Note: For CrapPishh's FF challenge. First one shot ^_^. Yes, I'm very new… but does it really matter? I've decided to take part in this competition to try my luck… at least; I just wanna see where my standard is. Wish me luck~! Now start reading!
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Garren:
As I lay there in the lush, green field, I wondered to myself, would it always be like this? I was thirteen then and I had no problems in my life. Simply put, I was carefree. My best friend, Connor, was lying beside me. We both had wide grins on our faces. He was my best friend. We had met at the age of seven and had gotten along pretty well up till then.
The wind caressed my brown hair and tickled my face. I laughed and glanced around. There was grass as far as the eye could see. This was Leafre; the place that I had been born in. Connor was beside me, smiling and pointing at the endless field of grass and twiddling around with the leaves. I definitely wished it would stay like that.
We were all descendants of great war figures, meaning that our families had great expectations of us. It was the family tradition to try and surpass the previous generation. However, we had only just become teenagers. They couldn't force us to do so at such a young age. Our lives stayed carefree for about another four years.
Soon, our family's affairs soon caught up to us. We were sent to a training school, where previous generation warriors had surpassed the average standards of their generation taught the next generation their skills and imparted their knowledge. Luckily, Connor was sent with me, but later on we got separated and he was sent to a separate division.
When my course was complete I was already twenty; I was already considered an adult. I found Connor and we got back together again. We had already become fearsome warriors, but inside, I was still the same old kid at the age of thirteen. Connor, however, had changed. He already had a taste of killing. He had become a bloodthirsty warrior who wanted to kill. I awed at the change in him… and I felt sorry for him.
Those were just memories. Now we hunt for a living. We still have to try and uphold the family honor, no matter how much I don't want to.
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Connor:
Garren clutched his Doombringer tightly. I held my red katana in one hand, with a steel ancient shield in the other. I licked my lips. This one was going to be easy. I stared at the Dual Beatle, thinking of ways I could torture it before wiping it out. The Dual Beatle seemed to be anxious to start the fight. It made the first move, dashing at me. I held my shield in front of me and braced myself for the impact.
The blow smacked me and sent me flying back. I hit the ground once and quickly stabbed my katana into the ground to stop myself from flying back any more. "My turn." I got back up on my feet and charged, my katana pointing the Dual Beatle. I ran into it and my katana went through its hard metal hide and into it. Green blood oozed out of the hole I had made in its hide. I threw back my head and let out a laugh as I stared at the oozing blood.
The Dual Beatle shuddered and collapsed. I stared in amusement as I realized that the monsters were no longer a match for me. "Let's head deeper into the forest." I blurted out. Garren stared at me, wide eyed.
"Are you nuts? Do you know the level of those monsters? We may be high level warriors, but those monsters are insane. I don't like watching you get hurt. Let's just stay back where we are" I tried to bring his words into consideration, but something told me I was right. The fact was I was right at everything. Garren was just being a weakling. I let out a laugh and pushed him aside.
"Pathetic." I turned and started walking nearer to the dark area covered with thriving trees which height went so high that even when I tilted my head all the way to the back, I could barely see the leaves. As I walked in, the bright light faded to become small, occasional rays of sunlight that got in through small holes in the leaves. I looked around and realized that I was in a very unfamiliar setting.
"Wait up!" I spun around and saw Garren running towards me. He was already panting and he finally stopped, resting his hands on his knees. "Slow down, Connor!" I frowned and stood there, waiting for Garren. He finally caught up with me and stared at me as if I was a mental patient.
"So you decided to join me?" I laughed again as he struggled to say something. "I… I'm just going to watch. I'm not going to be fighting anything." Garren sighed and smacked his forehead. He muttered something and then looked at me again. "Alright then, let's get going shall we?" I nodded and continued walking in.
As we walked deeper in, the monsters got stronger and stronger. We were now seeing more of Hafs and Birks. I struggled to kill some monsters, while others were surprisingly weak. My stash of potions however, was getting smaller and smaller.
I entered the Forest of the Priest and sighed as I realized that no monsters were here. There were a few other people there but I just ignored them, to their shock. They were probably expecting some people. I looked in front and saw the starting of another forest. I squinted in the dim lighting and struggled to make out the figures moving. They almost seemed… human. I was strangely drawn towards the place, not bothering about what Garren was doing.
I walked closer, trying to make out the figures. As I got closer, I realized that they had the bottom of a horse and the torso of human. "Kentauruses!" I remembered how the villagers would talk about how they were an omen to the forest and how powerful a race they were. I was looking at the nightmare of my town.
I was sure I had enough power to finish them off. I grabbed my red katana. A small ray of sunlight shone down upon my katana and it gleamed. I let out a battle cry and dashed towards them. At once, I entered the Battlefield of Water and Darkness, as it was called, and found a small group of Kentauruses guarding the area. They steadied themselves for an attack.
All of them were either blue or black, the black ones with a skull on their helmets and strangely shaped spears, while the blue ones had an icicle shaped like a spear. The Kentauruses moved swiftly and gracefully, cornering me with ease. They held up their weapons and were about to start slashing, but then stopped and lowered them. I looked around and wondered what had happened.
A black Kentaurus stood in the middle. This one was different, in a way. It had red, bloodshot eyes, and its face had no particular expression. This one had spikes protruding its shoulders and a huge skull for a chest plate. It smiled, as if it knew something I didn't. It lifted a hoof, kicked the ground, sending dust flying in the air. It then charged at me with full speed, not hesitating, even thought it was bound to get injured when it hit me.
I shut my eyes tight and yelled. It seemed as if a ship had just crashed headfirst into me. There was intense pain, pain at such a high level I actually felt as if I was hovering between life and death. All the while my eyes were shut. I thought I was dead. Then my eyes opened. I was surprised that I was still alive. I tried moving an arm, but nothing budged. The same thing happened with my mouth, my head, my legs, everything! Was I dead? Nothing was moving! I couldn't move a muscle and not even my eyes would turn. I heard a voice shouting "Connor!" and I tried to reply, but nothing happened. It was hell inside.
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Garren:
"Connor!" I yelled in shock as I saw Connor lying on the ground. I looked around and realized that the Kentaurus that had attacked him had disappeared, but I couldn't care any less about the Kentaurus. I couldn't lose Connor now, not after all we had been through. As I headed nearer to the group of Kentauruses, they suddenly laughed and dashed further into the forest, leaving me and Connor alone.
Suddenly, Connor got up. He glanced around and turned to look at me. He was smiling.
"Are you okay? Did anything happen to you?" I was dumbfounded that he could even stand after that attack, let alone smile. He continued staring at me for awhile. Then he flexed his fingers and turned to look at me and said, "I'm fine." He continued on to move his arm up and down, then his legs, as if he was testing them to see if they were okay.
"You really got me worried there, Connor. Next time, don't try attacking a group of monsters without planning, okay?" I stared, waiting for a reply. He lifted his chin and looked at me again, then snarled at me.
"Fine… I said I'm fine." His face was slightly pale now. There were veins throbbing on his head. Best I leave him alone, I thought. I turned and beckoned for him to follow me. Then I began my dash back to Leafre. I turned slightly to see Connor already beside me. "How did you catch up?" Connor looked at me with a frown, as if I was annoying him. I quieted down and turned, trying not to remember his cold expression.
What had happened to him back there? I was relieved to see Connor was fine, but something about him was making me extremely nervous. I kept turning my head to look at him, hoping I could find something different about his expression or his face, but I didn't look for long, afraid that he would notice.
After some time, I realized that I was running, and Connor was ahead of me. He was merely walking, while I was running and already panting. Connor had never been a fast runner. Why hadn't he been injured to the point where he could not walk or run? He was hiding something from me. I thought about for awhile, and then I realized I was being ridiculous. I quickly threw away the idea of him hiding something and quietly followed Connor.
We managed to get back to the village in less than half an hour, reaching the village just around evening. I greeted old Yai Bua and Koscu on the way, then headed for my house right up a ladder. I grabbed the keys from my pocket and jammed them into the lock. I waved goodbye to Connor, who didn't seem to notice and just walked past me, then pushed open the door. The door creaked badly-something I was already used to-and opened.
I stumbled in my house and slammed the door. The place was simply decorated and primitive, with a bamboo roof and unstable wooden walls. I cooked myself a light meal of Mushroom Miso Ramen, a local favorite in Leafre, munched on the tangy noodles for awhile, then headed for my bed. I was fairly exhausted that night, so I dropped onto the bed and was asleep in less than a minute.
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"Open the door!" I forced my eyes open and looked around. My vision was blurred for a second, and then I quickly adjusted to the darkness and rushed to the door. I fumbled for the door knob, hoping I could still save my door in time before the person outside my door did something to it. "Open! Quickly, Garren. We need your help!" I found the door knob and did a quick twist. The door creaked and opened. It swung aside to reveal Chief Tatamo and Mos.
"Chief Tatamo, what is it that you seek from me?" The outside was a little brighter, with many black lights around. "Wait… Black lights? What…" I said out loud. Chief Tatamo nodded and frowned.
"The village is under attack. Something or someone caused black fire to erupt from the ground. Judging from the damage, it could have been monsters, but I don't see how they could have entered the village. We are now evacuating all the villagers into the shelter, but the monster has to be stopped before our village goes up in smoke. We need you to help us do that job. Connor is missing, so we couldn't call for him to join you. This is going to be a tough one for you Garren, so please survive." He then pointed to the spot where there was an enormous amount of flames. "You should be able to find him there. We are counting on you." He then lifted his staff and started heading for the shelter, Mos silently tagging along.
Connor was missing? Had he been killed? Maybe he snuck out to stop the creature but got killed. I quickly shook off the stream of morbid thoughts and snatched my Doombringer. I ran my hand down the thin metal and then grabbed the handle with both hands. I silently sprinted for the spot, not knowing what to expect.
I skidded to a stop as I reached the place. I stared in amazement as I saw what appeared to be a pathway with walls of fire. Was this a trap? I tried to look further, but all I could see was a thick mist up ahead. I shrugged and swiftly stepped into the path. I tried to push in my arms so that my sides wouldn't touch the fire as I wasn't sure what kind of fire it really was. Was it the fire of dark magic? Either way, the best would be to avoid coming in contact with it. As I walked through the mist, I found a huge clearing, taking the shape of a circle with borders of fire around it. And in the middle, a lone figure stood still, eyes closed. I tightened the grip on my sword, wondering what It would do when I came in contact with it.
I snuck up on the figure, not wanting to wake it up. As I stepped closer, my jaw dropped. My first mistake was about to be made.
"Connor!" I rushed up to the figure which I realized had been Connor. He was definitely breathing, so he was definitely not dead. His eyes flicked open, much to my surprise. "If it isn't Garren…" He whispered with a mocking tone. I lifted an eyebrow. "What?" He gracefully pulled out the katana hanging on his belt and held it tightly. He looked at me and laughed. I was completely lost. I had no idea what he was laughing about.
"Connor? Let's get going. We need to stop the person who has been causing these fires." Connor hadn't stopped laughing. Suddenly, he turned to face me. His grin had now turned into a serious frown. "Haven't you noticed? You really don't know who caused the fires?" He was still whispering, although his voice seemed somewhat magnified. I was completely puzzled. "You know?" I shouted.
"Me…!" He dashed up to me in a second, catching me off guard. He then put his gleaming red katana at my neck. "You're so ignorant, you fool. I'm not your friend Connor. Can't you make sense of any of the happenings at all?" I gasped in shock as I recounted everything that had happened. The forest, the attack and the Kentauruses. The Kentaurus! I flung my Doombringer up and smacked his red katana aside and then spun my Doombringer to an angle. The reflection on the sword wasn't Connor. It was a black Kentaurus…
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"What have you done with Connor?" I stared at Connor, or the Kentaurus, as I should have called him. "Me? I did nothing to him. I am him!" I tried to make sense of his statement. It was going way too fast for me to comprehend. He laughed, noticing I hadn't understood what he was trying to say. "You still can't tell?" He ripped off his shirt, revealing a black tattoo in the shape of a skull with two horns: the symbol of the black Kentauruses. "My mark of possession." He said proudly.
"Possession? You mean you…" I was quickly piecing together what had happened to him. "You used a human body to get into this place?" The Kentaurus nodded bitterly. "I had no choice, mind you. We can't do anything in our raw form. What we can do is so limited. In this body, however, we can do anything! My race has always been primitive, you see… I am what we call an evolved creature and I am a step ahead of them. I am smarter and stronger than them in any possible way. I detest humans. Why not start here while I can. I won't even get a scratch in the end. This is your friend's body, after all."
"You bastard! Fire Charge!" My Doombringer lit up in a split second and was cover from tip to handle in blue fire. I let my fury take over and swung my Doombringer at him. With a single hand, he blocked my sword with his katana. He then delivered another two blows to my chest. I avoided both. I swung to his back and slashed it, leaving a gash in his pale chest. Then I realized that I wasn't killing the Kentaurus, but Connor. I stood there, too dazed to react.
"Can't bear to kill your friend?" He laughed and brought his katana down on me. In a desperate attempt to protect myself, I swung my Doombringer up to protect myself. The katana hit it, sparks flew, and then my Doombringer was smashed into a million pieces. "Shit!" I jumped backwards, avoiding the Kentaurus as he swung and slashed. I tried to avoid it, but it couldn't be helped. The katana slashed through the skin on my arm and threw me backwards. My bronze platine scraped against the floor, protecting my body. I doubled up and continued dodging the katana.
The katana wouldn't stop. The Kentaurus' movements were swift and graceful, leaving me very little chance of escape. He kept coming. I ducked as a blow went forward and grabbed his arm. He was surprised and struggled to get my arm off him. He shook his arm, trying to fling me away. I grabbed the handle of the katana with my other hand and tore it off his hands. It was flung back and landed beside the border of fire. He yelled and dashed for it, leaving me behind.
"You're not getting that!" I dashed at the same time, running as fast as I could. It was no use. He ran ten times faster than me. I stood there, knowing it was too late. I would be dead in a matter of seconds. As I stood there hopelessly, a miracle happened. He dropped to his knees and put his arms to his head. He twisted and turned violently as if something was taking control over him. "Shit!" He screamed.
"Kill me, Garren." Another voice echoed out of him. Was that Connor I heard? "Connor!" Connor's body turned around and looked at me. "Garren… Kill me… before it's too late…" He stammered. He was trying to hold the Kentaurus back desperately and was struggling to speak. I felt tears welling up in my eyes.
"Damnit Connor! I can't!" I stared at him as if he was asking the impossible. "Just stop my pain!" He was yelling. Then his face changed into a frown. "Get out, human!" The possession of the body was being tossed around like a ball. Soon the Kentaurus would get control again and all Connor's efforts would go to waste. I made up my mind and sprinted for the katana. I snatched it and spun around in time to see the Kentaurus gaining control over the body. He was still dazed but was almost gaining full control over the body.
Tears ran down my cold cheeks as I dashed forward with the katana facing him. His jaw was hanging as he tried to get up and turn around. He didn't make it. The sword went through his heart and out from his back. It stayed stuck there. He tried to speak but couldn't find his voice. I released the handle, knowing it was already over. He staggered back, his hands now clutching the handle of the blood-stained Red Katana. He was trying to pull it out, but stopped before he even had the chance to. He stared at me for one last time, then went limp and dropped to the floor.
"Connor…" I muttered, my weak voice making it sound more like whimpering. I watched as he fell and stopped breathing. Not the Kentaurus, but Connor. Black smoke came out of the body, forming the symbol of the Black Kentauruses. Then it was blown away by the wind.
"Goodbye, my friend."
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Now I use a katana. It's stained with blood I haven't washed since two years ago. The handle has the symbol of the Black Kentaurus. I also have a keychain on this sword. It's a spherical keychain that's hollow. Inside, I carry a small amount of Connor's ashes. I have to respect the fact that I once used him as a body anyway. Now I have a stronger, faster body of a level eighty three warrior.
I can still remember how this one struggled when I caught him by surprise and went into his body. It was such a simple task. Now I have returned to the forest, to train, for when the day comes, I will return to Leafre. The wretched town that thought it had defeated me. I also realize that only one person will get blamed for crushing Leafre. That was the poor person whose body was now mine. Poor old Garren.