She could feel it.

A dark meline presence that made itself known almost as soon as she stepped foot on church row. It started first with the hair on the back of her neck, prickling upward as long forgotten vestigial instincts rose up from her animal brain. What followed was a cold crawling sensation, down her neck and over her body in waves. Her chest tightened and her heart began to beat out a frantic rhythm against the inside of her ribcage. Her throat closed up as if a cold dark hand had reached itself from the darkness and clamped around her neck.

Her feet felt like lead,

Behind her, Ramirez had frozen up almost completely rooted to the spot by the powerful sensation. In the half light she could see his lips trembling. His honey golden eyes were hidden away in shadows making the irises appear black in the half dark. Maverick reached out, taking Ramirez by the hand. His skin was cold to the touch and clammy, and his hand shook with gentle tremors.

It had been years since she had felt this fear, and was struck by just how heavy the presence was. To think this had once been a part of her daily life.

"M-maverick." Ramirez's voice was soft and raspy in the half dark, so thin it was hard to believe it belonged to him at all.

She couldn't help her skin from crawling.

"Its alright." She said, but even she didn't believe that. A part of her was glad Ramirez was here, but another part of her cursed herself for dragging him into this.

Maverick had always known she would return here some day. No matter how far she run, how fast she went, and to whatever ends of the galaxy she ventured she had always known. Perhaps she had spent all this time running from the inevitable, but now it was time to change all that to see this through to the end whatever that may be.

Still holding Ramirez's hand in hers, she led him down church row.

She didn't bother to stop as she passed her old haunts.

There was sanctuary here at the same time there was danger. The old red brick church on the right with its simple white steeple was all to familiar, where the rest of this place was a hell of fear and torment, that little church was an oasis of calm and quiet and comfort. This place was a place of extremes, the darkest hells and the lightest lights.

That little red brick church would have offered them sanctuary, would have given them bliss.

But she knew if she went in she may not have the strength to come out again, and for Ramirez it was clear it took all he had just to stay with her. If she offered them rest now, it was likely neither of them would manage. And so she continued on, dragging them further and further down church row, past the gothic chapels with their moldering facades past brick stained with years of decay, past rot iron fences and slowly accumulating rubble. From the corner of her eyes, she saw signs of life: a footprint in the dust to recent to be a relic of the past, the remnants of a fire, smoke rising up to stain brickwork black.

She wasn't the only child of church row, but deep down she knew she was its principal.

The further they went the greater the meline presence became, wrapping around them like the constricting body of a snake.

Ramirez clutched her arm hands gripping her tightly.

He was whispering soemthing under his breath now, but she couldn't really make it out. She doubt she would have understood it anyway as the few words she did recognize were in Spanish.

She turned right down a small alleyway.

And that is where she found it: the familiar oaken door with its intricate little carvings left to rot by time and neglect hidden away between pipes in the old city's walls. She reached out a hand and pushed the door open.

It swung inward without so much as a creek.

Her breathing sped up, and Ramirez's muttered supplication grew in quickness and intensity. She had to urge him forward over the stoop and into the chapel with its rows of pillars and lines of pews. A distant ambient light glowed down from above, just the way it had so long ago. A cold tingling ran up her face as she remembered the last time she had visited, how it had followed her.

She could feel it now waiting patiently for her somewhere below.

She pulled Ramirez up the central isle, and about halfway up she jolted to a halt as he stopped in place. Overhead the massive wooden crossed loomed over them in the near darkness. She gripped Ramirez by the hand and tugged him on. She wasn't going to leave him alone here.

They had gone too far now.

As they reached the top of the little stairwell into the basement, Ramirez's soft supplication had turned into a plea. Though she didn't understand the words, the intent was clear. First one step and then another they moved down the stairs, and then the cold feeling died away. The prickling fear that had encompassed her so completely faded for a time. The world around her grew quiet and muffled as the fear dampened, and for a moment there was nothing as they made their last two steps down onto the basement floor.

The icons were still there, crosses thrown in a half hazard pile on the floor of the church basement discarded with time. Beside her Ramirez was coherent again, and still a sort of glowing ambience from everywhere and nowhere lit the room just enough for them to make out shapes. He tightened his grip on her hand as he looked around the room, his breathing coming in short shallow gasps.

Everything was so still.

Even the air seemed dead.

She turned to look at Ramirez and paused taking a step back as she watched his face.... watched s a slow spiderweb of glowing orange lines began to appear up the side of his neck, flaring and clustering around the scar on his cheek . In the reflection of his eyes she saw pinpricks of glowing orange light and knew that he was not alone.

The void.

Was here.

And then it all came rushing back, slamming into them with the force of a terrible wave of darkness. Fear so profound she couldn't stand it caused her knees to buckle, though she remained standing. Ramirez gasped and fell to his knees. Inside her body Maverick knew it was here.

It was coming.

"Here." Maverick 's head shot to the side following the sound of the croaking, rasping voice to the corner of the room, where it crouched, a humanoid silhouette.

Someone screamed.

And the thing lunged for her.

Maverick let go of Ramirez and only had time to lash out with her foot as the thing scuttled across the floor and grabbed her.

And then she was gone.

***

She wasn't sure where she was. It was dark, and it was cold, but she could no longer see.

"I knew you would return." The voice said, a croak on dead air

"Who are you." Maverick demanded. The worst had come, finally, and now her fear had abated. Either she would die here or she would not, but she was no longer afraid.

"Is that any way to treat and old friend?"

Maverick laughed, "Friends with you, unlikely."

"To the contrary. You and I have known each other for a long time." The voice sighed, "You had to go and bring one of them with you."

She turned, still feeling her body though she could see nothing, "one of who."

"One of Impetus's Deus, and this one, out of all the ones you could bring."

Maverick shivered lightly feeling the hatred oozing from the creature as it spoke, "Adam? What does he have to do with this?"

The voice scoffed, "What doesn't that bastard have to do with it. Don't tell me you've forgotten."

There was a long pause.

"Ah well of course, What do you remember."

She was hesitant, not wanting to speak or give anything away. When the silence dragged on the voice sighed.

"Then let me fill it in for you. You know Impetus, second to last born of the last cohort, the Architect's favorite son and his marry band of Deus, his Apotheo, those against which we have worked so long to fight."

Maverick felt her insides run cold, 'What do you mean.... We."

It cackled, "My dear, dear Renegade, how much you have forgotten. Here let me refresh your memory."

There was a flash and a stab of pain, Maverick clutched her head and gasped, falling to her knees in the half darkness. Another flash of bright white came, and more searing pain. She felt the jostle of the crowd pressing against her form that was neither quite physical or quite spiritual. The light of revelation was blinding as she stood in the crowd.

She saw faces, beautiful and glowing, accompanied by another, it was hard to say who for they were incomprehensible, but she knew the others, at least by reputation.

She remembered voices

Heard conversations.

Names

Impetus, and the others, the ones who would save revelation. Minor celebrities for they were the last of their Cohort, the last sons and daughters of the architect. Oh how the crowd adored them. She felt a flash of sudden envy and hatred so strong she felt she'd be sick.

The vision vanished.

"Tell me you don't remember. The last cohort, annoying , favored, "Special"

"I don't know what you're talking about.

It laughed, "you think you're one of them but you're not. You've never fit in with them, just pure unlucky coincidence you end up in a group with Grace, who is somehow bund to Impetus by an intergalactic need for attention, always special, always important."

She shook her head, "You aren't making any sense."

"Perhaps another memory would help."

She cried out in pain but this time it was the dark, the light of revelation gone, "I was told I could find you here," She heard herself say .

"And what do you wish of me."

"I want to help you." Her voice was eager in the dark.

"Is that so, why?"

"I have my reasons." She said but inside she could feel it, a burning jealousy, a hatred for those others, who spent so much time in the light while the rest of them were practically ignored . The unfairness of it all was overwhelming. What she would have liked more than to watch the last cohort burn.

She gasped out of it back into the darkness where she knelt sick and shivering.

"You came to me not the other way around." The voice said, "Sick and tired of living in the shadow of Impetus and his cohort. Sick and tired of being nothing special, but I saw something special in you, I encouraged and fostered the darkness in you, and together we worked to dismantle them from the inside. Placed our corruption strategically."

"NO!"

"You can deny all you want but that doesn't change the truth, Renegade. Some of us are not born special, so we have to make due, and you have done wonderfully."

"No no no no no."

"I have waited years to bestow on you the power that is rightfully yours, and finally you have returned, and now our plans have come to fruition. The void works to hard, tries to force its way in Kazna is doing poor work, but you and I are already at the heart. We can use that."

"No."

"Now I will give you the power you have always wanted."

Her head burst with pain

And then she was lying on the floor of the church again and that thing was gone, but she could still feel it, crawling inside her. She squired and jerked wildly body contorting as she tried to fight away the thing, the void as it seeped into her very atoms. Overhead Ramirez knelt over her, grabbed her by the shoulders his eyes wide with fear.

Her vision flashed and for a moment she saw him for what he really was.

Grace, Gifted, born with the light of the architect in his face.

She snarled in anger. What she wouldn't give to take that from him.

He pulled back but didn't let go, "Maverick! Its ok I'm here!"

She jerked again feeling the anger roll through her brimming with eons of hatred and jealous and isolation.

She gripped him by the arm, and he grimaced in pain, "Maverick stop, it's me!"

Renegade wanted nothing more than to kill him, to take Grace by the throat and slaughter him, feed his Anima to the void. Her fingers tug into his arm drawing blood. He gasped in pain, she lunghed forward and gripped him around the neck with both hands. Despite him being bigger than her he was off balance and toppled over backwards into the dust gasping and choking as she poured all her energy into finishing him off.

His eyes were wide and confused,

"Maverick." He choked out

What she wouldn't love more than to see the light drain from his face.

In the dim glow his honey gold eyes were wide with confusion, but not disgust, or betrayal. That struck her as odd, and her hands loosened for a second. He looked up at her from where he lay on the floor his face sad but not accusatory as he choked out, "I'm sorry.... M maverick."

And then a wave of other memories flowed through her.

Sitting on a bus on their way to bootcamp.

Sharing a tent in the mud and the rain during training.

Hot sun burning down as they did pushups on the tarmac.

Fighting side by side over and over and over again.

The sound of metal over ice

The ringing of laughter.

And then more him and others Ramirez, Sunny, Adam, Katie, Krill, kanan, Celex and the list went on, but mostly Ramirez,

A wave of disgust washed through her and her hands broke from his neck, leaving him gasping on the floor as she staggered away. Inside her head the thing rebelled disgusted with her inability to do what needed to be done. She fell to her knees and clutched her head, "No, I won't... they... are.... Mine."

The forced of her call erupted outward.

And the entire room went black.

"Maverick!"

***

When she came to, she was sitting partially on the floor of an abandoned church, and partially in someone's arms. She didn't need to look up to know who it was, she recognized the smell, as annoyingly pleasant as his stupid face.

"Maverick?"

She groaned but looked up. Ramirez peered at her from out of the darkness. His voice was somewhat raspy but he was there and he was alive despite everything. She could not longer detect the presence in the room, but there was.... Something else, lurking inside her chest, in the back of her head sullen and angry.

"Bastard."

She muttered.

"What was that?"

She sat up rubbing her head, "An old friend..... we had a bit of a falling out."