[u][b]Introduction Part 1[/b][/u]
[u]The Man They Called Stryker​[/u]




[i]"They used to call me Stryker. Some of my friends still do.


Hanz Venechenko is my real name, but it tastes of blood. Hanz was a soldier. He killed a lot of innocent people for a lot of evil men.


Stryker was a rebel. He killed a lot evil men and saved a lot of innocent lives... I like Stryker, but I've been learning to like Hanz again. Because Stryker has no place in this world we've created, and someone told me that Hanz deserved a second chance. I miss him very much, that little blonde runt. Perhaps I'll see him again soon...


My name is Hanz Venechenko. You probably don't know me, but you know our story...


You know her legacy..."[/i]





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"Why was he buried here?" Hanz asked with restrained fury.


Dorian Cunin released a heavy sigh, surrounded by his aids and medical assistants. "It's an empty marker. Marrick's remains were never found."


"[i]WHY, Dorian?![/i]" Stryker held back tears as his wrinkled face scrunched with anger.


"Because he was one of you!" Dorian replied, hacking afterward. His aids hovered around him, injecting him with a mysterious serum and offering him water from a flask which he rejected with erritation.


Hanz turned swiftly to face him and two aids stepped forward, blocking any advancements toward Dorian. "He betrayed us!"


"He tried to save his people, and when he discovered Sarovoc's plan to decieve Whiteguard he died trying to kill him!"


Stryker was taken aback; filled with conflicting emotion. His gaze shied away and wandered to the empty grave marker. Marrick's white scraf was still tied firmly to the wooden cross. It was dirty, weathered and torn. Hanz recalled that day twenty-two years ago when Marrick drew his pistol on the group, clutching Seto's pendant in his right hand.



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[i]"... Give the pendant to Seto, Marrick..."


"I'm afraid I can't do that old friend..."[/i]


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The pain and guilt in Marrick's eyes made sense now.



"There had to have been another way..."


"Whiteguard would cease to exist had Marrick not done what he did," Dorian reassured him.


"And what if that monster had gained control of Bahamut?"


"He would never have allowed it. He would have died first."


Hanz remained silent as they stood beneath the towering branches of the Mana Tree, the sun setting behind the graves of his fallen comrades. . .