A Misguided World

[Deleted]

The doors of the church opened slowly, showing a figure knelt down right at the doorstep. "Pardon my intrusion," came the man's deep, smooth voice. He slowly stood again and walked into the chapel, hearing his footsteps echo around him alongside the clinking of the duffel bag over his shoulder. His pace was slow and gentle, in respectful reverence. When he arrived near the pool of water, he stopped and looked at it. "This wasn't here before." He put the duffel bag on the ground near him and bent down slowly, looking at the water. He took a handful of it and drank. "It tastes normal though. How odd..."

[Malachi]

"The only refreshing water in this god damned place." a voice replied from somewhere above. Perched like a bird on a still firm wooden bar that held up the ceiling of the holy building was a grotesquely out of place. A demon in a church, how ironic. He looked down at the visitor with curious green eyes. Why was he here? This place got a surprising number of visitors. Maybe they couldn't leave the past behind? Whatever this new visitor's reason was, Kaibutsu kept his distance. He remembered in grusome detail what he had done and almost did to Kora. Maybe this man was religious. It wouldn't hurt to ask as long as he stayed where he was. If he got urges again, he could fly through the hole in the roof. "Sorry if I'm nosy... but why're you here?" the nightmarish disaster asked, tail flicking.

[Deleted]

The man had reacted in an instant, one of his handguns aimed at where the voice came from without moving any other part of his body from where he was at the water's edge. When he found that the man was no threat, he lowered the gun and gave a relieved smile. "A good guy..." he whispered before answering the man.

"Sorry. It's alright. You have a right to be nosy after I pointed such a thing at you." He stood and spun the gun around on his finger before putting it into the duffel bag. "I just came to see the flowers and found nothing but water. I guess something happened here while I was gone." He stopped himself and sighed.

"Well, I sure am being rude today, aren't I? My name is Touya, by the way. Touya Martin. May I ask yours?" His tone kept respectful, his voice quiet in reverence of the chapel and its seemingly-holy water.

[Malachi]

It all happened so fast; the gun was pointed, his wings flared out defensively. Luckily, the alarm that threatened to knock his delicate psyche off dispersed as quickly as it arrived, and he relaxed his wings to his side once again. He lowered his head with a soft moan. Too edgy lately... such things were detrimental.

The unsightly experiment grinned sheepishly from his perch. "Has it? I haven't been here till recently, so I don't know how it was before." Well, he hadn't been anywhere outside till now, cooped up in that insane asylum. Again, he was asked his names, and again, he failed to have a suitable answer. He never had a real name in his life. Downcast eyes flickered sorrowfully, though it was probably hard to see from where he was.

"I don't have a name. My alias is Kaibutsu, Specimen 1593-24A6." the boy, no more than sixteen by the looks of it, muttered almost inaudibly.

[Deleted]

Touya sighed, closing his eyes. "No name? That's a bit unsettling..." He held his hand up to his head a moment. "Mind if I give you a name then?" he asked in a friendly tone, smiling a bit. "I'm pretty good at it."

[Malachi]

Give him a name? He could do that? He looked curiously through shaggy, unkempt black hair. "Give me a name?" the demonic creature repeated, "Umm, I guess so." he was being modest, of course he would love to have a name, a real name, one that wasn't a brand or a jeering insult.

[Deleted]

Touya nodded and held his hand to his chin, his other hand resting on his hip. "Hmmm... Let's see..." He looked down at the water a moment, pondering in silence. After a moment, he lowered his hand. "How about Malachi? It means 'messenger'. Sound good to you?" he asked, smiling up at the young man. "I could think of another one if you don't like it."

[Malachi]

Machili ... Machili ... Machili It rung like a song in his head. Was he really a messenger? Then again, was he really a monster? The dragon hybrid made a happy sound like the trill of a songbird. "No, no! I like it," he chimed, at last secure enough in his sanity to descend from the ceiling. Giant black wings expanded to their impressive full length, each finger-like appendage twitching in turn (really, this was no different than stretching) before he descended with surprising grace to the wooden floor. His calloused, bare feet touched the ground with a dull 'thud'. "Thank you."

[Deleted]

Touya nodded. "Alright, Malachi it is. So, Malachi... Where are you from?" he asked, picking his duffel bag up and holding it behind him with the strap over his shoulder.

[Malachi]

"I was created here in Midgar before it was destroyed. I was their little fuck up, so I got thrown in the crazy house because of them!" the newly named mistake replied with rising anger, till he was spitting out the last few words with everything vile he felt for his creators. He'd thought it had been his fault he'd been turned into this, and all his anger was towards himself. That anger had not dispersed, but fresh hatred had been directed towards his gods. The boy shuddered, teeth bared. Perhaps he would have gone into a rage again if it weren't for him flying back up to the roof in a panic. "I... I'm sorry."

[Deleted]

Created? A remnant of that Jenova project or whatever it was called? I see... Touya closed his eyes. "Do not worry. I understand such anger is hard to contain. This world is, after all, misguided and absurd." He adjusted the drawstring on his shoulder. "Well, I can't stay for too long. I'm looking for a job and all." He gave a half wave and headed for the chapel doors. He halted at them a moment.

"Oh, right. Just promise to remember that name and something else." He looked back at Malachi over his shoulder. "Anything in this world that draws breath has a right to live. Plants, animals, humans... Even monsters. So long as they breathe and live, they have that right. Without argument, that includes me and you." With that, the lone gunman pushed the chapel doors open and left without another word.