The Fall of the Society

Chapter 33: The Phoenix

She had remained on the move for almost the entire two weeks. This task was easy, it is what she had been doing before making the mistake of falling into the Society's trap. The anger she had at herself for believing the story the assassin had sold her had continued to grow since her escape. The forest around her was dark in the starless night. Creeping along in complete silence, she looked around cautiously. Her desire to walk into another trap was very low, and she was hoping to arrive at the cave before the other person that had wanted to meet her there.

Hunger ached in her stomach, she had been walking for the last day, so not to draw attention by using her powers. She hoped that she might be able to find some food but doubted that she would be able to do so in the dark without using her powers in order to see. Her suit had turned to a dark green to blend her in with her surroundings, her hair was once again tied back in a bright red ponytail. Crouching down, she knelt against the cave wall, just inside the opening. Leaning her head back she soon fell fast asleep.

Sunlight shining through the canopy danced upon her face, and she realized she had leaned over onto the ground in her sleep. Much to her surprise she had a blanket over top of her and could smell fish cooking nearby. Sitting bolt upright she looked around and saw a man knelt beside a fire poking a fish in a hot skillet. Her movement had not alarmed him, he just sat back and gazed at her.

"The food is ready," he said with a smile. "I would have made you something last night, but you fell asleep too quickly."

Her expression was of complete shock. "It's you!" she shouted at him. "You were the one I ran into that night I visited the Hall of Heroes!" She rose to her feet, ready to fight.

Sid's expression did not change, he still wore his classic smile. "If I had any wish to harm you, I would have done so last night. Or I could have left you, delusional, in Society care." He motioned toward the food, "Eat, you will feel better."

Eying him cautiously, she could tell he was telling the truth, but was hesitant to trust him. Had he wanted to hurt her; he could have done so while she was sleeping. "Who are you, and why are you interested in me?"

He did not reply right away but glanced skyward as if contemplating what to tell her. Looking back down, "I am Sid, remember, and my interest in you is much more of a story than the last time we met."

Rose looked around, as if checking if there was anyone lurking in the forest. "Go ahead and tell me, I am listening."

Sid laughed, "We are quite alone. I will know long before you if anyone is coming, so you can relax. Besides, you are powerful enough to destroy anyone the Society sends after you."

A sudden thought flashed across Rose's beautiful face, "What about whoever they send after you?"

At her words, Sid laughed heartily. "They barely even know of my existence, let alone how to find me. Only one person knows how to find me, and I believe he may be dead now." His smile finally faltered, but only for a moment. "You know more about me than they do now."

After another moment of quiet staring, Rose moved forward quickly and accepted the fish he was holding out for her to take. "Thank you for the food, but I still want to know why you wanted to meet here."

"This is just an undisclosed location, a place the Society never found," he told her. He contemplated her as she ate for a moment. "Have you ever heard of Project Phoenix?" he asked her in a much more serious tone. With a mouthful of fish, she simply shook her head. "The lead on the project is Scion, the man who was in charge of you. He has proved very tricky to locate. I keep finding where he has been, but I have failed to find the man himself." Disappointment shown on his face. "I will of course eventually find him, but that does not help us at the moment." Leaning forward, he handed her a basket of berries that he had picked, and she continued to eat. "You were the heart of the project, all of it was based on you." She looked up stunned. "Do you know what you are?"

"What do you mean?" she questioned him.

Sid smiled, "You are special, you are on a different level than most. You are a large jump in the evolutionary chain." Waiting to see if she said anything, he continued when she remained silent. "You are a phoenix, not a human."

Berries shot from her mouth, as she spluttered and choked at his statement. She followed it up with a bout of laughter that soon died out when she noticed that he was serious. Looking herself up and down, a smirk crossed her fine features. "Pretty sure your research is wrong," she said flatly.

Shaking his head, he replied simply, "It is not. I do not act upon data until I know it is one hundred percent true." Shifting his position, he stared at her. "You are not the first phoenix I have known; you are actually the second, but that is an even longer story."

"How can you be sure?" she asked lowly.

Removing the pan and grate from the fire, he continued talking. "You are an extreme oddity, but phoenix are born to normal people and possess incredible abilities. When Scion found out what you are, he made every effort to procure you. The original data I found told me that your parents sold you, but I later found out this was false. Scion has the ability to erase, shape, and create memories. He wiped your parent's memories that you were alive and implanted a memory of a car crash in which you died. In my search I came across one of the Doctors that had worked with you before that, she had said you were interested in helping people as a child. You wanted to use your powers to help heal others."

"You found my parents?" Rose asked, cutting him off slightly.

His smile faded a bit, "I have not pulled that thread yet, I figured they would not have information that would help me, but I will do so for you after my mission is completed if you would like."

"I am not sure, they wouldn't even remember me," the words escaped her sadly.

Sid stood and began to pace, "There are ways to correct memories." There was a flash across her eyes so he continued quickly, "Unfortunately it can be very dangerous to try and do so to someone that has had their memory modified more than once, and gets even more dangerous the more it has been done to them." Her eyes dropped and he could see more sadness fill her mind. "Your desire to help others has never faded, which is how the Society goaded you into that trap. Do not feel bad, the Society is very good at laying traps, and very good at keeping their secrets."

"What does all this have to do with me being this "phoenix" thing?" she asked affronted.

"It has everything to do with it," Sid replied with his smile returning. "Your desire to do good is directly linked to what you are, but in the end, it may drive you to lose hope, because the darkness never retreats regardless of your efforts." He watched her for a moment, wondering what she was thinking. "You are immortal."

Her eyes shot up, "What?"

"Why do you think your powers become so much stronger the closer to death you get?" Sid told her. "The Society has noticed this, and it is why the sprung their latest trap. There was no chance of you dying from the gas, so your ability of rebirth never reacted."

"How is that possible? How do you know I am immortal?" Rose asked quickly and desperately.

"I know this, because I too am immortal, but for different reasons," Sid said quietly. "Walking the earth as long as I have, gives you a lot of insight and gives you unending chances to learn new things and I have used my time wisely."

Rose rounded on him, not aggressively, but with great interest and an increasing desire to know more. "How long have you been alive?"

"I knew you might ask me that, it is why I chose this location to meet. It will give us as much time as we like to talk, because the story you are asking me to tell is incredibly long."

The excitement she was feeling surprised even her, but she felt that the information he was sharing was incredibly rare and may contain a lot of new knowledge. She sat across from him, staring over the smoldering fire, leaning forward in anticipation.