[Author's Notes: Yes, this is my first fic sent to the list; I've been
getting poked and prodded to share. This was inspired by the first in-game
anime cutscene, in Lahan Village; the spoilers are very mild and should be
fine for anyone who's gotten past that first section of the game. C&C
welcomed, both publically and privately, though I will warn that most
sentence structure and grammatical errors have been induced on purpose. My
other works can be found at the URL in my signature below, both Xenogears
and FF7. Enjoy. ^_^]



		Evil Genius Devices, Ltd. Presents:

				exodus


	The screams. Oh God the screams. Make them stop, make them stop,
make it go away. I can hear them screaming. I can hear the laughter. Home.
My home. My only home. I must protect. They have welcomed me. Oh God make
the screaming stop. I watch them die. I can stop them. It is kneeling
behind me. It is waiting for me. Oh God the flames and the stench. I can
save them. I know I have to save them. I have to try. I'm so scared, so
scared, so scared. 
	A step. Another. I'm running and I don't know why. Doc, where are
you? Doc, why do I feel so feverish? Why do I feel like my skin is too
small for me? I need to run, I need to run far away from here, run far
away and hide under a rock, crawl under my rock and not let me see this.
Doc, where are you? Why are you letting this happen? Why can't you keep it
safe? Why can't you fix this too?
	The monster waits. It's waiting for me. It's waiting for me to
take it. It's waiting to swallow me whole and make me part of it. I need
to. I need to stop this. I need to save them.
	Flash. Laugh. Cross swinging back and forth before my eyes. I ...
I know it? I've seen it? My body ... I'm nothing but a passenger in my
body, just like my body becomes a passenger in the monster. A voice.
Instructions. The controls fit my hands. I know what to do and I don't
know why. Fingertips on cool plastic. Look, look, they're coming for me. I
stand between them and my home. I'm home. I'm finally home. Oh God I'm
finally home and they're burning it to the ground. I'm burning, I'm
burning up, I can feel myself dissolving, I can feel myself becoming part
of it. Part of the burning. Part of the struggle. The struggle, it refuses
to end, I knock the other monster down and it rises to mock me. Mock me, I
dare you. You will not destroy my home.
	Someone is laughing. I can hear someone laughing but there's no
one here but me. And them. They're laughing at me. You will not have him.
He is my friend, you can't hurt him. I won't let you. Doc, where are you?
Doc, why aren't you fixing this? Why do I have to do it? Why do I know how
to do it? A button. A display. Fingertips and palm against metal and
plastic. It's coming rushing into me from someplace I've never been. Oh
God the laughter Oh God the screams. Oh God he's dying.
	Oh God I'm dying Oh God take me with you Oh God don't leave me
here alone again. Flash. Laugh. Burning Oh God it's burning I'm burning
home is burning it's all burning down and it's taking me with it and I
can't ever find me again and my heart is singing to me. I want to save
this. I want to destroy this I want to destroy them I want to save them I
want to save it all. I understand. I understand. I understand God I
understand God I want to run God I want this to stop God make it go away
and not happen. God. God. God. take me God take me away and take it all
back I don't want it anymore I don't want it I don't want this I don't
want I don't I this is not me
	Flash. Laugh. Cross swinging. my eyes go white, blessed white and
the screams pierce my skin like spears and I am dissolving into nothing
	I am nothing


               Denise Paolucci  * alanna@cybernothing.org
         "The opposite of war isn't peace. It's creation." --Rent
            * http://www.cybernothing.org/~alanna/index.html *