kit. “I am not letting you stay in one room alone with that psycho.”
	Dazzler frowned. They both looked determined. “All right then.” She nodded, finally. “But don’t do anything rash until I tell you to.”
	They nodded.
	“Come on, let’s get in.” Dazzler began and then opened the door.
*** 	
	The door swung open and the red haired young woman raised an eyebrow upon seeing Dazzler, Kit and Hotshot burst inside the room.
	“Dazz,” she sighed, ruefully. “Don’t you people EVER knock?” she asked as she turned to face them.
	“Phoenix, is that really you in there?” Dazzler began in a guarded voice. Then she and the others let out a gasp upon seeing Phoenix’s fist in the shattered mirror. And it was bleeding from the several cuts made by the broken glass. “What happened….”
	Phoenix blinked in surprise then understanding dawned into her as she glanced at the shattered mirror infront of her. 
       “Oh, this? It’s nothing. I just had to vent my frustrations on something that wasn’t breathing for once.” She explained as she pulled out her bleeding fist in a single fluid motion. “I finally realized why, oh why, that bit…er, Athena Triumph sealed me up all this time. And you know what?” She opened her bleeding hand and stared at it as if she was fascinated with the blood that lined her palm and arm. A brief chuckle that sounded more like a sob came out of her. “I honestly DON’T blame her.” She added, closing her hand to a fist, letting more blood trickle from the cuts.
       “Do you want to talk about it?” Dazzler cautiously asked, moving closer.
       Dark green eyes narrowed. “No.” her voice was clipped and blunt.
       Kit shook her head and sighed. “You know, Phoenix, you’d better get those cuts healed pretty soon before they start to hurt.” She reminded her.
       Phoenix lowered her gaze, still not looking at them. “It…it doesn’t…hurt that much if you don’t think about it.” She whispered, softly. “Besides, I don’t deserve help. From you. Or from anyone else.”
       Hotshot frowned. “What do you mean?”
       “I nearly killed you and Kit back there, isn’t that reason enough?” Phoenix bitterly whispered. “If Dazz hadn’t shown up, I’d have…have…” her voice trailed off at the last sentence.
       Kit frowned. “You can’t be sure…”
       Phoenix whirled around to glare at her. “Dammit, Kit!” she cursed and everyone were shocked to see a trickle of blood coming from her right eye  “Don’t try to make me feel better! I would have killed you and Hotshot and I know it because I know that I WOULD!”
       “Phoenix, your eye…” Hotshot began pointing at her.
       Phoenix touched her face with her uninjured hand and was surprised to feel tears trickling down her cheek. A sad smile formed on her lips as she pulled back her hand and saw that it was wet with blood. “Blood.” She murmured more to herself than to the other people in the room. A soft chuckle came out of her lips. “It’s been so long that I cried with tears of blood…since that incident in the orphanage.” She whispered as she wiped them out with her uninjured hand. “Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt at all. It’s just… a souvenir…from my childhood. That’s all. Sorry, if it bothered you.” 
       A hand touched her shoulder and Phoenix looked up to see Dazzler beside her. “It all right, Phoenix.” She began. “We don’t blame you. So, let’s just forget this incident, okay?” 
         A wry grin formed on Phoenix’s face. “Is that your way of saying that you don’t want to be n command anymore and that you want me to be the leader again?”
       Dazzler smiled and hugged Phoenix tightly. “Whatever. I’m just glad you’re finally back!” 
*******
Chapter Seven: Silenced Truth

       Mount Olympus, a year later…
Hecate stood in front of the gravesite, alone. She had been there for an hour already and was silently debating whether she ought to leave now or wait for a few more minutes when the sound of a gun clicking caught her attention.
       “You’re late.” The Harpy commander began, without glancing up.
       A  young woman whose blood red hair was tied to a loose ponytail emerged from the shadows. “It’s been a long time, Hecate.”
       “What are you talking about, Phoenix?” Hecate snorted. “I only attacked you, Firebirds, a few hours ago.”
       “I was talking about the crash.” The young woman replied, lowering the gun.
       Hecate blinked in surprise and then spun around to stare at the red haired young woman attired in black leather. “Nixe…” she whispered in awe.
       Phoenix Nixe Goldenfire ignored her and walked towards the gravesite. “Why didn’t you do it, Kate?” she asked in a casual voice, as she lit up the candles. “You could have finally unsealed me up if you fired another shot.”
       Hecate frowned. “I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to do it.” She admitted finally. “After all, it’s been a very long time. I wasn’t sure that it would still be you in there.”
       “You had plenty of opportunity six years ago.” Nixe told her. 
       “Don’t you think I tried?!” Hecate shouted at her in frustration. “Believe me, I tried to take off that seal from you every time.” She shook her head. “I tried, but Athena Triumph and your second-in-command, Dazzler, kept being in the way. And then there’s…”
       Nixe turned to face the Harpy commander, who had been her partner. “And?”
       “You were happy being Phoenix.” Hecate finished in a soft voice. “And I don’t mean that homicidal and maniacal kind of happy that I’ve seen in you before. I meant really happy. I couldn’t make myself take it away from you.” She snorted. “Oh sure, at first I was angry at you AND at Athena Triumph. After all, YOU never even called me to say that you survived the crash and then you appear at the academy without even knowing who I am. At first, I blamed Athena Triumph for that, for sealing you up and for taking away my best friend and leaving that…innocent…in there.”
       Nixe frowned. “Is that that why you killed her?”
       Hecate nodded. “Yes.”          
	Nixe let out a bitter laugh. “Don’t worry, I understand.” She shook her head. “In fact, I ought to thank you for doing the job for me.”
	“What do you mean?” Hecate demanded.
	Nixe sat on a nearby boulder and stared at horizon. “That time, while you and the others finished hiding the mechs, I did some research on the names of the people in the government  who started the Peacekeepers in the first place.” She began in soft tone. “I decided that if we ever get through THAT alive, I will go hunt down each and everyone of them and make them pay for turning us into a bunch of murdering terrorists.”
	Hecate frowned. “But why didn’t you tell us?”
	Nixe chuckled bitterly. “Would you have let me go if I told you?” she asked. Hecate remained silent. “Didn’t think so.” She sighed. “After what happened to Winter, I couldn’t risk bringing anyone of you with me on a suicide mission.” She shrugged. “And besides, I’m a Zero Agent. I work better on my own, anyway.”
	Hecate was silent. 
	“When our escape plane was shot down, it gave me the idea to ditch you guys and the cover to do my mission.” Nixe continued. “If people think that Nixe Goldenfire is dead, they wouldn’t expect her to drop by and start sending them all to hell.” She explained. “It was easy, no one recognized me at all, when I reached the capital. Without my uniform, I looked like an ordinary street kid and not to mention most of the Targets weren’t THAT prominent.”
	“So you killed them?” Hecate began. It was more of a statement than a question. “You killed everyone involved in the Peacekeeper Project?”
	Nixe frowned. “Most of them, anyway. I couldn’t find Minos, our trainer, anywhere and Athena Triumph…” she paused. “…sealed me up before I could kill her.”
	Hecate remained silent.
	“It was easy being Phoenix of Olympia even after the Seal was broken.” Nixe began. “No one recognized me. Kit only got a brief glance of me as a Peacekeeper Agent and I don’t think she remembers Nixe at all. And the others whom knew about my own identity…well they had been resting in PIECES for a long time.” She smiled, bitterly at the pun. “You know something, Kate? They were really all surprised when my memories finally came back but they never guessed. Kit thought that I thought she was trying to kill me and Hotshot…” She chuckled in amusement. “I think I broke her nose.”
	Hecate chuckled. “That bad huh?”
       The red haired young woman nodded. “Maybe this time, she’ll learn to stop bugging me.” Then she frowned. “I never got to ask you before, Kate. What made you start this war anyway?”
	The Harpy commander sighed. “To tell you the truth, Nixe. I don’t know. Maybe I did it because I was mad at the Council of what had happened to us or maybe I was mad at Athena Triumph for what she did to you or maybe it was the only way I can think of righting this society. I don’t know. Our world isn’t exactly perfect.”
  	The red haired young woman nodded. “I know. War takes many lives away but people never stop fighting.” Nixe told her sadly. “Streams of blood and tears are only ornaments for their destructive ritual.” She let out another bitter chuckle. “You know, it’s actually funny when you think of it. We started a war that we had been trying to prevent when we were kids.”
       “But this war had blown over out of our hands, it’s totally impossible to stop it now.” Hecate murmured. “Maybe we had just delayed the inevitable, maybe it was REALLY supposed to happen.”
       “I know,” Nixe agreed. “Dazz and the others would flip over their heads if I told them about us.”
       Hecate smirked. “You would have been a better second-in-command than Darkhawk.”
       Nixe chuckled. “So you want me to leave my position for a lower ranking one?” she began. “That’s a smooth one, Kate.” She then paled. “But I must refuse.”
       Hecate frowned. “Why?”
       “I just can’t.”
       “I lost you before in the crash and to Athena Triumph, a long time ago.” Hecate whispered, her voice pleading. “I don’t want to lose by partner and best friend. I don’t want to lose you again.”
	Nixe looked down. “Kate, I can’t.” she told her. “The Matrix keeps me from being Nixe completely. And I promised Athena Triumph that I wouldn’t leave the others alone.”
	Hecate’s face became hard and suddenly interrupted by saying sharply, "So, you would betray your own partner for them?"
       "Listen to me," Nixe begged Hecate. "Please understand. This is my second chance, Kate. If I had died in that crash, that would have been fate, and I would have accepted that. But I didn't."
       Hecate's eyes were cold and hard. “So you don’t care about us? You don’t care if you’ll be fighting against your OWN partner?” 
Nixe paled. “Who says I don't care?”
The Harpy commander sighed. "I didn't mean--" 
       “I care about all of you!” Nixe leapt to her feet and began to pace. "You think it's all or nothing. Well it's never all or nothing, I learned that from Minos AND Athena Triumph and it's true, damn you!" She turned on the Harpy commander. "Would I still be living in this hell right now if it was all or nothing? Damn it all, Hecate!" 
       Hecate tiredly passed a hand over her eyes. "Tell me what this is all about, Nixe. Help me to understand. I learned about what happened in Alexandria and in the orphanage AND during your training. Was it Minos, was it he the one who started it all?” 
       “As Nixe Goldenfire, I hate them all.” The red haired young woman hissed as she brought out a dagger from her boot and seemed fascinated with the play of the light on the blade. "Him AND Athena Triumph. I hate them and the Firebirds and I even hate you, Hecate, because... I don't know, Kate. I know I hate . . . being alone. I hate . . . missing things that are familiar, and not seeing things I used to know but don't remember the same way. I hate the death. I hate the death, Kate." 
       "If you hate Athena Triumph and the Firebirds, then why do you insist on fighting for them?" 
       “I hate them AS Nixe but as Phoenix, I…” she paused and then looked away. “…I care for them. Athena Triumph, Kit and the rest of the Firebirds. I know it sounds unbelievable, Kate, but I actually felt grateful to Athena Triumph for sealing me up.”
       Hecate didn’t answer. 
       "Athena Triumph gave me a second chance," Phoenix tried to explain, gripping the dagger so tightly that the blade bit into her palm, sending sharp pain flaring along her nerves. "She gave me, me, a cold hearted murderer, a second chance. I had to try. I wanted that redemption....” she bowed her head. “I’m sorry, Kate.” 
	“So am I.” The Harpy Majestrix in a low voice and began walking away.
	“I’m sorry, Kate.” Phoenix whispered softly after her. 
	Hecate stopped walking. “I understand, Nixe. Maybe not now, but I know someday I will.” She told the red haired young woman.  “What happened seven years ago, wasn’t my fault. And it wasn’t yours either. Don’t worry, partner. Your secret is safe with me.” She glanced at Phoenix over her shoulder. “We had chosen our paths a long time ago. It’s no use going back to the past.” She added and then continued walking away. <Goodbye, partner…>
  	 <Goodbye, partner…> Phoenix silently said to her as she watched Hecate go. Then she bowed her head as if in deep thought before turning to leave the place as well.  <Don’t worry….I won’t use my Peacekeeper agent skills against you. I will fight this war that we made as Phoenix of Olympia and not as Nixe Goldenfire.> 
	She looked up. 
	<Before, I didn’t believe in anything except death. I guess I was wrong the whole time.> she silently told herself. <I do believe that there can be better future for us, for all of us.>
	Then she gave the  bloodstained dagger on the gravesite one last look before turning to leave the place as well. 
       They both knew that their lives would never be the same again. 
       They both knew that ‘Phoenix’ and ‘Nixe’ were the same person. They both  acknowledged the truth. But it would be their secret. 
       There was a certain justice in silence. 


The End.