Darkening Threads
A Threads of Fate fan-fiction
by Lyn Chan
Disclaimer: Threads of Fate(Dewprism in Japan) and all its characters
are the rightful property of Squaresoft. Everything else that wasn't
part of the game is all mine. All events portrayed bear no relation
to actual incidents-- any similarities are entirely coincidental.
Kudos to all RPG designers for creating such wonderful and engaging
games for the avid RPG buff. Nothing beats a good RPG!
I've had this idea for a long time-- ever since I first finished
the game-- but I never got around to writing it. This is my first
attempt at writing a fanfic based on a video game but not the first
fic I've written. There are two reasons why I decided to try writing
this-- one, I noticed that there weren't many fics about Threads of
Fate so I wanted to tell the world about this great game, and two, I
love writing stories. I find that I enjoy writing fiction more than I
do writing newspaper articles. There's a kind of joy in making
something that is wholly your own. I hope you enjoyed reading this as
much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks!
Lair of the Lynx
http://www.geocities.com/the_lynx2001/
E-mail: the_lynx2001@yahoo.com
**!!WARNING!!** SOME LANGUAGE AND SITUATIONS IN THIS FIC MAY NOT
BE SUITABLE FOR A YOUNG AUDIENCE, PARENTAL GUIDANCE IS ADVISED!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter 1: Laraal Mountains
The Dancing Pollywog certainly wasn't the best tavern in the world-- it's
food was barely edible, the drinks were watered down, and the ventilation was
so poor that the smoke from yesterday's pipes still lingered in the air.
Despite all that, the place got its regular share of patrons; it was the only
such establishment in Reza, a ramshackle town built on one of the biggest
trade routes between three major cities. As a bonus, the second floor of
the tavern doubled as an inn, which made it quite popular as a stopover for
travelers and merchants from all over the land. And, like all taverns, the
Dancing Pollywog was also a hotbed of rumors and news brought in by every
person to enter its doors-- and with travelers from almost every country, the
stories told within its walls was wilder than most. If it's information you
want, chances are you'll find in the Dancing Pollywog. Which is how Princess
Mint found herself ensconced at a table in the dim, smoke-filled common room
of the only tavern in Reza.
This time she'll find the relic for sure!
After that debacle with Valen and the Dewprism five years ago, things had
settled down for a while. Rue went back to live with Claire, and Rod started
travelling again. Prima Doll and his new family remained behind in Carona.
Duke and Belle... who cared where those two went? And as for Mint, well,
it was back to East Heaven for her. The strangest thing was that she didn't
enjoy being pampered as much as she used to... life on the road had given
Mint a taste for adventure and living in a castle was boring her out of her
skull. Even Maya's offer to accept Mint as co-ruler didn't hold much appeal.
Hard as it was to admit it, Mint knew her younger sister was more than
capable of ruling East Heaven by herself. What Mint needed was some
excitement. Unfortunately, the only excitement in the past five years was
the awakening of Rue's new brother Ruenis; even the discovery of the
Ephlesia City ruins in the Great Western Desert turned out to be a
disappointment-- the ruins had already been stripped clean by bounty
hunters. Bored and with nothing else to do, Mint decided to repeat history
and go into self-imposed exile once again. This time she decided to take up
bounty hunting-- the pay was good, she got to enjoy a free lifestyle, and
if she managed to find a relic on the way, well, she wouldn't complain.
Usually she'd be able to convince Rue to go with her on her 'missions', but
not always. He had responsibilities after all. This was one of those Rue-less
missions.
The red-haired princess had heard rumors about an ancient ruin somewhere
in the Laraal Mountains. Reza, being the only human settlement even remotely
close to the dangerous mountain range, was an obvious destination choice.
Asking around for information about the ruins was a lost effort since most
of Reza's population were transients. So, after the tenth or so person she
talked to yielded no results, she decided to just keep her eyes and ears
open-- and what better place for listening in to conversations than a tavern?
Mint tried to be unobtrusive as she sat in a darkened corner of the Dancing
Pollywog's common room. She'd sat there, nursing the same mug of rootbeer,
for the past ten hours already. She was ready to call it a day when a scrap
of conversation caught her attention.
"Man, I'm telling you, that last mission was a nightmare! No way am I
gonna do somethin' like that again!" spoke a man by the bar, his leathers
proclaimed him to be a mercenary-for-hire. He was rather young for a
mercenary, early to mid-twenties at the most. He was also clearly rattled,
as if he'd just seen something frightening-- the hand that held his mug of
ale was shaking so badly that most of the ale ended up on the countertop
than in his mug. He calmed down somewhat after draining the last of the ale.
The man he was talking to-- also a mercenary(the rather rusty armor was a
dead giveaway), but older and more experienced-- turned to him rather
curiously.
"Eh? Not gonna do what? So what happened to ya?" 'Rusty' asked.
The man stared at his empty mug morosely for a few moments. "Hey, barkeep,"
he called. "It's empty. Fill 'em up, will ya?" He waited while the barkeeper
refilled his cup then took a hearty gulp; he belched.
"Where was I? Oh, yeah. A coupl'a days ago this guy came up to me and said he
wanted to hire me. I thought he was a trader so I said OK. Of course, I asked
for his itinerary... standard procedure, you know? Turns out he wasn't no
trader after all, seems he wanted me to get some treasure from an ancient
ruin for him-- wouldn't tell me what. Now, usually I don't accept contracts
without knowing what's what, but this guy offered me 100,000 G if I do the
job, no questions asked."
The other man's eyes widened at that last statement. "100,000 G!! Damn! For
that much money-- Hell! I'd sell my own grandmother if it'll get me that
much."
The first man nodded somewhat drunkenly. "With that kind of money, who can
resist? I was the only one he hired, too-- he didn't want to share the
treasure more than he had to. So next day I go with him up to the Laraal
Mountains. Dangerous place, those mountains, monsters everywhere. But ain't
anything I can't handle," he said, a hint of bragging in his voice. "It was
when we reached the ruins that things turned a bit hairy. I'm not one to
believe in ghosts but I could've sworn there was someone-- or something--
watching our every move. The guy who hired me, he had a map, so he led the
way in. All I had to do was grunt work-- you know, moving things outta the
way, watching out for traps and monsters and the like... It was pretty easy
going at first, even the traps were no problem. We soon came to this huge
room filled with all these strange stuff, it seemed to be what my ex-boss
was looking for." He stopped to take another sip of the ale. He turned to
continue his story but blinked in surprise when he saw how much attention
he was getting.
The man's tale seemed to have attracted an audience since most of the people
in the room had gathered around him to hear the rest of his story. The
mercenary in the rust-stained armor prodded him to continue.
"Ex-boss?"
"Yeah, ex-boss," the storyteller agreed. "I was just thinking on how it was
the easiest money I ever made when this-- this THING appeared out of nowhere!
It was huge, probably twice as tall I am, and the smell... God, did it stink!
I didn't pay much attention to what it looked like; I was too busy saving my
ass from that monster. All I remember about the thing was that it was black
and that it had wings. Oh yeah, it's eyes were glowing-- red as fire. The
monster was fast-- and strong-- I wouldn't have stood a chance. If I had some
back-up then maybe I'd've considered trying to take it down, but the little
shit who hired me was too cheap to bother paying for more guards. No way
was I gonna try saving the bastard. Last time I saw him he was being ripped
apart by the monster's claws. Served him right!" The man erupted into raucous
laughter that was more than slightly hysterical.
"You deserted a client?" came an accusing voice from among the audience.
The inebriated young mercenary rose to his feet in anger, face flushed.
"Hey! He deserved it! The greedy sonuvabitch knew what the danger was and
he didn't tell me! I saw what happened when the thing appeared-- he was
planning to use me as bait all along so he can get the treasure all for
himself!" There was a grumble of anger from the crowd at this revelation.
Most of the patrons in the tavern were mercenaries and they all held to a
strict code of honor. A breach of contract was punishable by death.
"Sorry, man," his accuser apologized. "If that's the case then you did the
right thing." A chorus of agreement came from the crowd. The whole common
room buzzed with excitement, people will be talking about this story for
a long time to come.
Mollified by the apology, the mercenary sat back down to finish the last of
his ale when a nearby commotion caused him to look up. Pushing her way
through the crowd was a young woman with red hair, she seemed to be making
her way towards him. He grinned lustfully, eyeing the woman up and down.
She wasn't all that tall, only average in height, but her strides were
long and confident. The woman's body was trim and lithe, her blue and white
tunic flowing against her body as she walked. She moved with an eerie grace,
unlike most women's flowing walk, hers was more like a cat on the prowl.
The man's grin broadened as he took in the details. The redhead was obviously
physically fit-- and the way she moved, as well as the strange ring-like
weapons belted to her waist, told him that the woman was a mercenary like
himself. While a female mercenary wasn't all that unusual, he knew that
it was a rare occurrence-- not many people are suited to the life of a
'free soldier'. Life was hard for a mercenary, all who've entered the trade
have learned to take advantage of the few opportunities to enjoy life.
The result of such a lifestyle was a brand of people who go to extremes when
it comes to merrymaking-- the women as well as the men. The redhead's arrival
was the perfect opportunity for the mercenary to forget the horrors of his
last assignment. Oh, he could afford to visit some of the brothels in Reza,
but that wouldn't be any fun. Besides, he'd heard some stories about women
mercenaries... Slicking his blond hair back, the young man stood up, none
too steadily, and turned to face the approaching redhead. The woman came
to a stop an arm's length away from him.
"Hey, babe! What can I do for you?" he asked her, putting on his most
charming smile. The woman didn't seem to notice.
"Tell me," Mint said, looking him straight in the eyes, "do you remember
how to get to the ruins?"
There was something about her eyes that held the young mercenary in place,
purple eyes so light that they were almost pink. The intensity of those
eyes left him breathless. "Yeah, I remember the way," he said in answer to
her question. "But a pretty girl like you doesn't need to bother herself
with some old ruins. My name's Kell. Why don't you join me, Red? I could show
you a good time..." he left the suggestion hanging as he moved closer to the
girl and wrapped his arm around her waist.
Mint struggled to keep from blasting the lecherous moron with her magic.
There were too many witnesses around, and most people didn't take too kindly
to magic of any kind. Besides, this might be her only chance to find a relic
and this man was the only one who knew the location. He couldn't talk if
he was dead. She settled for slapping the man's arm from around her waist.
"Keep your hands to yourself, jerk!" she hissed at him. "Listen! All I want
is the location of the ruins. If you'll be a good little boy then maybe I
won't hurt you."
Kell's eyes widened in surprise at the threat. He laughed. "Spicy little
wench, aren't you? I like that in a woman! Tell ya what, why don't you and
me head upstairs to my room so we can... discuss things?" This time Kell
didn't settle for an arm around the waist-- instead, he pulled Mint's
outraged form against his, tilting her chin up towards his face.
The nerve of that...! Mint was just about to blast him with fire magic--
consequences be damned!-- when a thought occurred to her. The walls in the
rooms upstairs were thick enough to muffle any sound, even a scream. Best
of all, there were no witnesses... She smiled-- it was not a pretty smile.
"Yes, let's go upstairs and... discuss things," Mint told him, her voice
almost breathless. And people say I can't act, she thought with a mental
smirk.
If Kell was surprised at the sudden turnaround, he didn't show it. He might
have been suspicious of the change in attitude if wasn't for Mint's body
pressed up against his. As it was, he could barely think, alcohol and his
nearness to a pretty girl was eroding his mind. He smiled at Mint, causing
her to wince at the overwhelming stench of ale, and led her towards the
stairs. "Did I ever tell you what a babe you are?"
If the situation was different Mint might have been flattered by the
compliment, or maybe not. Kell was only telling the truth, after all.
She remained silent, mentally going over her plan step by step. They soon
reached their destination.
"Well, here we are, Red!" Kell told her, stepping into the room, waving
his arms around expansively. "My home away from home! Been here three weeks
already."
And it looked like three weeks-- clothes strewn all over the floor, scraps
of food everywhere, and not a single place that was unoccupied by anything
else. Of course, Mint wasn't one to complain-- her room looked much like
Kell's, only she had just moved in yesterday. Kell had walked over to the
bed and was just starting to remove his leather armor when Mint put her
plan into action. With a loud "KIYAH!" Mint jumped at the startled mercenary
and kicked him in the chin, sending him crashing down onto the bed. Removing
the pair of rings from around her belt she stood over him, prepared to give
him another knock on the noggin if he so much as sneezed wrong.
"OK buster! Tell me where the ruins are or else! And don't try anything
stupid if you don't want me to kick your butt!"
Kell gave a dazed groan and struggled to rise to a sitting position. "OK!
OK! You didn't have to hit me, you know!"
"Huh? Weren't you going to...? A while ago you were...?" Mint was confused.
Why did the jerk give up so easily?
"No no no!" Kell protested. "Only if you wanted to. I wasn't going to force
you or anything-- it's against Guild rules."
Mint did not like being confused. "Guild? What the Hell are you talking
about?!"
"Mercenaries' Guild. You are a mercenary, aren't you?" he asked, a puzzled
frown on his face.
"I'm a bounty hunter."
"Same thing. By the way, I didn't catch your name," Kell asked, rubbing the
sore spot where his head hit the headboard. That's gonna leave bump.
Seeing that there was no danger forthcoming, Mint returned her weapon to
her belt and looked for a place to sit. There wasn't much choice. Moving
a pile of clothes off a chair, she answered, "Mint. You can call me Mint."
She didn't expect the reaction she got.
Kell bounded off the bed with surprising sobriety, considering the amount
of ale he'd drunk. "My God! YOU'RE Mint?! Damn, you're famous among us!"
The princess-turned-bounty hunter raised an eyebrow at him. "Famous?
Gee, what for?"
The blond man stared at her incredulously. "You don't know? You are the only
person to ever succeed in getting the treasure from the Gahvo ruins-- and
the Guild has been trying to get inside those ruins for years! You
single-handedly got rid of the bandits of Sarin Pass! And-"
"It was nothing, really," Mint interrupted. This was almost embarrassing,
Kell was making such a big deal out of nothing. "Now, about that ancient ruin
you were talking about..."
"Yes, you were asking for the location of the ruins, weren't you? Well,
I can help you with that, although I don't know why you'd want to go there--
that place is just too dangerous. Anyway, as I was leaving the ruins I
managed to pick this up." Kell held up a crumpled piece of paper towards
Mint, which she took. "It's the map my former client was using."
Mint examined the scribbles and diagrams on the paper she was holding then
nodded. "Thanks a lot, Kell." She got up and turned to leave, but hesitated.
"I... here..." She fished something out of her belt pouch and placed it in
front of Kell.
Kell looked from the twenty gold coins lying on his bed then back at Mint.
"That's worth 50,000 G! Why are you giving it to me?"
Mint fidgeted. "I... uh... the other guy said he'd pay you 100,000 G, right?
Well, since you helped me I figured I'll pay you for it, too. I don't have
100,000 G-- that's as much as I can afford-- but you can have it anyway."
Kell was astounded. "You didn't have to pay me anything, you know. I was
gonna help anyway. Are you sure about this, though? 50,000 G is a lot of
money, you might need it someday."
"It's okay, really," Mint assured him. "If I'm right about these ruins then
50,000 G is a small price to pay."
"If you're sure, then," Kell said slowly. Getting up, he pocketed the coins
and walked over to look out the window. "It's getting dark; you'll have to
wait for tomorrow before you can leave. In the meantime, why don't you join
me and the boys downstairs for some drinks? My treat," he said, jingling the
pouch containing the newly acquired gold coins.
"After all you've drunk, you still want to drink some more?!"
Kell laughed at the incredulous look on Mint's face. "Your kick seems to
have knocked me sober. All that effort to try and get drunk-- gone with a
kick! Besides, you really need to sign up for the Mercenaries Guild; there's
a representative from the Guild downstairs, I'm sure he'll let you join once
he knows who you are."
"And why in the world would I want to join your Guild...?" Mint inquired as
the blond mercenary tried to steer her in the direction of the stairs.
"It might be useful, who knows?" replied Kell. "There's a Guildhouse in most
major cities-- if you're a member, you can ask them for help."
Mint thought it over. "Alright then, I'll join," she acquiesced, allowing
herself to be led downstairs. "Now, about those drinks... Who did you say
was paying again...?"
******
The next day Mint left for the Laraal Mountains a bit later than she had
planned, owing to a bad case of 'the-night-after' syndrome. Fortunately,
the map she had acquired made the going easier, preventing the possibility
of having to surpass unnecessary obstacles. Right now she was more than
halfway to the ruins; if she hurried, she might be able to make it before
dark. Something has been bothering her about the journey so far, but she
couldn't seem to put her finger on it. Mint shrugged and dismissed it from
her thoughts. If she couldn't remember it then it mustn't have been all that
important, she reasoned. Clambering over a rocky outcropping, Mint came to a
fork in the path. She paused to consult the rather grease-stained map.
"OK, which way should I go? Left? Or right? Dang, this thing's so dirty I
can hardly read it!" She tried rubbing the map with her fingers. "Hmm...
looks like a right to me." She rubbed the paper a bit more and leaned in
for a closer look. "Yep, definitely right." Stuffing the map into her belt
pouch, she took the right fork and continued her way up the mountain.
Mint was determined to reach the ruins-- if her suspicion was right
then this might well be the biggest discovery since the Dewprism! All the
other ruins she had discovered in the past five years had yielded only
treasure, but no relic. Oh, the treasure was nice, but it was the relic that
Mint really wanted. Mint was sure that this ruin Kell told her about did,
in fact, contain a relic. All the signs pointed to it. The ruin was probably
an atelier-- a magician's workshop-- and the monster Kell had met must have
been the atelier's Guardian. None of the ruins Mint had uncovered had held
anything important enough to need guarding, so whatever was inside this ruin
must be something big, like a relic. All that was needed now was for Mint to
find the place and get the relic.
By the time Mint reached the ruins it was already late in the afternoon.
Ruin probably wasn't the right term; the whole structure was in remarkably
good condition, the only indication of it's age being the plant life that had
almost concealed it from view. From what she could see, the building seemed
to have a marble-like texture, with no sign of weathering. Mint was just
about to go through the double doors that served as the entrance when she
finally realized what's been making her so uneasy since she started out.
Not once has she seen or heard even a single monster.
"That's strange," she mused. "Kell said there were monsters all over the
mountain. So why haven't I seen one yet? Something's not right... but I
can't figure out what. Hmm..." Despite her unease Mint refused to give up
now that her goal was so close. Taking her rings from her belt, the redhead
carefully pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Her footsteps echoed hollowly off the marble-like walls of the entrance
hall. At the other end of the hallway was a door which, according to the
map, led to room containing the first trap-- invisible platforms. Mint
surveyed the wide gap separating both sides of the room with ill-concealed
amusement. Other people might have some trouble crossing the room, but not
Mint. She had an advantage over most people-- she can use magic. Focusing
her will, Mint pointed her arm over the gap-- the twin rings spinning crossed
in mid-air in front of her open palm-- and summoned a bit of Blue magic.
Droplets of water immediately rained down over the gap, some of the droplets
splashing on what seemed like empty space.
"Piece of cake," Mint proclaimed, ending the impromptu shower. Returning
the rings to her belt, she began to cross the gap, jumping on the platforms
revealed by the water. Taking another look at the map, she proceeded further
into the building.
The next two challenges were as easy as the first. A maze-- which Mint solved
by the simple expedient of blasting through the walls, and an obstacle
course-- which suffered the same fate as the maze. There were more traps
scattered around the building, but they were mostly designed to lure people
off the correct path. By following the map Mint eventually found herself
outside the door to the magician's inner sanctum, the same place where Kell
had met the Guardian. Taking a firm grip on her weapon, Mint cautiously eased
open the door and slipped inside. She gasped.
The room was just as Kell had described it. Colored in red, white, and gold,
the entire chamber bespoke vast richness just waiting to be uncovered. Spread
out all over what presumably was the magician's workstation were strange and
mystical devices that only an archeologist could possibly recognize. Mint
could barely restrain herself from leaping about in joy-- all these
treasures, hers! And maybe... yes! There, at the far side of the chamber,
stood the highlight of the whole collection-- a glowing scepter floating
several inches above the table top.
"The relic!" Shouting in glee, Mint bounded across the room. Reaching out
her hands, she tried take hold of the scepter-- only to see her hand pass
through it as if it were thin air. "Wha-what?!" She tried to grabbing the
scepter again, with the same result. "What the Hell's going on here?!" she
yelled.
"Welcome, Princess Mint! I see you've accepted my invitation."
Mint whirled in place, searching for the source of the voice. "Who are you?
Show yourself!"
"Tsk tsk tsk. How impatient! Certainly not a manner befitting a princess."
Stepping out of the shadows in the room was a silver-haired man clad in
a white, open-shirted tunic and black leather trousers. He sketched a
half-bow at the redheaded princess. "Allow me to introduce myself, my name
is Gear. I've been following your exploits for quite some time now, your
Highness. You make a very interesting study, to say the least."
"You've been following me?! But why? And what did you do to the relic?!"
Mint demanded.
"This little thing? Why, it is only an illusion. Surely you must have
figured that out by now; I'd be most disappointed if you haven't." Waving
a hand, Gear dispersed the illusion, revealing a barren room devoid of
anything valuable.
Mint was stunned. "But- but, the treasure! My relic! It- it can't be...
There was a Guardian! The relic has to be real!"
The silver-haired man smiled at Mint's disbelief. "That wasn't a Guardian
your friend, the mercenary, saw but a chaos demon I summoned for my own
purposes. My Master is very interested in you, Princess Mint, and I was
sent to take you to Him. I knew of your desire for the relic so I created
the map you were holding and arranged for it to fall into the hands of an
unsuspecting traveler. I also made sure someone had survived so that word of
these ruins would reach you. Everything was planned perfectly; you came
reeling in like a fish after bait."
"You bastard! You're not gonna get away with jerking me around like this!"
Mint shouted. Assuming a battle stance, her rings held ready, she told him,
"You're not taking me anywhere 'coz I'm gonna kick your butt! That map cost
me a lot of money, and I damn well better get some treasure out of it!
You're gonna pay-- big time!"
"Oh, but your Highness, I'm not taking you anywhere... at least, not yet.
I have to make sure that you are truly the one my Master wants, so I
arranged a little... test."
Mint had only a few seconds to ponder the meaning of his words when the
wall next to her suddenly exploded, sending her flying across the room.
Twisting around in midair, Mint managed to land on her feet. She looked
back for the cause of the explosion and stared in horror at the sight.
Standing amidst the rubble was a creature straight out of a person's
worst nightmare. The creature was tall-- twelve, no, fifteen feet high
at the least, and it carried with it the stench of death. The demon's wings,
useless in such an enclosed space, lay folded on its back. It's body was
heavily armored, though the armor seemed to be a part of the creature itself,
and it's hands and feet ended in vicious, knife-like claws. It roared at
the red-haired princess, ruby eyes glowing malevolently.
"This, your Highness, is a chaos demon," Gear explained, "a creature older
than time itself. If you are, in fact, the one I'm looking for then you
shouldn't have any trouble dealing with it."
"And if I'm not?" Mint asked.
Gear smiled. "Then you won't have to worry about getting kidnapped."
Turning to face the demon, he commanded, "Kill her!"
The chaos demon shot across the floor with surprising speed, claws poised to
strike. For a creature of its size the demon was remarkably fast, Mint was
barely able to duck the claw swipes that came streaking overhead. Jumping
back to put some distance between them, Mint paused to assess the situation.
The demon was amazingly quick and agile, any normal person would have been
killed during the initial attack. But Mint was no ordinary person. Years
of almost constant battles has made her a formidable fighter. Speed was
her asset, her quickness on foot more than making up for her lack of
physical strength. The demon was faster than her, yes, but it had a severe
disadvantage-- it's bulk made it impossible for the demon to suddenly change
direction while attacking. Which left room for Mint to strike back.
Mint charged, dodging the blows swung at her, and angled her body for a kick.
Her foot smashed into the demon's face, followed by a strike to the chest
from her rings. The monster staggered slightly from the blows, but quickly
recovered to deliver a downward slash. Mint hastily backflipped to avoid
being hit.
"Dang! That thing's as hard as a rock!" Mint muttered. "I have to find it's
weak spot... that's it!" Charging back into the fray, Mint continued to
dance around the demon's attacks. Roaring in frustration, the demon leveled
a mighty blow at the redhead, its fist plowing through the earth where she
had stood. Using the monster's embedded arm as a platform, Mint catapulted
herself over the monster's head, spinning around to strike at the its
unprotected wings.
"HYAHH!!"
The demon screamed in pain as the ring-like weapon tore through the fragile
membrane. It turned around to swat at Mint but she had already skipped out
of range. Mint smiled in victory.
"Hah! Your monster's not so tough!" she told Gear, who had been watching
the entire battle. "After I'm done with this creep, it'll be your turn.
You're going down!" she promised.
The silver-haired man remained unmoved by her threat. "Oh, really? Did
you actually think it would be that easy? Look again."
"Wha--?" Mint turned to look at the chaos demon-- and stared in disbelief.
The monster's wounds were healing themselves! "Looks like ugly wants to play
some more. Well, no more miss nice little princess-- this time it's for
real!" Mint charged up her magic, both of her rings spinning in mid-air,
and prepared to face the oncoming threat. The demon blurred across the
room even faster than before, claws slicing through the air.
Dang! This thing is getting faster, Mint thought as she sought to avoid
the crisscrossing series of attacks. An arm struck her in the stomach,
sending her crashing against a wall. Slightly dazed, Mint looked up in
time to see the monstrous form barreling towards her. Quickly summoning
a wall of fire in the demon's path, she leapt to safety. Seeing as the
monster had walked through the fire seemingly unharmed, she decided on
another course of action-- close-in combat while using magic. Calling forth
her power, Mint went on the offensive, lightning dancing around her body as
she weaved in and out of the demon's attack range. Ducking low beneath the
creature's reaching arms, she pointed her hand at its torso.
"Graviton!" she shouted. A huge ball of crackling black energy slammed into
the monster at point-blank range.
The demon flew back from the force of the blast, its clawed feet digging
deep furrows into the stone floor. As the monster strained to hold back the
ball of energy, Mint was already preparing another attack. With a shout,
arrows of fire arced out and slammed into the demon's body, detonating on
impact and sending up great clouds of smoke. Panting heavily, Mint watched
and waited.
The smoke cleared a few seconds later. Standing amidst the rubble was the
chaos demon, its body bruised and battered, its armor cracked. Mint's lips
tightened in a grim smile as she moved to finish the monster off. Shards
of ice gathered in her hand, forming a crystalline blade. She swung at the
demon, the diamond-hard edge cutting through armor like a hot knife through
butter. Roaring with pain and rage, the demon slashed at the girl. Jumping
back from the pitifully slow attack, Mint readied herself to deliver the
finishing blow when the creature suddenly crouched down, its mouth wide
open. A beam of energy shot from the demon's maw and engulfed the princess.
Mint screamed in pain as her body crashed against a wall and through it as
the demon continued its assault. Dust and debris went flying everywhere as
the redhead was blasted through wall after wall. Finally, the attack ended.
All was silent save for the sound of Mint's broken rings falling to the
ground.
Gear surveyed the devastation with disappointment. "I guess she wasn't the
one after all. A pity." He turned to leave.
"It's not... over... yet..."
"WHAT?!" He turned around in shock. Farther down the hall, cuts and bruises
all over her body, was Mint. A barrier of pure magical energy surrounded
her.
Mint glared at the silver-haired man. "You're not getting away that easily...
I won't let you!" she said as she aimed her hand. Golden energy began to
gather around her open palm.
"HAAAHHHHHHH!!!"
A beam stronger than anything seen before blasted through the open area,
reducing the chaos demon to nothing in a matter of seconds. The blast
continued outward, destroying what was left of the ancient ruins, before
dissipating. Mint fell to her knees, her energy spent.
"Amazing! The Master was right, you _are_ the one," came a voice from up
above.
Mint gasped and looked up to see Gear floating in the air. She struggled
to get up, trying to summon every last ounce of magic. It was no use, her
strength had left her. Her head spun and her vision blurred.
"No..."
And her world went white.
******
End Chapter 1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CREDITS:
I would like to thank my pre-reader Leonis(Leonis472@aol.com) for all the
help he gave me while I was writing this story. He convinced me to change
the timeline to 5 years after the game instead of my originally planned
2 years(I agreed with his reasoning). He also helped fix some of the
dialogues as well as making sure that everything was coherent and believable.
There were some very good theories, and plot ideas he and I came up with
during our discussions that I plan to include in my later chapters(I won't
tell you what they were so you won't be spoiled). Basically, he helped make
this story better than it was; I owe a lot to him. Thanks, Leo.
AUTHOR RANTS:
So, here it is-- Chapter 1(more like prologue, really) of my very first
Threads of Fate fan-fiction. As you probably know by now, Darkening Threads
is a serious fic, with little to none of the comedy which made the game
such a hit. Why I wrote it that way is a mystery, even to myself. I do know
that I've been influenced by fantasy books like Wheel of Time and the
Dragonlance saga. I like the concept of a climactic battle between good
and evil, so I'm trying to see how well I'd do in writing something like
that.
So tell me... how well did I do? Did the fight scene work? I'll gladly
accept any comments or suggestions you can give me. Just email me,
or visit my website. (*Please, oh please visit my website*)
Stay tuned for the next chapter of Darkening Threads. Soon to arrive in a
theater near you. ^_^
-Lyn Chan