Welcome to all who have come to read this story. To any of Herald's readers, don't worry, we are doing this completely together, so Shin and everyone else should be in character. This two-shot is not in continuity with any of my or Herald's previous stories aside from An Unending Struggle, but it is perfectly fine if you have not read it. Neither he nor I own anything in this story except for the characters of Jack, Shin, Mist, and Rayne.
This is only Part One. For Part Two, you'll need to go on Herald's profile page.
Without further ado….
IN A DARK FORTRESS AT AN UNKNOWN LOCATION…..
A tall man walked down a shadowy corridor, the flickering torchlight barely giving off enough illumination to find one's way. The man kept walking until he found a door to his right. He stopped for a second and ran a hand through his straight brown hair. He looked back down the hallway to make sure he wasn't being followed before twisting the doorknob and opening the door. His tattered blue cloak silently furled behind him as he stepped into the room, where two other figures were already inside waiting for him. "Have a dinner date or something?" one asked him from the corner, easily the youngest of the group. He was mostly hidden in shadow, but his sleek white hair was easily visible along with his glowing golden eyes. The man who had just walked in ignored him and turned to the hooded man sitting at the head of the table set out in the middle of the room.
"I trust that your efforts to capture the Esper girl and Shinryu have been successful?" the hooded man asked him. He cleared his throat.
"Not exactly, my lord. I ran into several complications that made my planning….inadequate." he told the hooded man calmly. The other man sighed and leaned back in his chair.
"We must be successful in this, Lezard. I will not allow any more failures from you, either of you." he said, also gesturing to the white haired man in the corner.
"So you have had no success, as well?" Lezard asked, turning to the man in the corner. The white haired man shook his head. Lezard sighed. "I suspected as much. Well, here is my suggestion. I have researched everything your enemy does, and if I may be so bold, I believe I have found something not even he can match. Theoretically, of course." he explained. The white haired man looked at him and raised his eyebrows.
"What is the problem?" the hooded man asked him. Lezard looked at him.
"Well, the person I am suggesting has recently returned from the clutches of death by the power and life of what you could call...a deity of Harmony. The sacrifice would make her inherit some, if not all, of her power. The problem is that the girl may not be able to manifest her powers." he explained. The white haired man rolled his eyes.
"So you're saying my brother wouldn't even be challenged? I'm already tired of your useless rambling!" he yelled heatedly. Lezard just threw back his head and laughed maniacally.
"You truly believe I have no other plan to lean on? Trust me when I say that, no matter what happens, your precious brother will fall. We simply do not know if it will be to an Esper or a dragon." he said happily. The white haired man sighed and looked at the hooded man.
"I understand why we need the X-blade, but why do we need the wanderer?" he asked their leader. The hooded man chuckled quietly.
"That is simple. We do not require the wanderer. We require the light within him. With the power of the X-blade, Light, Shinryu, and the Esper, we will be invulnerable. Yen Sid and his wretched Keybladers will stand no chance against us. But for that, both of you must succeed in your missions! The only ones we need alive are the Esper and the X-blade." he explained.
"So why not capture the dragon and use him to kill the wanderer?" the white haired man asked. Lezard shook his head.
" Only the X-blade will draw him out, and that would still leave Shinryu himself to deal with." he told him.
"Well then capture the weakest of them to draw the powerful out." the white haired man said, stepping into the light. He wore pants black as night, along with a sleeveless shirt just as black, but a glowing red Heartless symbol was on his chest, and metal chains were wrapped across his chest. The hooded man nodded.
"Agreed, and then we can turn them against each other in the most glorious death match the universe has ever seen." he said in complete satisfaction.
"Agreed." both Lezard and the white haired man said.
"It is decided then. Lezard, take however many soldiers you need. Kidnap the powerless Esper and bring her here. Make sure Shinryu knows what happened and how to come find us." he told the brown haired man. Lezard smirked and turned to walk out the door as their leader turned to the white haired man. "Illusion, I trust you know what to do?" he asked him. The white haired man smiled and nodded.
"My brother will never see it coming." he replied, flexing his hand. A dark portal appeared right behind him, and he turned around and disappeared through it.
A DRACONIAN LIGHT: A CLASH THAT WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE, PART ONE…..
MEANWHILE….
"Where are we going, Shin?" Terra asked her two days-old boyfriend as he led her through the halls of Caelum. The half dragon? It might be better to leave that for later, considering not even he knows for sure yet. The descendant of Shinryu, that's better. Anyway, back on track. He smiled at her as they reached the exit hallway.
"Well, while Bartz tried to make the date work yesterday…We both have to admit that we haven't had one moment alone where we haven't been interrupted by him and his shenanigans. Even though he did a good job for the most part, I wanted to try do it myself this time. The first time we tried, the whole group was around, and last time we had Bartz. I mean, I have the right to be alone with you, don't I?" he asked her. He did feel like he had to stress the "for the most part" though. Terra just giggled, quietly slipping her hand into his and shaking her golden locks.
"Don't be so hard on him. He did try his best, you know." she told him, reaching up on her toes to peck him on the cheek. Considering the fact that they were still only recently dating, he was rendered completely speechless by it.
"You are pretty pathetic." Shinryu whispered inside his mind, gloating on the red that quickly filled the boy's face. Shin rolled his eyes.
"Someone is talking the talk without ever having walked the walk." he said angrily. He had said it out loud, but Terra just shook her head and smiled, knowing how much of a buzz kill the dragon could be. Shinryu wasn't pleased, however.
"I'll have you know, I had several chances to 'get to know' a lot women back in my day!" he shouted back defensively.
"I have your memories, you old lizard. Everyone hated you!" Shin shot back at him. He left the dragon to try and find a suitable comeback as he and Terra walked outside, the calm winds of Caelum gently caressing both of them. It was refreshing for both of them to see a city in relative peace after dark shadows had loomed directly over it for so long. While you could say Archades had been it, Terra had been in critical condition there, so neither of them counted it as one. The last time they had tasted peace was in Midgar, over a month ago. Passersby stopped and glanced in their direction, acknowledging their saviors with a nod of their head and a complete dismissal from both before going on with their daily lives.
The fact that Caelum had barely been touched by the Valhalla incident was just mind boggling. The only damage it had gotten was when Orlandeu fried Sephiroth so hard that the energy reached space. "Hey, Noct!" Shin called out as Noctis walked by with several engineers in tow. Noctis turned to him and nodded with a slight smile. "Congrats on the promotion!" Shin congratulated him. Noctis smiled and….winked. Well, he got a giant promotion, so it makes sense. Moments, later, the reason for them leaving arrived.
"WARK!" Stardust screeched, the golden chocobo overjoyed to see Terra, her owner, again. Terra did feel bad for not being around her as much, but had to admit she could be selfish at times. She looked over to see Shin petting the chocobo, only getting every pecks in return. Of course, Stardust wanted her, not him. She sighed and walked up to her, gently caressing her soft golden plumage. After that, she reached down to pet her newly awakened puppy, Chocolate. She then turned to Shin.
"Anything special planned?" she asked him, already knowing the answer.
"Just hop on Stardust. I know you're powers have been…different lately, so I won't ask you to push yourself to the point of flying." Shin told her, offering a hand to help her get on Stardust.
"I'm fine, Shin. You seem to have forgotten that up until a couple weeks ago, I was making sure you lived through all of our battles." she told him with a slight frown. As much as she loved the attention, she had been independent for three years now, and she wasn't going to have him just ignore that.
"Okay, okay. I'm a bit overprotective, I get it. Can I hop in?" he questioned, having Stardust peck him on the head angrily and taking flight. "I guess I earned it." Shin said in resignation, popping his ethereal wings and chasing after Stardust.
"You're not mad at me, are you Terra?" Shin questioned, Terra actually having to think it through.
"I wish I could stay mad… but not anymore. Just don't treat me like a helpless damsel, I'm not Rosa. We're a team here, and I'd be hard pressed to point out the one who should be protecting who at this point," She smiled once she saw Shin's mouth gape open in surprise and amusement.
"Oh, burn! Fine, fine. You know what they say though, it's the thought that counts," he replied, Terra shaking her head in forgiveness. She wasn't about to let a slip of the tongue be more than what it was. "We should be arriving." He said as they flew through the barren wasteland that was the planet after Jenova sucking out every nutrient from it.
Terra, while appreciative of the idea for a picnic, find it an odd choice after what happened to Pulse. Were they in Ivalice or her home planet, it would make much more sense, but those were millions of miles away, other planets. What was he looking for a ravaged world? And then she saw it.
(A Brief Respite, Dissidia)
"Surprise!" Shin exclaimed, barreling down and landing on what the Ivalician scouting team had found in their latest survey. A literal oasis in the middle of the wasteland, complete with shimmering wild green grass, crystal blue water lake, trees, even woodland critters.
"I-I… I'm shocked places like this still exist." Terra managed to stutter while dismounting Stardust. Even the bird seemed surprised.
"That makes two of us." Shin told her with a smile, taking the basket from Stardust's back and preparing the towel as Terra let Chocolate sniff around the oasis. After those three months infected by the Jenova virus, Shin decided to let her be at peace the best he could, even if they were one weak away from… Hell. "Well, picnic's ready." He called, and unsurprisingly, the damn bird was the first to attack and he was pretty sure she got one of HIS sandwiches. Specially prepared by Jecht Ramsay himself folks. Terra giggled, sitting on the other side of the towel and picking out some of the food prepared by the chef that no one knew to be one. Shin couldn't help but smile as the woodland critters, the strange fauna of pulse, seemed to gather around her. That was until he felt a slippery feeling on his right shoulder.
"That's… a freaking BIG Lizard!" The Komodo Dragon like creature stared down upon him, with no aggressiveness, just curiosity.
"Not as big as me." Shinryu gloated from the inside. "Seems like you do get empathy from animals… just the reptilian menaces. Fitting, don't you think?"
"Oh, shut it for once. Here big guy!" He shouted, throwing a big hunk of meat into the lizard, who gobbled it down and was on his way. He turned his attention back on Terra, who seemed to be more preoccupied with feeding the small critters than herself, which, giving how her species made her eat for… just about three Jechts, made him forfeit most of his food to her, not that he felt bad for it, she seemed to… happy. And that's all he wanted. He smiled once their eyes met. It had been a long time ever since he had seen her eyes so serene and purely happy. Come to think of it… he had never really seen them quite so glimmering. His ego grew just a smidge as he blinked and shook his head. (end A Brief Respite)
However…
"Shin!" Terra gasped desperately.
Once he opened his eyes Terra's eyes were shocked and she was halfway through standing up, the Apocalypse forming in her hand, then all went black.
"Greetings… dearest."
"What the…" Shin groaned as his senses slowly came back.
"We let our guards down…" Shinryu sighed with regret filling his tone. Shin slowly opened his eyes to see the oasis still largely untouched surprisingly, the critters touching him repeatedly to get him up faster. He took a look around and saw no signs of struggling, just the Apocalypse, carved near the lake side, a paper floating at wind's will in its hilt. He rushed towards it and saw it to be a letter. (How Wicked Ruler, Valkyrie Profile 2)
"Greetings, spawn of Shinryu.
I must admit, when I first came to this lovely oasis, I was expecting to make you hostage, alas, the situation called for another approach. You see, Ouroboros' dimension distorting power did allow me to see through the walls that envelop us and find a… quite suitable accomplice. While Xehanort, Kefka, or any of my allies are truly ignorant to his presence, you are soon not to be. You see, he and I are like minded in the way that we both have people we do desire and… obstacles between them. At first, I thought of abducting you, use Terra to slay the enemy of my ally and then kill you in front of her. Truly a tragedy worthy of the highest praise? Alas, her current lack of perfect control over her new powers was unexpected, so what better way to solve this than to abduct her instead, force you to do my bidding and then, for a mere second, give you the hope of getting her back by, hypothetically, killing me? You should know that you would never come close to even wounding me, but you heroes are stubborn that way.
I apologize for my rambling. I'll make it clear. To your left, there is a portal. Simply cross it and you will find the answers for what must be done yourself. Oh, and I do urge you to come alone.
Sincerely, Lezard Valeth."
Shin crushed the remarkably well written letter under his fist in a fit of rage, cursing the man inwardly.
"It's a trap." Shinryu said, knowing the answer himself.
"That we must take." Shin stated, having his former self mentally nod in agreement. Shin took a deep breath and extended his hand. In it, the successor to his Lightbringer formed. It's handle of it resembled two wings, it was purely golden with white feathers extending outwards from in, two lone gems on each side of the handle, right in the middle, one blue and one red. The blade was however, much unlike the Lightbringer, instead of being straight, it curved inwards from the handle until it was reaching the tip, where it expanded outwards for just a bit, then forming the tip. The sword was still wide, even wider than the Lightbringer, but the other major difference were the colors. Most of the blade was a purely golden white, with only the very edge and a small section inside the center of the blade being gold. The glyphs adorning the center of the blade spelled out "Fantasia". Which was what it was. The fantasy to Masamune, the smith. It was his Final Fantasy.
"Shin, don't afraid to call upon my power." Shinryu assured him as Shin strapped the sword on his back.
"Don't worry, old lizard." Shin told him, turning to Stardust. "Get Chocolate to safety you hear?" He told the bird, which nodded, picking up the puppy with its paw and, very uncharacteristically, rubbing it's feathery head onto Shin's cheek before taking flight. "Don't worry, I'll get your Mama back!" He assure before turning to the golden portal that lead into the unknown.
"Well, here goes nothing!" he exclaimed, summoning his ethereal wings and jumping in. (end How Wicked Ruler)
MEANWHILE, IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WORLD…..
"Jack, I'm hearing reports of a disturbance in Sector 8." Aqua's voice could be heard through the comm. channel.
"The Islands? Marek must be stepping up his game." the man riding the Keyblade rider replied. He looked around, staring at the endless cosmos of the Lanes Between. He twisted the handlebars of his Keyblade rider and whirled around to fly in the opposite direction. Although he rarely ever used his black and silver armor, he had it equipped now.
"I haven't heard anything about Illusion being in the area, but you should be careful anyway. Ven, Sora, and Riku are over in Sector 6, but they'll be there to back you up as soon as you're finished." Aqua told him.
"Alright, I'll check it out. Tell Yen Sid. I might be a while." he replied calmly.
"Be careful, Jack." she told him, and shut down the channel. He silently soared through the Lanes, heading toward his home world.
A few minutes later, he opened his channel back up and called another number. "Jack, is everything okay?" asked a new voice. He smiled at hearing her voice.
"Mist, I'm almost home. Aqua said there was something going on near the town. Have you seen anything unusual?" he asked her.
"No, I haven't seen anything. Jack, what's going on?" she said after a moment. He sighed.
"I'm not entirely sure. Where's Rayne?" he said.
"She's right here. She hasn't left the house all day." Mist replied. He smiled.
"Don't let her out of your sight. Whatever this is, my gut tells me that Marek's at the heart of it." he told her firmly. She softly agreed, and he continued talking. "There's only one reason why Marek would be on the island, Mist. There is only one person with any power there since Sora, Riku, and I are patrolling the worlds. He wants the X-blade." he told her, the calmness starting to fade from his voice and be replaced by anger.
"Well, he can't have her! He is not taking our daughter, Jack!" Mist told him, sounding completely worried. He leaned forward and flew faster.
"Mist, you're the only line of defense she has until I get there. You know what to do. I'm almost there, just hang on." he calmly instructed her, but she could already hear the fury in his voice.
"But Jack, what if Rayne isn't what he wants? What if he just wants you?" Mist asked him as he came within sight of the world. Jack smiled angrily.
"Then my brother will get what's coming to him." he said simply, shutting off the channel and approaching the world.
DESTINY ISLANDS, SHORE OF THE MAIN ISLAND….
He soared in out of the sky and could already see the madness. A swarm of blackness covered the shoreline all around. He frowned in calm anger as he soared straight down toward the water. At the last second, he pulled up and flew straight out. As he reached shallow water, he leaped up and back-flipped off of his rider.
He landed in knee-deep water and slowly looked out at the swarm of Heartless attacking the island. He reached up and tapped his armor clad right arm, and in a flash of light, his armor was gone, revealing his face and true outfit. He had brown hair that went halfway down to his shoulders, but it was mostly straight. A dark scar covered the entire right side of his face, looking as if he had been burned very badly.
He took a few steps toward the shore. He wore a sleeveless white shirt that was tight on his upper body, clinging to his skin. He also wore black pants with gold and silver linings, black fingerless gloves, and a silver gauntlet on his right arm. He held out his arm and summoned a Keyblade to his hand. The blade had a curved hilt, and was mostly black in color. Traces of gold and silver flowed all along the blade, and he held it backhand. He stared out at the Heartless, who had all turned at the Keyblade's presence. "You wanted the wanderer, well here I am. Show yourself, Marek, or I'll cut through every last one of these to get to you!" he yelled. Receiving no reply, he sighed. (Strength of a Thousand Men, Two Steps from Hell)
Without any further hesitation, he leaped high into the air. As the Heartless massed underneath, he spun in the air. He held up his hand, which glowed bright red for a moment. Massive pillars of fire sprung up all over the place within the dark swarm. He let out a war cry as he raised his Keyblade over his head and soared to the ground. He crashed down in the middle of the swarm, impaling his blade deep into the ground and sending a shockwave out in all directions. As more Heartless surrounded him, he simply smirked. "I've trained under three of the universe's best masters for almost a decade! Come and meet my judgment!" he yelled at them, holding out his blade. Dozens of them charged at once, and he swung his Keyblade once, knocking several out of the air with one hit. He looked back to see one running up behind him and kicked it back into its fellows.
He looked all around him as the entire swarm leaped into the air at one time and came at him from all directions. He breathed deeply and put his blade up into the air, twirling it in a horizontal circle repeatedly, making any Heartless who came near him disintegrate instantly. But the swarm proved too many, and they piled on top of him. He disappeared under the massive mound of black bodies.
After several moments, the bodies began to move, and then suddenly they were all thrown away like gnats. In place of where the wanderer had been, a new creature now stood. While the outline was still the same as Jack's, only his silhouette could be seen and white fire completely covered him and roared above him like an open flame. "I am not your average Keyblade wielder. I am Light itself, as well." he said in a deep commanding voice. Whatever remained of the Heartless stood back up and faced him. "The eternal light shall purify all before it!" he yelled, throwing his hand forward. Waves of white fire instantly shot out of his hands and consumed the creatures of darkness. In a matter of seconds, it was over. (end Strength of a Thousand Men)
Seconds later, he reverted to his natural form and looked around surveying the damage caused. "Jack!" he heard Mist scream from nearby.
"Mist!" he yelled out, running toward the sound.
MAIN SQUARE…
Many people were gathered around a glowing object in the center of the plaza, but Mist stood at the front. Jack quickly pushed his way through until he reached her. But he found that it wasn't an object. It was a portal. "What happened?" he asked quickly, turning to his wife. Mist tried to compose herself as quickly as possible and breathed very quickly.
"Illusion. The attack was a distraction to buy him time and stall you. He took Rayne, and left you a message." she explained to him. His face contorted in rage, and he yelled angrily as he turned and punched the stone wall behind him as hard as he could, cracking it.
"What's the message?" he asked her, rubbing the back of his neck in worry.
"He said if you want to see Rayne alive again, you better follow him through the portal within 60 minutes, alone, or he'll send her back piece by piece." she told him, bursting into tears. He shook his head.
"This isn't right. He wants her power, so there's no reason why he would kill her. He just wants to get me in a vulnerable position and take me out. But, I have to go." he said out loud, more to himself than anyone else.
"This is absolutely a trap, Jack! If you go in there, you might not come back!" Mist argued with him. He walked up to her and hugged her tightly.
"And if I don't go, then we will never see our daughter again, and Marek gets one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. I have to." he told her simply. He leaned in and kissed her on the lips for a long moment. She nodded as he leaned back and silently walked up to the portal. "Tell Sora and the others when they get here." he told her. She nodded, and he smiled at her. "I love you, Mist." he said, turning toward the portal and stepping inside with calm determination.
AN UNKNOWN AMOUNT OF TIME LATER IN AN UNKNOWN PLACE…
Shin appeared on the other side of the portal and stepped into the new area. He looked around, not recognizing where he was. He silently drew his blade and took a few steps forward. He was standing on some sort of floating fortress in the sky. Other floating tiers and towers were scattered around, but the castle he was standing on top of was the biggest object around.
As he silently but warily walked across the flat top of the fortress, he suddenly heard a noise. He jumped back several feet and held his sword out, ready to attack at a moment's notice. A portal appeared across the platform from him, and out of it stepped a young man, only around twenty years old just like he was. The man was wearing a sleeveless white shirt and black pants with intricate lining on the sides. A white gauntlet covered his right arm, and a deep scar covered the right side of his face. But other than that, he appeared…..unremarkable. "I assume you're here for the same reason I am?" the man asked as he walked toward him. Shin stared at him warily, and didn't lower his blade.
"Excuse me?" he asked. The man sighed and stopped about ten feet away from him.
"You don't really look like you would kidnap a twelve year old girl. They must want you for something, as well." he commented simply.
"They took someone you love? Forced you to enter a portal alone or have their body returned to you pieces at a time?" Shin asked him. The man nodded.
"So we are all pieces of the same puzzle. Why would they want you?" he asked him casually, but Shin could tell just how tense the man was, his muscles tight and his body ready to react at a moment's notice.
"They took my girlfriend, the Esper. Those idiots must have realized she can't access it, though, so they brought me here. What do they want with you? You don't look very special." he said back, quickly growing impatient with the situation. He had to find Terra, and soon. The man laughed quietly.
"I meant a name. Mine's Jack, and believe me, there's a lot more to me than I look." the man replied calmly.
"I'm Shin. Who did they take of yours?" Shin asked after a moment. Jack sighed.
"They took my daughter, who just so happens to be one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. She is the living X-blade. So I can only guess what Marek and the others are planning." he explained. Shin slightly lowered his sword finally and looked at the other man curiously.
"You have a twelve year old daughter?" he asked, completely confused. Jack smiled and nodded. "How….?" Shin began to ask, but Jack cut him off.
"Accelerated aging, it's kind of complicated." he said simply. Shin nodded, still not fully sure what to think of Jack. But, that was when a third portal appeared to their right. Out of it stepped Lezard, who was smiling evilly.
"So you both wish to see your loved ones unhurt. Well, fear not. We do not intend on harming Miss Branford and the little Rikkison." he began.
"Where's Marek? Tell him to come out here and settle this like a man." Jack cut him off angrily, curling his fists. Lezard stared at him.
"Well, that was rude. Illusion can't come see you right now. He's too busy making sure the little brat stays in her cage." he replied calmly. Jack angrily stared at him while Shin gripped his sword tightly.
"Give Terra back to me, Lezard. Don't make this get ugly." he told him, trying to sound as calm as possible. Lezard smirked at him.
"Well, let me make both of you aware of your surroundings. The place that we are standing in is called the Interdimensional Rift. We are currently frozen in time, and the true beauty of the Rift is that anything can appear anywhere and at any time. The perfect place for a death match between two of the universe's most powerful entities." he told them, turning around and gesturing in all of the landscapes around them. Jack and Shin looked around and now saw portals all over the sky showing different landscapes: a forest, a desert, a canyon, an industrial city.
"You must have a very twisted mind if you think we're going to go along with this." Jack told Lezard after a moment. Shin looked at the other man, and looked at Lezard questioningly. The villain chuckled for several moments.
"You will, wanderer. You see, our leader sent me here to deliver both of an ultimatum. The wanderer and Shinryu shall fight to the death at the heart of the Rift, where only they can bear witness to the horrors hidden within each of them. The victor shall be returned his loved one and shall be provided a road home. The loser shall die knowing that they have doomed their loved one to an eternity of torture and pain." he told them both. His little speech was followed by many moments of silence.
"You want us to what?" Shin asked him in utter disbelief. Lezard was still smiling as he turned to face them again.
"You will fight each other to the death. If you win, then we shall return Terra to you and return both of you home. If Jack fells you, then Rayne shall be returned to him. It is actually very simple." he told him. Suddenly he threw back his head and laughed maniacally. As both looked at him in disgust, he sighed and instantly became serious again. He turned and walked to the edge of the platform as another portal appeared in front of him. "Oh and just to inform you, if an hour goes by and the battle has not begun, we will immediately execute the two young women." he told them calmly, stepping into the portal right afterwards and leaving the two to decide each of their courses of action.
After Lezard vanished, both men sighed and began pacing around their side of the platform.
Thirty minutes passed by, and still neither one of them made a move. But as both of them stood up and faced each other at the same time, they could each feel the purpose in the other's eyes. "Shin, I can't let them keep my daughter. Who knows what they could do if they managed to find a way to extract her power." Jack told him sadly. Shin twirled his sword and held it in a ready position.
"I guess it has to be this way, because I'm not letting Terra die. I'm sorry, Jack, but at least I can save one of them." he replied calmly. With these words, he adopted a battle stance and stared at the other man. Jack narrowed his eyes as he reached his left arm out.
In a flash of light, a black Keyblade appeared in his left hand. Holding it backhand, he held it back behind his body, his right hand curled into a fist and raised toward his opponent. "I think you'll find that I'm more than a capable opponent. Just because I'm the wanderer doesn't mean I've forgotten how to fight." he said, staring at Shin intensely. Shin calmly smirked at him.
"And I think you'll find that I'm more than a match for whatever you think you have that'll take me down. Trust me, I have a few tricks of my own." he told the brown haired man.
"He is no ordinary Keyblade wielder. Be wary of him." Shinryu advised him. Shin stopped in surprise.
"Are you…..actually giving me useful advice?" he asked out loud.
"For Rayne…" Jack muttered. Shin breathed slowly.
"For Terra…." he whispered. Simultaneously, they let out war cries and charged. (Hot Wind Blowing extended, Metal Gear Rising)
Shin ran toward Jack and swung hard toward the wanderer's head. Jack held up his right arm and stopped the blade with his gauntlet while swinging upward with his Keyblade. Shin rolled to the left to dodge the attack and quickly rushed again. He ran in and slid, trying to knock the other man's legs out, but Jack front flipped over him and turned to face him as Shin got back to his feet. This time Jack charged, swinging horizontally. Shin brought up his sword and blocked, pushing the Keyblade back and aiming a punch at the wanderer's face. Jack saw it coming and caught his fist, throwing him backward. Shin stumbled several feet, but regained his balance as his opponent came charging relentlessly. Jack jumped high into the air to dodge another strike from Shin and placed both hands on the hilt of his Keyblade, still facing downward. Shin saw the danger just a little too late as Jack came shooting down, impaling his Keyblade in the ground and knocking Shin back with a shockwave.
Shin flew onto his back and rolled backward, falling off the platform but managing to hold on with one hand. He tried to pull himself back up while maintaining a grip on his sword, but found Jack standing right above him. As the wanderer raised his Keyblade, Shin planted his feet on the wall and kicked off hard, flying through the open air. He saw a nearby broken tower floating in space and reached toward it. He began to lose speed, but he had enough propulsion to go far enough to get a firm grip with his free hand.
He pulled himself up and turned back to the fortress, where his opponent was staring at him. Without hesitation, Jack leaped off the top, throwing his Keyblade out in front of him. The blade changed shape and became a black and gold rider. He landed atop it and flew straight over toward where Shin was waiting for him. Jack flew in and leaped off, the rider disappearing and the blade reappearing in his hand as he flew down toward Shin. He slammed his blade down on top of Shin's as he landed. "I have more versatility than you can imagine! You can't escape from me!" Jack yelled at him. Shin said nothing as he pushed against his sword with all his strength. Jack flew back toward the edge of the tower and back flipped to regain his feet and balance.
"You're ignorant, Jack Rikkison!" Shin yelled as he sprinted up toward him. Jack got down on a knee to block a strike from the other man's sword, but Shin just dove right for him. They both went flying off of the tower and grappled in mid-air as they fell through a portal.
They found themselves in a forest clearing as they crashed down through the treetops, still grappling. Shin splashed into a pond while Jack crashed through several tree branches and managed to land on his feet somehow. Shin jumped out of the water and faced him. Jack charged for him, but Shin managed to leap out of the way. Jack kept running forward and ran up a tree trunk, back-flipping off of it and landing right in front of Shin again and punching him in the face. He brought his Keyblade up and clashed it with Shin's blade, who quickly pushed it away and jumped up, kicking Jack in the stomach with both feet and knocking him back several yards into a tree trunk.
The wanderer let out a quick groan from the impact, but quickly shook it off and raised his right hand. Shin held up his sword to block as Jack cast a thunder spell right at it. Shin slid back a few feet from the force, but managed to take the entire spell with his sword. As he returned it to its normal position, Jack was already right in front of him again. With tremendous force, they brought their blades against each other again and locked them in a stalemate. Jack stared at Shin in a very understanding way. "Almost completely self-taught, but still gifted enough to hold me back. I have trained for almost a decade under three of the universe's finest masters. That is an advantage that will give me this fight, for with these nine years of battle, I can instantly guess an opponent's strategy by the very first move they make. You rely on close combat, but I can hit you from all distances." he commented. Shin glared at him as he pushed forward, making Jack leap back a few feet. (end a Hot Wind Blowing)
"You know nothing about me. I just learned every technique that you might try to use against me, and I'm ready for anything now." he told Jack calmly. Jack smiled slightly.
"Good. This was going to be too easy otherwise." he said simply. He returned to his battle stance and stared at Shin patiently. "All these long years, I've been naught but a wanderer. I've forgotten what it means to have a life. You think you can take me down? The only time I am alive is on the battlefield! I was born and bred for it! I have nothing else now!" he yelled as he charged at Shin again. (The Only Thing I know for Real extended, Metal Gear Rising)
Shin quickly ducked as Jack came leaping past him. The wanderer turned sideways in mid-air and impaled his Keyblade in the ground. He used it to twirl back around and fly back at his opponent. Shin quickly brought his sword up and just barely managed to block Jack's attack as the wanderer came crashing against it. Shin was knocked backward, but managed to back flip and regain his feet. He stood right back up, but Jack was already there. Jack ran up and punched upward with all of his might. Shin let out a yell as he went flying up into the sky. Jack looked up and crouched, jumping up with all of the strength in his legs. He ran into Shin in the air and pushed him through another portal.
Together, they fell into a desert canyon. As each of them touched the ground and readied to fight again, they managed to glance at their surroundings. They were in a clearing, but there were boulders and pillars all around them. Behind where Jack was standing was a towering plateau. Jack ran up and slid onto his back. Shin saw it coming and tried to jump over him again, but Jack had seen it coming. As Shin was directly over him, he put his feet up into the air and pushed up, kicking Shin in the stomach with both legs. Shin let out a groan and went flying backward. He crashed into a boulder, shattering it. He smirked as he stood back up. Jack was already running at him again, but Shin held up his sword and twirled it. His sword gained an aura of ice as he charged. Jack stopped in mild surprise. "Didn't see that coming, did you!" Shin yelled as he ran up and slammed his blade into the ground. Jack easily dodged the strike, but ice crept out of where the sword connected to the ground and quickly covered him up to his knees. Shin smirked as he stood up, knowing the wanderer couldn't move. Jack snarled at him as he raised his right hand. Shin's eyes went wide, and he dove to the side as Jack cast a Light-based spell. White fire shot up in pillars and began to chase Shin as he ran away from them. Jack reached down and put his right hand on the ice, shattering it with the same spell.
He looked up to see Shin running back toward him. Jack smirked as he leaped forward, flying past Shin and kicking the other man's sword out of his hand at the same time. Shin turned in surprise to see his Final Fantasy soar far up and stick into the wall of the plateau. Jack smirked as he hit the ground and rolled forward. He stood back up and turned to him. Shin curled his fists and ran at him. Jack silently charged and they clashed again. Jack swung his Keyblade high, but Shin ducked in time and punched upward, hitting Jack in the elbow and making his arm bend the wrong way. Jack yelled in pain and loosened his grip on his Keyblade. Shin stood up in front of him and punched Jack in the face with all his strength. Jack went flying sideways through the air, his Keyblade leaving his hand and sticking in the ground at the foot of a pillar on the other side of the clearing. Shin laughed quietly as Jack stood back up. The brown haired man shrugged his shoulders and raised his fists.
"Alright then, let's go." Jack said calmly. They both charged again, but Shin landed a punch to Jack's stomach before the fight had really begun. Jack took it without flinching and held up his right arm, blocking another punch from his opponent. He knocked both of Shin's hands away and quickly brought up his knee, smashing it up against Shin's jaw. Shin flew several feet and landed on his back, but quickly rolled backward onto his feet. "I'm just as proficient in hand to hand combat as I am with my blade, Shin!" Jack yelled at him, cracking his neck and holding his fists up again. Shin glared at him as he ran back at him. He threw a punch at Jack's face, but the wanderer managed to knock his hand away at the last second. Shin quickly dropped to the ground, spinning on his hands and kicking out the other man's legs. Jack fell to the ground and Shin immediately got over him and punched toward his face. Jack rolled to the side and forced Shin to punch the ground, leaving a good sized dent. Jack jumped to his feet and quickly punched Shin in the face, making him stumble backward a few feet. As Shin looked back at him, he saw Jack leap up and kick him across the face. He went flying back, but maintained his footing. He glared at Jack, and whirled around, sprinting straight for the plateau, where his sword was stuck in the wall halfway up.
Jack smirked and let him go. He flexed his arm, and his Keyblade instantly returned to it. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, concentrating hard. Suddenly, he disappeared.
Shin got to the base of the plateau and looked up, seeing his sword about fifty feet above him. He smirked as he brought in his arms and flexed his upper body. Silver wings suddenly sprung out of his back and spread out. He looked back up, and began flying straight up, reaching his sword in a matter of seconds.
Wrenching his sword out of the rock, he continued flying up to the top, and was very surprised to find Jack already up there, waiting for him. The wanderer had his Keyblade in hand, and actually showed a look of surprise at seeing his wings. Shin quickly pressed his advantage and dashed through the air. Jack quickly back-flipped away, but Shin held his hand out and sent a bright red laser toward the wanderer. Jack stared at the laser as it came shooting toward him. He looked down toward the ground and closed his eyes. Right before the laser hit him, he teleported. "What?!" Shin gasped, still hovering in the air. He suddenly felt something behind him and quickly turned around. Jack's fist collided with his face and sent Shin back a few feet. He quickly teleported again, punching Shin in the back and repeating the process. Shin quickly grew tired of it and descended to the ground. Now with his feet on the ground, he turned his sword around and stabbed it into the ground. Right as Jack teleported next to him again, a glyph appeared underneath them and burned Jack with massive flames. The wanderer yelled in agony and went flying onto his back. Shin smirked as he walked up and held his sword out at Jack's throat, who was breathing heavily. "I promise it will be quick, Jack. You've earned that much." he told him calmly. Jack sighed, but nodded calmly. As Shin raised his sword to finish it, Jack teleported again, this time up in the air.
Shin turned around to see Jack trying to punch him again. Instead of trying to deflect the punch, he held up his sword and touched it against Jack's chest, who stopped and looked at him curiously. "This blade turns any without a pure heart to ash! It's over, Jack." Shin told him. Jack smirked calmly and punched him in the face, knocking him back. He then quickly teleported up into the air. Shin quickly turned and looked at him. Jack stared at him while hovering in the air.
"I told you I had many tricks up my sleeve, Shin! This ends now!" he yelled as he drew his arms in. Shin stared at him as suddenly white fire completely engulfed the wanderer. A figure covered in the fire hovered in the air and stared at him. Only Jack's silhouette could be seen through the flames, but his once bright hazel eyes were completely white now. "I am Light, the guardian of the ream of light. Burn under my embrace." he told Shin calmly. Shin stared at him calmly and held his sword up. Jack descended to the ground in no less than a second. He crashed to the ground on his knee, before standing back up and staring at Shin. "Any more tricks of your own?" he asked in a deep commanding voice. (end the Only Thing I know for Real)
Shin stared at him calmly. "Actually, I do." he told him. Jack, or Light, or whoever he was, stared at him silently. "Shinryu?" he asked within himself.
"I am perfectly content to watch, thank you." the dragon replied. Shin sighed.
"Come on! If I die, what happens to you?!" he told him heatedly. Shinryu sighed.
"Fair point." the dragon replied. Shin rolled his eyes and smirked at Jack as golden energy began to circulate around him. Jack silently stared at him as Shin's eyes turned golden and his hair turned bright red. His clothes likewise changed from black to silver. His wings also changed color, and when he spoke he carried the dragon's voice behind his own.
"This has gone on long enough, Rikkison!" he yelled. Jack held up his left hand, where his Keyblade was idly floating in the air next to it.
"I agree. Let's end it now." Jack replied. (Heart of Courage, Two Steps from Hell)
Shin and Jack both stared at one another for several seconds, both of them hovering in the air. Suddenly, Jack threw his hand forward, and his flaming Keyblade soared out toward the other man. Shin batted it away with his sword and flew right toward Jack so fast that he was a blur. He swung his clawed hand upward, but Jack was already gone. The other man threw his arms around Shin from behind and tightened his grip. As Shin tried to break Jacks grip, the wanderer soared up into the sky, dragging Shin with him. They both flew through another portal.
This time, they fell down into an industrial city laying in decaying ruins. As they fell, Shin managed to put both of his feet against Jack's waist and kicked as hard as he could, breaking Jack's grip and sending him flying away. Jack crashed through a ruined skyscraper and came flying out on the other side, falling until he hit the ground and made a massive crater. He slowly got back to his feet and looked up, seeing Shin still up in the sky, his wings flapping behind him. He kicked off from the ground and soared back into the sky, his white fire trailing behind him. Shin raised his sword to attack Jack as he came close, but Jack didn't even go for weapons. He flew right into Shin, leading with a punch to the stomach. Both combatants went flying through the air. Shin clawed at Jack's face, drawing blood even through the fire. Jack brought up his Keyblade even while they were still spinning through the air. Shin managed to block at the last second, but Jack swiftly kicked his wrist, knocking his sword out of his hand. He then kicked Shin in the chest and put some distance between them. Shin quickly tried to go back toward his sword as it was falling, but Jack got there first. The flaming wanderer flipped in the air, kicking Shin's sword right toward him. The other man tried to fly out of the way, but was just slightly too slow. His own sword cut his side and barely nicked the inside of his arm, but he managed to turn around and catch it before it fell to the ground. He reached down and felt his side, feeling the warmth of his own blood. He looked back up and glared at Jack.
He snarled angrily as he charged through the air. This time he grabbed hold of Jack's shoulders and began to push him back through the air as hard and as fast as he could. Jack cringed over and over as Shin flew both of them through skyscraper after skyscraper. Countless buildings began to collapse as te two fighters soared through them. When he was satisfied, Shin grabbed Jack's collar and threw him upward as hard as he could. Jack soared high up into the sky, but regained his balance just beneath the clouds. He hovered in the air and looked down at Shin. He waved his hand toward himself, taunting his opponent. Shin immediately flew upward toward him, and Jack flew up even higher, disappearing into the clouds.
Shin flew up after him and broke through the layer of clouds, looking around for his opponent. Suddenly, from to his right Jack came soaring out of the clouds and struck him in the side, retreating back into cover right after. As Shin quickly turned around, looking for him, the wanderer came again, striking him from above and retreating to cover. Shin roared in anger and spun around, swinging his blade. As Jack came flying back in, the blade sliced across his chest and sent him back several feet. Shin smirked at him as the wanderer ran his flaming hand across his chest, bleeding openly. "Enough of this, then." he said calmly. He flew toward Shin, his Keyblade raised. Shin dashed forward and got him in a chokehold. Jack struggled to get out of it, but Shin had a tight enough grip to stop him. Seeing no other way, Jack raised his Keyblade in front of him, the blade facing him, and shoved through his own stomach, impaling both of them in the process. Both he and Shin's eyes widened in pain, and they both began to descend to the ground. Shin let go of Jack's neck, and Jack managed to pull his blade back out. He pulled out the only item he had on him, a single potion. He uncorked the top and had already drank half of its contents before Shin saw it. He quickly punched Jack, who let go of the bottle and flipped onto his stomach, free falling. Shin managed to save about a fourth of the liquid and thirstily downed what was left.
Several seconds later, both of them crashed into the ground, landing on their backs. Both of them struggled to their feet and tiredly looked at one another. As both of them gasped for breath, their special forms faded away now that they were too tired to maintain them. Both men stared at each other for several seconds. "Leaving you here is as good as killing you." Jack told him breathlessly. He groaned as he raised his arm, changing his Keyblade into a rider and jumping on it. He aimed up and headed for the portal that led back to the first area. At the last second, Shin jumped up and managed to grab onto the back by his fingers. Jack looked back and rolled his eyes as they went through the portal. He flew up to the main fortress in the middle and dismissed his rider. Shin groaned as he fell down onto the stone and landed on his stomach.
Jack looked over at him, barely able to stand himself. Shin struggled beyond belief to stand to his feet. He slowly picked up his sword with both hands and slowly walked toward his opponent. Jack held up his Keyblade and did the same. Halfway to him though, Jack threw his blade to the side, where it sunk into the stone. Shin sighed as he did the same. As they approached each other, Jack threw a punch that connected with Shin's jaw. The other man fell to his knees and looked up for a few seconds. (end Heart of Courage)
He leaned forward and spit blood out onto the white stone. As Jack reared back for another punch, Shin managed to get to his feet and knee him in the stomach. Jack groaned as they both fell down to their knees, barely a foot away from each other. They stared at each other for several moments and reared back simultaneously. At the exact same time, they brought their heads forward and head-butted each other. They held against each other's foreheads for several seconds, both of them completely exhausted.
It was then that both of them fell onto their sides and passed out from utter exhaustion.
Alright, so just to point some things out before I get hate mail. If I got a few things wrong with Shin's background or fighting style, I'm not Herald, so cut me some slack. Herald still had complete input in this, so don't say things like "Herald wouldn't have done this or that." I did my absolute best with everything guys.
Alright, so as you can tell, this was only part one. Since Herald and I are doing this together, he is writing Part 2 and posting it. So over the next few days, be watching for his update. I'll put a link up for it on my profile for any of my readers who aren't familiar with him, but for his readers, it shouldn't be that difficult. Alright, well thanks for reading, leave a review for both me and Herald and tell us what you thought of Part One!
Will they get their loved ones back?
What will go on from here?
What will Shin's relationship with Jack be like from here?
Find out in Part 2 of A Draconian Light: A Clash that was never meant to be.