NO ONE'S POV:

(Shinra walks into the building where Iris, Ghost, & Hibana are.)

Shinra: Anybody home? This'll be a good chance for me to see how far I can go against a company captain.

(Shinra remembers the last time he encountered Hibana.)

Shinra: That said, I've got no chance if I can't deal with that weird power. I wonder if Ghost can.

Angel: It ends for you here.

Shinra: Huh?

Angels: "Cause the Fifth Angels Three...have come for thee!

(Shinra kicks all three Angels out of the sky.)

(Cut to Iris, Habana, & Ghost.)

(Imagine a crucified Ghost in front of Hibana.)

Hibana: All right, Iris, Zakando. Be a good girl and a good brother by watching your allies from the Eighth burn.

Ghost: *glares*

Iris: Why are you doing this?

Hibana: Maybe you should ask that god of salvation you're still pledged to. There are just two ways you can live in this world.

Hibana: You can burn others or you can be burnt.

Ghost: Hibana...

Hibana: Think of our Sisters. The way their bodies shriveled as the flames consumed them.

(Small flashback of a young Iris, Hibana, Ghost watching their sisters burn.)

Hibana: It certainly is lucky that I'm a third-generation pyrokinetic.

(Hibana grabs Ghost's face.)

Hibana: And, you, dear brother. You're one of a kind! A chemokinetic.

Ghost: Yeah?

Hibana: We'll never be consumed by cruel flames because I decided to become like them instead and you can put out any flame.

Ghost: Sister, get me off this thing so we-

Hibana: No! Not until you see the error of your ways, Zakando.

Ghost: That's not my name anymore!

Hibana: Keep telling yourself that. I'll give purpose to the worthless gravel beneath me by burning it to fuel my rise to the top. Because that's what true happiness is.

Ghost: You're breaking your brother's heart.

Hibana: I am? Good.

Iris: Whatever you gain from living like that could never be called happiness!

Hibana: Spout those empty platitudes all you want. You're just waiting to burn. Ignorant fool! I truly don't know what you see in her, Zakando.

Iris: What?

Ghost: *looks down in embarrassment*

(Hibana shoots some fire at Iris but Shinra arrives to push it away from her.)

Shinra: Get away from them.

Iris: [gasp]

Ghost: Shinra?

Shinra: You've got a hero to fight.

Hibana He'll be the first of your friends I burn. Sit tight and watch.

Iris: You have to run, Shinra! As strong as you are, you still can't defeat Captain Hibana!

Shinra: It's all right. I'll be fine.

Ghost: Hibana. Let Iris go and spare Shinra and my company. Do that and I'll come back to you. I'll stand by your side like how it used to be. Brother and Sister. I'll help you achieve your goals. I'll even...go by my real name again.

(Hibana considers her brother's offer.)

Hibana: I forgot how noble you are, brother. But I'm afraid I must decline your offer.

Ghost: Why?!

Hibana: Because either way you're coming back to me.

Shinra: Don't worry, Ghost. I've got this. This won't go like it did last time.

Hibana: Zakando said the same thing and you can see how that turned out for him. And yet, you still face me?

Hibana: You fool. It seems you have a short memory. A hunk of gravel like you doesn't stand a chance of harming me.

Shinra: There's no way to know until I try.

(Shinra blasts off towards Hibana but she shuts him down.)

Iris & Ghost: Shinra, no!

Hibana: You really must be gravel. So eager to lie beneath my feet.

Shinra: My head's spinning. Damn.

(Hibana grinds her heel on Shinra's head.)

Shinra: Ah! What have you...done to me?

Hibana: It's called heat syncope.

Shinra: What's that mean?

Hibana: Simple. Your body has been enveloped by a miniature heatwave created by me.

Shinra: Huh?

Hibana: This causes your blood vessels to dilate and your blood pressure to drop, which means less blood flow to your poor brain. And that causes vertigo. After storming in here and dubbing yourself a hero, you ended up getting taken out by a bit of heat.

Hibana: It's quite amusing.

(Shinra begins to stir.)

Shinra: Vertigo. That's all it is? I see now. You're sayin' this is all in my head, right?

Hibana: Huh?

(Shinra stands up.)

Hibana: What do you mean, "all in your head"? Look at yourself, you can barely even stand.

Shinra: I feel short of breath, dizzy, and weak, but know I realize it's only a delusion.

Hibana: Looks like you're just trying to grin and bear it. But if you like to talk about yourself and delusions, why don't start with the ridiculous idea that you're a hero?

Shinra: Let's think this over. I'm dizzy in my head, so I'm dizzy for real. Well, hey, guess what? I'm a hero in my head, too!

Iris: *smiles*

Ghost: I guess that's sound logic...

Hibana: This is absurd. How are you even standing?

Shinra: Compared to the drills Lieutenant Hinawa put me through, this is a stroll in the park.

Hibana: Fine, then. There's no sport in burning a man who can't defend himself. Come forth, Clematis.

Hibana: I shall grant you a beautiful death by my flowers.

Iris: Sister, after all this time, you--

Hibana: Just shut your mouth and watch.

Iris: [gasp] But-- *looks down in sadness*

Ghost: Iris...

Shinra: I might be wrong, but I think you're the one who's delusional, Princess.

Hibana: Say what?

Shinra: Don't worry. It's your lucky day.

(Shinra fires up.)

Shinra: 'Cause Smack-that-Princess-to-Her-Senses-Man is here for ya!

Ghost's thoughts: Shinra's hero name could use some work.

Hibana: And what delusion are you planning to save me from?

Shinra: Not sure, but you look like you're in pain.

Hibana: You know nothing about me!

(Hibana shoots some of her fire at Shinra. Shinra blasts off towards her but Hibana is able to shut Shinra down, causing him to crash into a wall.)

Ghost: Damn it, Hibana! That's-

(Hibaba shoots some fire at Ghost which hits him right in the face.)

Iris: Marshmallow?!

Ghost: [groans]

Hibana: I've heard quite enough from you, Zakando. [sighs] So your dizziness is all in your head, is it? I think we'd find that a lot more convincing if you'd stop falling all over yourself!

Shinra: Damn it!

Hibana: Honestly, how can you call yourself a hero? If you must close your eyes to reality, then I guess I'll have to burn off your eyelids.

(Hibana creates a fire tree.)

Hibana: Sakura!

(Imagine a crucified Ghost next to Iris on the left.)

(The tree's pedals spread around the room & fall. As they do, some of the pedals land on Shinra which burn him.)

Hibana: That's a funny dance you're doing. Don't you enjoy the flower pedals?

Iris: Sister, you have to stop this!

Hibana: You could ask your God to stop me. Oh, wait. Could it be that you've realized your God isn't real? And for the record, neither are heroes and ghosts.

Iris: No, that isn't true! If you pray with all of your heart, you can find real comfort. There are people who have been saved by it!

Hibana: You know damn well that isn't real salvation.

Iris: Then are you saying that there's no such thing as salvation?

Hibana: Sure there is. You outsmart others and exploit them to your own ends until you've risen so high that when you look down at the foolish masses below, you see nothing but gravel. Gravel. Impotent gravel.

(Imagine a young foamed up Y/N between Iris & Hibana.)

Hibana: And then, safe in the knowledge that you're better than the riff-raff, you smile. The only salvation I need comes from the wealth and status I gain with power.

Iris: How so? You prayed with us every day back at the convent, remember?

Hibana: All of us prayed. And what did we get as our reward?

Ghost: *closes his eyes*

[bell tolls]

(Cut to Iris, Hibana, & Ghost origin.)

Hibana: The convent was a refuge for us orphans. We were taught to devote ourselves to God.

Hibana: I was probably the only one who didn't take it all seriously. Unlike my brother who was groomed to be next head priest of the convent. And then, that day...

Nuns: [groaning]

Hibana: The other sisters and priests started burning away.

(Imagine a young foamed up Y/N in front of Iris & Hibana.)

Hibana: Every last one of them, except you and me if it wasn't for Zakando. They were all devout nuns and priests who served God far better than I ever cared  to. Don't you see? Kind-hearted devotion never pays. The fact that I'm still alive while those nuns and priests are dead proves that more than anything.

Ghost: You take that back!

Iris: Marshmallow...

Hibana: What is it now, Zakando?

Ghost: I tried to save the rest of them! You know that! I tried to put out as many as our sisters and priests as I could but...

(Ghost pictures the burning bodies of nuns & priests begging for Y/N to put them out.)

Ghost: [cries] They just kept burning! So I ran and looked for you and Iris. Do you want me to apologize for saving my sister? Not happening! But...to atone for failing them all, I vowed to never go by the name they gave me.

Hibana: [scoffs] You can only get stronger by pursuing selfish gain. And if you're hoping to find salvation without getting stronger, why, you may as well ask God for the moon. Salvation is reserved for humans. So by what right does gravel hope to claim it?

(Shinra stands up.)

Shinra: Princess Hibana. You're a victim of the flames, too, right?

Hibana: Our cardboard hero, standing again.

Shinra: I know how you feel, at least a little bit. All the sweetest things in my life went up in flames as well. But, at least, you had your brother in the beginning.

Ghost: Shinra...

Hibana: You'll never know how I feel. Sakura Blizzard!

(Hibana's pedals surround Shinra.)

Shinra: [screaming]

Hibana: This time, I'll make you stay down like the gravel you are!

(Shinra returns to the ground.)

Shinra: You will never keep me down.

Hibana: But the heat syncope.

Shinra: I'll get up as often as it takes. Convinced I can win every time. 'Cause I have to help you.

Hibana: Huh? Have you lost your mind? What're you talking about?

Shinra: Listen, I'm about to lay you out. And that, along with the rest of this...is for your own good!

Hibana: Well, if all you want is what's best for me, then go ahead and burn already! Lie down and let the flames do what they do best!

Iris: Fire does more than burn people. It offers us warmth when we're freezing.

Ghost: And when we're surrounded by darkness, it lights the way.

Hibana: There's no such thing as a hero in this wretched world!

Shinra: It might be true that there aren't any yet...

(Shinra blasts off towards Hibana.)

Shinra: ...but that's all the more reason for me to become one! You're gonna be okay. Or else my name isn't...

(Shinra punches Hibana.)

Shinra: Smack-that-Princess-to-Her-Senses Man!

Ghost's thoughts: Damn!

(Cut to a Young Ghost alongside Hibana who's showing off her flowers to the sisters.)

Nuns: [gaspsing, chattering]

Sister A: Look at that one!

(Imagine a young Ghost next to Hibana.)

Sister A: Wow, all of them are so pretty.

Sister B: That's really amazing, Sister Hibana.

Hibana: Heh! Thanks, Sister Clematis.

Zakando: You're amazing, sis.

Hibana: Oh, stop it, Zakando. Look here.

Nuns: [gasp]

Hibana: If I put a droplet of sodium solution onto one of them, the flame will react. Watch.

(Hibana puts the sodium solution onto one of her flowers which makes the flower react.)

Sister A: Wow.It looks so cool!

(Hibana continues to do this with copper, calcium, potassium, strontium, & others. Iris watches from behind a wall which Zakando notices.)

Ghost's thoughts: Iris...she's so pretty.

Ghost: *blushes*

(Hibana notices Iris as well.)

Hibana: Hello, Iris! Don't hide behind the corner. Come out and have a closer look. I'm sure Zakando would love to see you having fun.

Ghost: Hibana!!

Iris: [gasps]

(Iris runs up to crowd & enjoys Hibana's flowers. Iris goes to grab one but Ghost stops her.)

Iris: Uh-

Zakando: *blush* Be careful.

Hibana: They might be in the shape of flowers, but each is burning flame. They can hurt you.

Sister Sumire: My goodness! What's going on here, Sister Hibana? Are you playing with your fire again?

(Sister Sumire notices Zakando.)

Sister Sumire: And taking your brother away from his studying? Come along now, everyone. Back to the chapel, all right?

Nuns: Okay. Thank you, Sister Sumire.

Sister Sumire: As for you, Sister Hibana. Your power is a gift from Sol--it's not meant to be played with. What's more, if you were to wield these flames carelessly, they could become very dangerous.

Hibana: But I'm being very careful with them, right, Zakando?

Zakando: She really is, Sister Sumire.

Hibana: So it shouldn't be an issue.

Sister Sumire: And there you two go, arguing again. Back to the chapel, both of you.

Hibana & Zakando: Fine.

(Hibana & Zakando begin to walk away but Iris pulls them back.)

Iris: Sorry. But, Sister Hibana, Father Zakando? I, um...

Hibana: You okay?

Zakando: You want to tell us something?

Iris: It's just--Well, uh. I'd like to see those flowers again. Pretty please.

Hibana: *blush*

Zakando: Why'd you stop me?

Iris: Because I want to see them with you, Father Zakando!

Zakando: *medium blush*

(Hibana head pats Iris.)

Hibana: Sure, I'll show them to you once you get over your shyness, okay? And if a certain somebody confesses.

(Hibana begins to walk away.)

Zakando: [awkardly chuckles]

(Zakando follows his sister.)

Iris: Wait, do you really mean it?

(Iris follows the siblings.)

Hibana: The smell of burning bodies. The inhuman screams od the dying. Searing pain. Anguish. Lives crumbling to ash. As if something like fire could ever be pretty.

(Cut to a Young Iris, Zakando, & Hibana watching the nuns & priests burn.)

(Hibana covers Iris' eyes.)

Young Hibana: Let's go. If we don't, then we'll only burn up beside them.

Hibana: As if a power like mine could've come from God. Fire comes from hell itself, so if I wield it, I know what that makes me. And a devil should act like a devil.

(Cut to Hibana & Zakando leaving Iris.)

Iris: Hey, wait. Where are you going, Sister, Marshmallow?

Hibana: Away.

Zakando: She's my sister. I...belong by her side.

Hibana: Don't let yourself be burnt, Iris.

(Cut to Iris & Zakando at Haijima Industries.)

Hibana: People. Flames. Whatever I find, I'll exploit.

(Some scientists are looking at Hibana's findings.)

Hibana: That's just a taste of my findings. Meet my conditions and you get the rest.

Zakando: *with a bag over his shoulder & looking sad at his sister as he finally walks away*

(Cut to Hibana walking up Iris, Ghost, & Shinra in the present.)

Hibana: Why do all this?

Iris: We children of the convent didn't have any parents. But we did have our big sister.

Ghost: She was beautiful and clever, and she had mastered fire.

Iris: And when I was lonely but too sacred to speak, my hero called to me.

(Pan to Ghost.)

Hibana: I didn't have anyone like that since Zakando left. All I had to prop myself up were my flames, and then I found out they couldn't be trusted, either. I don't have anything left now.

(Shinra crotches down to Hibana.)

Shinra: If you want a hero, there's one right here.

Hibana: Hm.

Shinra: Just look to the skies and cry out my name! I'll come and save you anytime!

Hibana: *medium blush*

Ghost's thoughts: I think Shinra's stolen my sister's heart.

Hibana: But that's ridiculous.You're under no obligation to to help me at all, especially not after what I've done.
Shinra: But I don't have to be obliged. If you say you need me, I come running. 'Cause that's what heroes do.

Hibana: *still blushing*

Ghost: [chuckles]

Hibana: Whatever the case, you defeated me. So I don't intend to fight you any longer.

Iris: Mh-hm. Mh-mm.

(Hibana head pats Iris.)

Iris: What do you think? Did I overcome my shyness a bit?

Hibana: How is that even a question now? I can't believe you and Zakando walzed into my base all by yourselves.

Iris: Of course I did. I wanted to see your flowers again. They're pretty.

Ghost: I just wanted to see my sister.

Hibana: I did make you a promise, didn't I? And, Zakando?

Ghost: Yeah?

Hibana: I'll forgot the last part of the promise, 'kay?

Ghost: *embarassed blush* 'Kay...

(Hibana makes flowers but specifically...)

Iris: They're irises!

Hibana: Yeah, what do you think?

(Imagine Y/N beneath the giant iris.)

(Iris hugs Hibana.)

Iris: I love you, Sister!

Ghost: *smiles warmly*

RayTheRipper: Yes, I finally updated Company Eight's Fire Extinguisher. 😅 I never meant for this story to stay on the shelf for this long but from now on, I'll try to update it regularly along with my other stories.