This area of the desert is, as its name suggests, a vast expanse of sand-dunes. The near-constant wind causes them to shift, changing in size and location, making travel in the area difficult. At times, the wind will pick up to the point that it causes a sandstorm, which is almost certain to kill anything unfortunate enough to be caught in it.

Nothing lives here. At times, however, the bleached bones of warriors fallen in a long-distant war, clad in peculiar crystalline armour, are known to wander the dunes, curiously unhindered by the sands. occasionally a cactuar will wander through the area.

Yuna dragged the back of her hand across her brow as a bead of sweat descended, and she examined the area, or at least, what she could see. If it weren't for the unmerciful sun always seeming to blind her vision, it was the wind and stirring the sand into her eyes. This gave Yuna pause, for as a Gunner she had excellent vision. The others, she worried, must be blind as bats. Save Rikku, of course, who was very familiar with being in and around a desert.

Of course, it was blissful that Rikku wasn't actually leading. Yuna smiled at the comforting thought of her cousin leading them through the Bikanel Desert in vain. Then it was an excuse of not knowing the terrain. Here, it was an excuse of not being able to see the terrain, which seemed a little more hindering. The High Summoner had high hopes the Clan Leader would be able to lead the group to their mark, though. He seemed like a fairly dependable man, if a little strict.

She mostly stayed next to Rikku throughout the trek, but was more than happy to offer her visual assistance to the others if need be. "Do you think", she asked curiously to Rikku as she continued, "the Marks here are any harder than the fiends back home?"

Selferas was fine, his eyes unblinking. He kept himself triangulated between the other members of the Clan, his sense of smell his greatest asset. He had his Frostbrand out, the chill blade giving him and those close to him a small reprieve from the heat. The unyielding sun was making it hard to control his hunger. But when he had the chance, he would be sure to feed. No qualms... Paine would be his.

He licked his lips, and smirked.

I wonder... Should I turn him before we find the Drake... No, No privacy, and I need him to be away from other people, so he doesn't lash out, and get himself killed. I was wrong. He is not a Demon. He is soon to be like me.

Seirait walked with the others through the sandy ocean, fighting for every step aganst the sucking sand. He kept to himself hough, still being the outcast who seemingly joined on a whim. He kept closer to his ally Selferas though; the sands could be murder for the ill-prepared.

Beyond that the winds were whipping up the sand and blowing it everywhere. Seirait sighed at the unwelcome prospect of having to clean this weapon of bloody sand after this mission was finished.

His mind though quickly moved to other things of more importance, like dealing with some sort of dark dragon. As he began running through techniques he realized that its name was all he knew. He looked to his comrade for answers.

"Too much sun for the shadow dwellers, I think. This Nether Wyrm...What do we know about it?"

Rikku frowned at the thought, cupping a hand over her eyes and squinting ahead. She wasn't certain how Yuna could make heads or tails of their destination, much less the judgemaster; when it came to windy days and sand, Rikku felt the two had no business being together and her place was at Home. But given they were chasing a big mark, maybe it'd be better to catch it while it couldn't see them very well.

"Well... That's a toughie," she said at last, giving up on looking ahead and contenting herself with merely shielding her eyes from sand. "I mean, it seems alot more organized here than it was back home. So I bet the fiends aren't total meanies. Even if they are a dragon. We've fought dragons before, right Yunie?"

Rikku was quiet for a few seconds after that, most likely remembering the dragons they had fought because afterwards her shoulders slumped. "Oh man, I forgot about those..."

A note about Kefka: he is always bound to take you by surprise when you least expect it – as is natural and intrinsic of people like him.

All it took was a merry – though perhaps not so merry to the other members of Clan Seraph – journey to a harsh and unforgiving desert to make the Head Librarian's mood swing as wildly and widely as possible. Contradicting all common sense, Kefka Palazzo was now in a throughoutly joyful mood. In fact, he even whistled a merry tune, fit for his garnments but unfit to his personality, as he went along with the arid desert wind blowing in his face.

It is not like the desert wind and sand did not bother him, no. Like most others there, his vision was severely hindered as he could just barely open his eyes. But that was the beauty of it! Nobody was particularly happy with the idea of being in that desert and that in itself made Kefka happy.

At some point after they entered the Windtrace Dunes, the jester dropped his whistling for a voiced version of the same song. "La, laa, la, la, la, laaa, la, la, la, la, la, hey!" he sung in the very high-pitched voice he often got when he was excited. Then he stopped suddenly, though his voice remained high-pitched for a while.

"Well," he said as he swinged his magical wand at the air for no apparent reason at all, "Here we are at last! It was quite a nice journey, wasn't it?"

Boltden fought against the sand that was trapping his feet but kept up with the majority of the group. Why would a dragon live out here? I thought they preferred the dark. he then tried to look up but was blinded by the sun and decided to keep his vision low.

"Too much sun for the shadow dwellers, I think. This Nether Wyrm...What do we know about it?"

Boltden freed his foot from the sand once again and looked up. "We don't know much and thats what makes this mission treachrous, so watch yourself out there!" Boltden then turned his gaze back down and began to move ahead of the pale guy and his companion. Truthfully, I don't care about them but the less casualties the better.

Sephiroth was walking out in the front of the group, leading them literally through the desert. He was not having as much trouble seeing as the rest of his party seemed to. This was due in part to his Mako-enhanced vision, but also because he had taken the time cast barrier on himself. As far as the spell was concerned, each little grain of dust was a projectile weapon, and it deflected them as such. It was a handy trick he'd picked up while training near Corel.

He might have cast it on his followers, but without an All materia he would have had to cast it on each individually. He did not have the energy to do that. He did not think the dragon would be too much of a challenge -- nothing was, for him -- but he preferred to reserve judgement until he had actually seen the thing.

Despite the wind, he could hear the chatter of the clan members behind him. He himself had been silent throughout the trek -- whih had lasted several hours -- speaking only when asked a direct question. If they thoguht he was ignoring them, they were mistaken. What interested him most at the moment was Kefka's modd swing. He had been speculating on possible causes, the most positive being that the Librarian just loved the prospect of getting out of his library and into a fight.

He smiled at the man asking if it was a nice journey. As far as the Judgemaster was concerned, it had been a nice journey. Nobody had bothered him, and he had learned a thing or two about the group. Besides, he was definitely looking forward to the fight. The thought of holding back, of letting the others fight to see how they faired, had crossed his mind. But from childhood fighting had been the only real form of entertainment the SOLDIER had known, and he was not going to let this opportunity pass him by.

However, when he spoke, it was in his customary dry, business-like voice. "All we know is that it is resistant to elemental abilities, except for the Holy element which it has a weakness to. Or 'so it is written' in some ancient chronicle ... I don't suppose any of you known Libra or have a Sense materia."

He stopped, looking up. He had reached the bottom of a dune, the size of a large house. And at the top, through figures had risen out of the sand. He lifted a hand to shade his eyes as the morning sun refracted through their armour, dazzling him. Beneath the elaborate harnes, they were nothing but bones. Each was armed with an archaic-looking, but still very lethal, spear. He drew Masamune then, the sunlight flashing along its blade in answer.

The skeletons were not interested, though. Without even looking at the would-be heroes, they started down the other side of the dune, quickly disappearing.

"Hm." In this terrain, Sephiroth could not move as fast as he was accustomed to, so it would be pointless to pursue them. He brushed at his eyes, wiping away some grit that had managed to find its way past his defenses. "Leave them be," he said, assuming the others had seen the undead as well.

Seirait had to admit that he was probably doing somewhat better than the others. His hair kept out the sand from his eye of eternity and although it marred his vision slightly it was better than being blind. If this is what I face in other parts of Ivalice then perhaps I should purchase a pair of goggles with the money from this mark.

He scowled at the undesirable noise the clown was making. Perhaps he was as crazy as he looked. An unsolicited response to his question came from behind him.

"We don't know much and thats what makes this mission treachrous, so watch yourself out there!"

He sighed and waited till the speaker moved to go ahead of himself and Selferas. As the intruder moved just ahead of him he spoke in a voice low enough that only they would hear. "I can more than take care of myself. I simply don't wish to be going into this fight blind as you seem to desire."

Sephiroth's answer was far more helpful. Resistant to every element but holy. Alexander and Flare should be helpful then. Wish I had more techniques to use with flare though.

As he moved forward with the group he kept his eyes on Sephiroth at the head for advance warning should something happen. And so something did. Their leader had withdrawn his blade and was focused at something atop the next dune. The sunlight and the stinging wind made it difficult to see but Seirait could make out more flashes of light, seemingly in answer to Sephiroth's sword. He grasped his own blade ready for a possible threat.

Sephiroth's dismissal of the incursion made Seirait relax slightly but seeing that their leader's longsword was still out he kept his hand on his blade should the situation turn around.

Selferas barely restrained a loud hiss. He despised the mindless dead who had served Lord Elmdore. They had been the first things to attack him when his master was dead, and had Sephiroth not ordered it, Selferas would have rampaged through them, annhilating them into dust. "Seirait, I reccomend you stick close to me until we find this mark. If this sand is blinding you, I am not going to lose my Coverfire to a damn skeleton. Actually, hold onto this. I can deal with the heat." He held out his Icebrand, the air chilled by the magic of the blade. "Once this thing shows up, I am going to leap skyward and try to impale it with my rune blade. Don't start firing until I'm clear of the area."

"Oh, pity," Kefka said after the undead walked away and Sephiroth, who was for the time being in charge of the troop of baboons, dismissed the idea of a pleasant desert pursuit, "I bet they were dying for some company!" Quite a crude joke, indeed, but it was the first and most simple one to come to his mind.

"Even if we don't pursue those skeletons," the Head Librarian remarked as he turned to face Sephiroth, his voice getting more serious, "it will do us no good to simply stay here enjoying this pleasant chat, will it? I mean, what kind of self-respecting dragon would appear near the edge of the desert? They are always deep inside, I tell you."

Boltden was able to look up more as his eyes grew more accustomed to the bright light, the bits of sand were a nuisance but he could still see ahead, his attention was then caught by the flash of Sephiroth's monstrous sword. "Enemies ahead?" he said in a low tone.

When he looked ahead he seen the fading shapes of skeletons on the dunes across from them, he then heard Kefka going on about the dragon being deeper within the desert, Boltden then walked closer to Kefka and Sephiroth.

"Its plausible that the dragon is deeper in but a dragon thats been locked away for a long time is going to be rather angry and want out of the place that was once its prison. So a dragon like that could be anywhere depending on how long its been free." Boltden then shielded his eyes with his hand as he looked around the dunes for any massive shapes.

Sephiroh looked over his shoulder at the garish Librarian. "You have had much experience with dragons, then?" he queried drily. He then looked back up at the dune, and started to climb. "I did not say we would not pursue," he continued. "But to let them go. We are not interested in skeletons, and they did not seem interested in us. Did you consider what they are interested in?"

It might not be the dragon. Sephiroth realised that. There was no way of knowing, really, what sort of force moved these automatons. The Planet's undead were seldom corporeal, rather being spirits held to the world by envy or hatred. These skeletons could simply be wandering aimlessly.

On the other hand, the dragon had presumably put up a fight beofr ebeing sealed here. It could be that those it had slainwer enow reenacting their battle. Either way, the top of this dune would provide an excellent vantage point for scoping out the rest of the desert.

A roar echoed around the landscape. Though somewhat muffled by the sand and distorted by the eddying wind currents, it was still loud, deep, and thoroughly ominous. Sephiroth's heart rose at the sound. The beast is surely larger than the one I slew at Nibelheim. It might be a challenge.

Seirait reached out and took Selferas' Icebrand with his free hand. The blade fell to the sand blow and Seirait sighed. I'm going to have to tell them about it sooner or later. He quickly hefted it up onto his left shoulder and balanced it there with his off-hand while returning his hand to his blade.

Sephiroth did have a point though. The skeletons could be the remains of those that came before. The dragon's roar reverberated across the dunes. Must be a large one. Guess I wont be able to constrict it then. I'll have to settle for shredding it. Sorry Selferas...Looks like i'm going for the throat this time.

Selferas eyes flared. "To Ajora's fire with it." He coiled his muscles, and the roar was when the sand under him exploded as he came down near the Skeletons. They were Dead. He watched from the top of the dune, and kept vigil. His Form was crouched down, hand on the snow, and he made no effort anymore to hide his hatred of the Dead.

"Let's see what truths you vermin hide."

His tone of voice, normally pleasent, and soft, was filled with Cold Hatred.

He was Dead, and they were Dead. But he was superior to them. The Living Dead.

A Nosferatu. A Vampire. He kept it hidden, but he was so close to releasing his fury, it didn't matter what they saw anymore. He just waited for the Skeletons to outlive there usefulness.

Despite the dry wind and heat, Rikku shivered at the sound of the dragon's roar as they climbed the dune. It wasn't that she was afraid of fighting a fiend - you didn't make it long in the Spira they'd grown up in if the idea of a little danger got to you that much - but at the same time if you had to fight a fiend you didn't want to fight a big fiend. And that was definitely the kind of sound a super-big fiend would make. Glancing at the targes clipped to her skirt, she bit her lip and made a thoughtful noise, falling a few steps behind the others.

Dresspheres were still pretty new to her, since they'd only just been invented as a result of sphere hunting before she and Yuna got whisked away, so she didn't have much to her name yet. But she did have one which might be a better fit for the situation, and reaching for the blue orb in its pouch she hit one of the buttons on its grid. The change seemed to happen almost instantly to an observer, though for Rikku it always felt much longer than it seemed on the outside - like she was really going through a sequence of changing clothes when in reality it was just a split second.

Once it was done, though, she wasn't wearing the light outfit she had been, but a form-hugging and slightly better armored winered bodysuit, like the kind worn by Al Bhed working in hazardous situations. A pair of goggles had replaced her bandanna, and she was holding a small two-handed rifle in both hands as she climbed to catch up. "That's better. From the sound of that, I don't think I want to get too close to Mr. Cranky when we find him," Rikku commented in her newly changed Alchemist outfit, looking this way and that. "Maybe if we're really really quiet-like, we can sneak up on him?"

Yuna saw the skeletons pass by, but wasn't quite sure what to make of them. Humanoid fiends weren't particularly common, and unsent always took the form of a ghostly apparition of the deceased - never before had she seen something stripped of its very bones. Of course, she would've primed her machina weapons had their leader not asked them specifically to avoid contact. She instead followed Rikku's suit.

"Oh, good idea." She commented as Rikku changed her dressphere. A gunner would make for a suitable combatant, but wasn't particularly effective in support, which their team seemed to lack - outside of the now - Alchemist Rikku. After finding her garment grid and the correct sphere, a bright light covered her body. When it dimmed only a second later, she was garbed in a long dress (that seemed to be made of pink and white leather sewn together) and arm warmers, much better suited to keep sand out of places. At her side also appeared a small dog with lion-like features that rubbed against her leg. She petted it, the rushed to join Rikku at the top of the hill.

"Not sure what the chances of that are," she commented, watching Selferas leap to battle with the skeletons passing by. "I don't think he'll be too hard to spot, though. The dragon-fiends back home were pretty big, weren't they?"

From the top of the dune, where Selferas landed, the view to the east -- the direction they were travelling -- was of a hollow between several other, lesser sand-dunes. Across this hollow, beyond the dunes on its eastern side, a cloud of sand rose in the air, even though there was not enough wind at the present to create a sandstorm. The skeletons, whose numbers had grown to seven, were straggling over the farther dune and into the cloud.

Sephiroth had observed the leap with some surprise. Not everybody could accomplish such a feat, especially from a footing of deep, loose sand. Granted that the "humes" of Ivalice seemed to be stronger than the average person of the Planet, it was still something to remark upon, and the Judgemaster did, picking up his pace so he could reach the dune's crest before the eager warrior could go on.

"You do well in the desert."

Not bothering to wait for a reply, he looked down upon the vista. As he did so, the dune across from them shook as something heavy hit it from the other side. The skeletons stumbled as the sand beneath them shifted, but their continued their climb with mindless determination.

"It seems we found our monster." He looked at Selferas. "Wait for the others before engaging."

Given that there was still about a hundred yards and a sand dune between them and their quarry, engaging it seemed like an unfeasible thing to do anyway. However, Sephiroth could now guess that this Selferas could close the distance rapidly enough, and the Judgemaster did not want that. The lay of the land had given him an idea.

Seirait sighed at seeing his comrade go. “Impulsive…” he muttered. He ran up he dune as quickly as he could, considering the loose sand and the extra encumbrance of Selferas’ Icebrand. As he ran he quickly maneuvered the blade so it would fit in his belt and leave his hands free.

As he reached the top to meet the others who had made it, he saw the dune in front of them shaking. Their quarry must be close. He pulled out his Dancing Wolf and kept it at his side. “Impressive, Selferas,” he said offhandedly. His mind was elsewhere though. So close to the target he could not afford to be ill-prepared. He thought of several plans, yet unfortunately they all required more information than he had. Information that would have to be found out in person. He kept them at the forefront of his thoughts should any become viable.

"This beast seems to be as large as we expected." He looked towards it, his eyes filled with a naked hunger. "If we are lucky, it will leave itself exposed, and we can end this quickly before it can reach the Mages."

Old Templar instincts flaring, Selferas gazed at the Cloud, memories coming back to him now. He drew his Blood Sword, and his Rune Blade. "So fel a beast... Why to the dead not assault it? They attack anything invading there home." He still remembered the feeling of there knife like hands, grazing his arm.

"Thankfully, given there state, there is no more powerful undead in the area commanding them." Though I may need to try "Do you have any thoughts on this, Magister Sephiroth? Is it possible there is something else in this desert we should be worried about?"

"Not in this area," Sephiroth replied, his eyes still on the shuddering sand dune. "I think the dragon should be sufficient." As though Selferas were worried that the beast would not provide enough entertainment.

There came another roar. Then, with an explosion of sand, the sand dune burst inward, and the Nether Wyrm thundered into the hollow amidst a cloud of dust, bones, and shimmering armour.

It stood well over ten feet at the shoulder. It was very bulky; it was framed with large bones, wrapped in thick muscle (though a hollowness about its ribs implied it could use some food, and some of its scaly skin hung in folds). Its head was long, studded with horns along its loewer jawlins and the bridge of its snout. A particularly long horn jutted out and slightly up from its nose, perhaps making it appear even larger than it was, but there was no doubted its maw could take an average-sized man in one bite. Its body was about thirty feet in length, not counting the heavy tail, which was about another ten feet. On its back, on either side of a spikey ridge, a pair of wings were furled, either vestigial or long atrophied. Set into its head were a pair of red eyes, apparently small in its bulk, but large enough and filled with malevolent intelligence. And the thing was, from front horn to its tial, completely black.

One other feature it had: a large, flat, golden ring or wheel about its stubby neck, the lateral surfaces of which were written about with ancient sigils which glowed white, transfusing the light given off by the gold. The ring was seemingly driven into the beast with seven spokes, set equidistant from each other.

"Now you may engage." Sephiroth dry voice seemed to over-ride the roar of the beast as it set its eyes on the dune top. "Selferas, Seiralt. Assault it with me. Yuna, Rikku, Kefka; bombard it from the dune tops. It cannot climb, so you will be safe, unless it makes the dune collapse. We shall try to prevent that.

“Thought it was going to be bigger…” Seirait muttered. Half of his plans were blown away by the lack of size. Still going for the throat. “And Judgemaster…its Seirait... Watch for dancing steel…” He bolted forward, Dancing Wolf in hand, finger on the trigger. Though the sand tugged at his feet Seirait moved towards the Nether Wyrm.

As he ran his left hand began to crackle and burn as a Flare spell began to charge. It’s not going to like having its throat ripped open. As he got within twelve feet of the beast he spun and released his blade, the circular force sending it to wrap around the dark dragon’s neck. He kept his finger on the trigger to retract it once it had wrapped around, flaying the flesh from its neck. No, this beast is not going to like this at all. He kept the Flare spell ready as a countermeasure for the Nether Wyrm’s probable retaliation. Given how its size had disappointed him though it might not even counterattack; in that case he’d cast the flare anyway.

Selferas took to the skies in an explosion of Sand. He was climbing higher, and higher, and shifted his weight gently, before plummeting downwards. He had his Rune Blade drawn, ready to transfer all the force of his leap into the blow, and once it was sufficiently wounded, his fangs would sink into the beast's undefended body.

"My thirst..." He was quickly losing his ability to control himself. He could feel it, his fangs coming out. But at this point, it was do or die. And Selferas was already dead.

The beast did not exactly expect Seirait's attack. The extended blade wrapped around its neck, snug against the wheel. When it was retracted, it unleashed a whirl of shattered scales and gobs of flesh, adding a necklace of blood to the beast's golden collar. However the dragon not seem particularly hampered by this.

It did roar in anger, but then it reared back onto its hind legs. It sank a good bit itno the sand, but it was still extremely impressive. The stream of fiery-seeming breath he spat down at the man was not. Up close maybe it could have done serious injury, but at that distance it would only singe, even if it hit. The monster roared agian, apparently confused by its own weakness.

---

I guess I won't do that move, then. Sephiroth had been going to jump at the monster's back himself, but there was no point to having two people employ the same tactic. Instead he jogged -- for him it could not be called running -- down the slope behind Seirait, observing the new recruit's attack and the creature's response.

Impressive, thought Sephiroth as he saw the weapon utilised. That was one the Shinra hadn't thought of. Seeing the dragon rear up -- not unlike the ones on the Planet, though this one was much larger -- he looked at Seru, calculated his angle of descent, then swung Masamune up to his left shoulder and then out in an arc. A shingin crescent of energy tore off from the blade, flying above Seirait's head and timed to miss Seru, as Seru would miss the dragon. Then he reached across, grasping the lower hilt with his left hand as he began running in earnest, past Seirait on his right and into the area were the beast would fall when he dropped from its current posture.

Seirait saw the fiery breath coming towards him. The distance was just enough for the breath to do anything to him besides make him sweat a bit more. Still the flaming breath obscured his vision and the Flare spell needed to be used. He sidestepped just enough to get a clear shot before casting it.

He watched as Sephiroth's energy arc surged over and and caught his movment as he ran past. He said that it's resistant to elemental but I doubt these ancient chroniclers were able to get inside the dragon. Blade at the ready he followed Sephiroth, seeing exactly wherer they were headed. He intended to fire the blade into the wound he had made and sent a Thundara spell down the length of the steel and into its blood. We'll see if it's resistant on the inside.

Boltden stood dazed as the massive pitch black dragon appeared before them just as angry as he pictured it, almost in an instant everyone was moving to attack the dragon, he then shook himself back to reality Better start pulling my weight! Boltden jogged ahead and slid down the side of the dune on his way down he materialized the King's Glory but then jumped to dodge the fiery breath heading his way.

After regaining his balance Boltden reviewed the battlefield, the new kids whip like weapon had shredded the dragon's neck, Selferas was trying to tear into the dragon's back, and Sephiroth had unleashed a signature slash at the dragon. "Try this one, you stupid beast!" One of the materia on Boltden's bangle began to glow and several black holes appeared around Boltden's body and began to fire off multiple comets aimed at the dragon's exposed underbelly

Selferas slammed into the sand, and propelled himself straight at the Creature's body. "I AM GOING TO TEAR YOU APART!" He waited until he could get his hands on the beast, and once he could, would latch on, and drive his fangs into the beasts body.

The dragon took the flare spell, swaying on its feet but not apparently harmed.

It started to fall forward, eyes on the man with the whip-sword. Too late it saw the shining arc of energy; not that it could do anything anyway. The attack struck it in the belly. A red line appeared, and a second later a cascade of blood poured out and turned the sand into crimson mud. The beast roared, now stepping backward so as not to be impaled upon the silver-haired man's long sword, which it anticipated.

Then it was hit by Boltden's meteors.

It roared again, but this time in pain. The beast overbalanced, and fell, twisting in a pointless effort not to fall on the warriors' weapons. It crashed to earth, sending up a huge cloud of dust which, when it cleared, showed the dragon laying with its right flank towards the heroes. A flank which was soon under attack by Selferas.

Nothing would resist him plunging his fangs into it; but he would find no blood, only loose folds of dead flesh. And maybe a chipped tooth if he happened to strike one of the healthier scales.

---

Sephiroth's mouth compressed into a thin line. This was an ancient terror? He did not let his disappointment brake his charge, however. He continued to run, before leaping into the air. He reversed Masamune's blade, thrusting down a seocnd before he landed on the massive skull. The shining sword struck straihgt into the dragon's brain. The beast's eyes opened wide, and it gave one final roar before stiffening, its muscles locked by the fatal blow.

Sephiroth hopped down. His long hair was sullied, and gore dripped from his uniform and weapon. He glanced over at Selferas. "What are you doing?"

The eruption of sand blinded Boltden but he drove his spear into the ground to keep himself from being knocked off his feet. Boltden wiped his eyes until his vision cleared up only to see Sephiroth drive his massive blade into the dragon's skull. Even an ancient dragon wasn't a challenge for him, what makes him so powerful? Boltden pulled his spear from the dune and looked over to Sephiroth.

"This is the ancient dragon? This thing couldn't even stand up to us all attacking together. I expected a lot more from a dragon, the ones back home could take a major beating before they would drop." Boltden then noticed Selferas tearing into the corpse with his teeth. "Are you...trying to eat it?" Boltden rubbed his eyes again thinking the sand was making him see things someone wouldn't try to eat something like that.

Seirait watched as the meteoric fragments slammed into the dragon's abdomen, toppling it and sending up a cloud of dust. Someone else must have joined the fray. He crouched down and shoved his blade in the sand with one hand and covered his face with his arm to weather the dust cloud. As soon as it was over he stood up only to see Sephiroth standing over the dragons corpse with his blade in its head.

"Trash..." he muttered as he cleaned the sandy gore from his Dancing Wolf. "Not even as strong as a T-Rexaur," he continued, the disappointment in his voice palpable. As he finished he scanned the corpse to find Selferas apparently feasting on dragon flank. Somewhat surprised at this turn of events he quickly put it to being that there were a plethora of weird people in Ivalice. At least I chose a strong one for an ally, he thought, looking back at Selferas' jumps.

He walked over to the beast and spat at it. "I assume we're done with this waste of life," he said with contempt.

His entire body was shaking. "ALTIMA DAMN THIS BEAST TO HELL NOT A DROP OF BLOOD IN THE CARCASS!" He drove his Rune Blade into it, before kicking the body, tearing his sword out, and storming off. "This thrice bedamned desert, I have had enough of it." He angled himself perfectly to grab Seirait's collar while he was on the way. "Come on." He sheathed the Rune Blade, and Seirait could plainly see his fangs.

Selferas was a Vampire.

" ... At least it was bigger than the dragons back home," he replied blandly to Boltden. Really, it only went down faster because there were four of them. The Planet's dragons he could take out in one, two shots at the most.

He looked to Seirait, about to tell him that yes, they were finished here, when Seru started yelling. Apart from the patent discrepancy -- Sephiroth's hair being clotted with the creature's blood, though it had fallen away from sword and coat -- why should anyone care about how much blood was in the stupid carcass? Attention on Selferas now, he watched him grab Seirait's collar. Then the Judgemaster intervened.

He strode forward, outpacing the other man, then turned, facing him and cutting off his path.

"Care to explain why you're trying to abduct Seirait?" he asked coldly. It might not be apparent, but the ease of this hunt had disgusted him as well. Now Seru's strangeness was trying his temper further.

"I need to talk to him in Private Judgemaster, now if you would excuse us." Selferas looked like there was absolutely nothing preventing him from killing Sephiroth. And then the reek of the blood hit him. He let go of Seirait, and his hands began to shake. "Judgemaster, get as far away from me as you can. I'm not going to be able to hold myself back any longer." His fangs were apparent. His Crimson eyes, his Nocturnal habits, his black hair....

He was a Vampire.

This time Seirait was shocked at how brusque Selferas was being, ending up with him being dragged for a few feet before trying to break free. He quickly switched his Dancing Wolf to his left hand where it hung limply at his side and was about to break free with his right hand when he found himself on his back in the sand.

"The hell was that for?"he snarled at Selferas. The momentary flare of red was quickly eclipsed by his normal cold tones. "I don't suppose there's a reason for trying to drag me off?"

He quickly stood up and dusted himself down. Looking at his abductor he saw Selferas confronting Sephiroth, a hungry look in his eyes. His hands are shaking again...

When Selferas began acting enraged at the dragon's lack of blood, Boltden's grip tightened around his spear. I knew I felt uneasy on this mission, but seriously, one of our own?! Boltden jogged to catch up to Sephiroth and the others.

Boltden took a defensive stance at Selferas outburst towards Sephiroth. "Calm down, Selferas! There is no reason to become a body bag!" However, with a demonic look in his eyes Boltden might as well have been yelling at a wall.

On the Planet, vampires existed only in legend. However, it took only a few seconds for Sephiroth to take that legend and apply it to the evidence. So, he had been sheltering a creature of darkness within his Clan. The Judgemaster appreciated the irony, but it did not make him happy. In fact, when added to his already foul mood, it made him angry.

"Ha ha ha ... Is that right." He pointed Masamune at Selferas. "You realise that threatening an officer of Her Majesty's government is a capital offense, I hope. I'd hate for you to die ignorant of the law."

He clenched his left fist. A green glow emanated form the armband as he raised it, casting Cure3 on Selferas. Now the man's desire not to be healed made perfect sense. Vampires might not exist on the Planet, but undead did, and Sephiroth knew well how to deal with the vermin.

With the disappointment of the previous battle gone and with what could be a new battle brewing, Seirait's mind went into overdrive, trying to figure out why this fight happening. And because it involved Selferas -his ally- he had to move with all the speed he could.

Thinking back on what had happened- Selferas' annoyance at the beast's lack of blood, his trying to drag Seirait away, his warning - as if he was about to become some sort of demon. Seirait looked at Selferas and his eyes opened in surprise. The man did have a beastly visage -blood-red eyes and fangs protuding from the mouth.

But it was a warning. Whatever he was it wasn't his wish to become this. It was an affliction. Something he probably dealt with everyday. Seirait knew the pain of affliction and that of never having people near you. All he had was his training, nothing else. There were no memories to share, no family that would've been waiting at home. There would probably never be any memories either - they were lost to fate's fickle hand. He had been alone.

But now he had found that one person, or so he thought. The one person he could trust to have his back. So what if he was a beast? He was still Seirait's partner.

He raced to Sephiroth again switching his weapon to the other hand - a preparation for battle though he hoped it wouldn't come to that. Once he got there he put his left hand on Sephiroth's in a firm but weak grip, just enough to slow his casting down.

"It's not a threat but a warning. He doesn't want this." he said, a slightly forceful timbre to his cold voice. "The blood is the trigger for this change. Take it away and he's fine. He after you because you're covered in the Nether Wrym's gore. He's not some mindless creature to kill. And I dont plan on letting you do away with the one person I might be able to trust..."

He looked back at Selferas for an instant before looking back at Sephiroth,his odd green eyes ablaze. "It would be best if you left and gave him some time....Both you and the other...."

It was a monstrous noise. The sound roaring out of him as he was swarmed over in light. "ALTIMA!" This was it. "DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU FOR NOT UNDERSTANDING!" He Roared, and leapt straight into the air. "I ONLY WANTED TO SAVE YOU THE PAIN!" He was climbing higher, he needed to be higher...

ANd he was falling, body racked with pain. He landed on the dune, his perfect features burned. He then fell to a Knee. He looked at Sephiroth. "SEE NOW THE POWER OF THE LADY!" He raised his hand, the dark magics gathering together. "I served you loyally, fed not to kill, but to exhaust, and this is the thanks!"

He closed his crimson eyes.

"AURORA!"

The Light was gone.

The Wind Stopped.

"EXHALE BLOODY AIR!"

And Selferas was being engulfed in dark light.

"UNHOLY DARKNESS!"

And the explosion rang out, the dune being destroyed. Selferas was healed. And he fell to one knee amidst the sand, smiling as it began to engulf him.

"May you burn in hell." And then he was gone.

Sephiroth jerked his arm inwards, roughly breaking Seirait's grip. He looked at the man, and for the moment his expression was ungarded. His face was tight with anger, and behind his eyes burned an intense hatred. Traitor. He even started to lift his sword, as though he would strike his presumptuous subordinate. However, before he did, he wondered if the man might be speaking the truth.

It was too late, though. The spell had been cast. Sephiroth looked back to Selferas, unmoved by the man's cries. He sounds ... so like Genesis, only less refined. He closed his eyes, taking the time to thrust his anger back while the man jumped. As he did so, he spun his sword around, so that the inner edge pressed against his arm, then let both his arms fall to his sides, leaving Masamune to point harmlessly upwards.

Mask back in place, he opened his eyes to see Selferas at the apex of his jump. Turning, he watched him land on the top of the dune. Very like Genesis, he noted dispassionately at the drama. Sephiroth prepared to dodge a spell. But -- Ah, he's healing himself. He will not fight.

Sephiroth strolled forward, watching him disappear into the sand. At the edge of the sinkhole that had formed he paused.

"Why would you trust such a one?" The question was obviously meant for Seirait. "Blood-thirsty, deceitful, cowardly ... why are you so quick to risk your life for him?"

"Why, you ask? Why do I trust Selferas?" Seirait asked. "The truth is I can't trust anyone. Except for one person. I'm sure you can understand when I say that people like this one,"he paused, pointing his Dancing Wolf at Boltden, "merely get in the way. My method is to work alone. But there is one problem. A single fault that we all fall prey to. And that, Judgemaster, is the knife in our backs," he continued as he walked ot the other side of the sinkhole to face Sephiroth.

"The only person I can trust is the one I know will guard my back. Out of all of you Selferas was the only one that showed promise. If he would prevent my assassination from behind then by the same turn I would do the same for him." Seirait looked into Sephiroth's eyes, a burning passion in his own and rising in his voice.

"You would attempt to destroy a man for what he is. For what he does not want to be. For something he fights against every second. It is a pain I recognize, one that I have myself, though not as severe. Would you destroy me too, simply for being an abberration to convention?" he asked Sephiroth.

Not waiting for a reply he continued, "Deceitful...You could say I was deceitful. You know little about me and here I seem to have defended an abomination in front of your eyes. Cowardly...To retreat and make a more controlled assault? That is tactics."

He finished his verbal attack with a smirk. "And risk my life? I don't think so. Even if you wouldn't think so, I can hold my own." He casually flipped his hair aside to reveal his Eye of Eternity, the black ink shining slightly in the desert sun. "And I'm not opposed to proving it..."