A/N: Hi folks! Its been awhile since I worked on a fan fic, so lets see if I still possess any kind of This is a world that contains most of the FF universe. The state of characters resemble that of their first appearance with a few things tweaked here and there for story's sake. Enjoy the first chapter and I'll upload as often as I can!
CHAPTER ONE
It wasn't fair that the bigger kids got to eat first. Denzel might have been smaller and younger than the other boys, but he had put his fair share of work in as well. Marlene always told him to be patient and wait till Tifa came back in order to handle the situation, but he had enough. He was the one who distracted the driver of the food truck while the rest pilfered unseen. Even if he didn't get first pick, he should have been at least second or third. They claimed because of his age, he had last pick at everything they stole from Shinra, Inc. While contemplating whether or not to speak up for the first time, the dark haired boy folded his arms and pouted silently.
Look at them, Denzel thought with a sardonic look. They keep the little people down while taking for themselves! Just like the Shinra! I wouldn't be surprised if they became Turks one day!
The oldest boy poked his head from among the crowd of kids and grinned mischievously. "Hey Denzel!" he called. "You're last but not least!"
Denzel tried paying no attention to the laughter that ensued after while he walked towards the pile of food. All that was left was a small piece of bread. This was too common of a scenario for him to be angry anymore.
"Try not to eat it all at once!" Once again the teenagers were having fun at his suspense. Several more one-liners would've followed if it wasn't for the loud whistle in the distance.
The kids of Sector 7 turned around to see several Shinra soldiers with their guns raised. Denzel's heart skipped for a second as fear found its way into his heart. He tried to run, but his feet wouldn't allow him to perform such folly. After all, there were more soldiers behind them. The other kids realized this when they tried to make a break for it.
"Your arms up where we can see them!" shouted the commander of the first squad.
The kids herded themselves into a tight circle, hokding on to one other for dear life. Denzel's were fixated on the blue uniforms that represented law here in Midgar. The kind of law he was getting tired of. The kind of law that his friends Cloud, Tifa, and Barret were fighting against. He dreams to one day join them among the ranks in AVALANCHE and save The Planet from corrupt organizations like Shinra. This was his chance to show he was no longer a coward. This was the opportunity to fight back.
If only Marlene was here to see this, he thought as he begins to break away from the circle. Blind courage was the battery for his motivation while anger was the remote guiding his words as he started to yell. "Leave us alone!" he yelled louder than he anticipated. "All you do is bully us around!"
"This coming from the thief who stole from us?" retorted the commander with a chuckle. "Some kind of bird-brain logic you got there boy!"
"We wouldn't steal from you if you provided us with decent living!" Denzel's voice raised another octave. Part of him wanted to calm down, while the other side was cheering him on. "It's bad enough that we're trapped under this giant metal pizza!" His finger pointed to the plates above them blocking the sunlight in order to support the upper city. "Nobody cares about us in the slums! Why should we even care! The only thing you'll get back from us is this!" Denzel picked up a rock and threw it at the squad commander. "That was for AVALANCHE!"
The soldiers looked at each other as if they couldn't believe their ears. "AVALANCHE?" asked the commander. "You know AVALANCHE?"
"Uh..." The cold chill of realization crept up Denzel's spine as he began to back off. The resistance group was public enemy number one in the eyes of The Shinra.
"Maybe you can come with us and answer a few questions, huh?" The commander relaxed his posture a bit. The second-in-command stepped forward and turned to his commanding officer.
"Sir," he began. "May I propose a suggestion?"
"Go ahead."
"We've been after these kids for months and they've made our unit the laughing stock of Shinra. I doubt that the kid knows anything about AVALANCHE. What we need is to make an example out of one of them. Show them that the 39th squad is not to be trifled with. We'll plant an unmarked gun, kill the kid, and tell the media that AVALANCHE is training kids to be terrorists! That'll shake them up a bit and gain back the faith of the people!"
The commander chuckled. "Keep thinking like that and you'll soon out rank me!" He raised his machine gun at Denzel. "Sorry kid. Nothing personal."
Denzel closed his eyes tight as he heard the gun go off. He felt nothing, but heard the screams and cries of the children around him. When finally took a peek, he saw the soldiers' body language look as confusing as his own. He was shot at, but not hit.
"What the hell?" the commander wondered, but his lieutenant knew better.
"A protect spell!"
Before anyone could react, a brown cloaked figure appeared seemingly out of nowhere. A flash of metal appeared before the commander and lieutenant, striking them down.
"Take 'em down!" shouted a soldier and machine gun fire sprayed in the direction of the attacker.
Denzel and the others ducked down for cover as the cloaked figure begin to move through each adversary with extreme precision. From the corner of his eyes, Denzel could barely see the light blond hair that fell from within the hood over the person's head. He thought it to be Cloud, but the spiky-haired mercenary wouldn't be that discreet about his appearance. This had to be someone not from around here...a mysterious traveler who came here by happenstance in order to save Midgar from the wrath of Shinra. Even in the face of life and death, Denzel let his imagination get the best of him.
When the cloaked figure was done with the squad in the front, he turned his attention to the rear and somehow appeared instantly before them. From what Denzel could see, he had no materia on him, so how could he perform such a feat? Why did bullets bounce off a couple of inches from his body? And what was a protect spell? Denzel's mind racked for answer but he found none.
After a couple more Shinra soldiers slain, the figure turned to the rest and spoke in a somber male voice.
"No more blood has to be shed. Leave now and atone for the sins of your crimes."
Without a verbal response, the leftover soldiers nodded to his suggestion and ran off as fast as they could.
Denzel blinked once and the man was gone. He was the first to stand, getting a glimpse of his surroundings. Bodies were laying everywhere and in the distance he saw a familiar brunette running towards them. "Tifa!" he called, sprinting towards her. As he moved closer, he saw Marlene trailing behind her.
"I told you they were here!" cried Marlene who was obviously out of breath.
"And I told you to stay behind." Tifa turned to Denzel after her response. "Are you okay?" After Denzel nodded, she glanced past his shoulder. "What happened here? Who did this?"
Denzel was still in shocked to give a detailed story. "I was about to get shot when some guy in a cloak appeared out of nowhere and started fighting everyone!"
Tifa put a hand on his shoulder and gave a warm smile to the children who ran up to her.
"Big sis!" cried one of the girls. "A man with blond hair saved us! Was that Cloud?"
Tifa raised an eyebrow. Cloud and Barret were undercover in Sector 6. And Cloud wasn't known to wear a cloak...and he especially wasn't known to have long hair.
"That wasn't Cloud!" shouted Rick, one of the boys. "Cloud can't teleport!"
"Teleport?" Tifa was perplexed. "Was there anything else unusual?" Tifa was gently trying to usher the children away from the murder scene that was soon to be swarming with Shinra military. She was suprised at their sudden excitement over this cloaked hero.
"There was one other thing," said Denzel. "The bullets that were fired didn't even touch him."
"Didn't touch him?"
"Yeah. They bounced off like he was using barrier materia." Denzel did his best to keep up with Tifa with the other children in tow.
"Barrier materia..." That made no sense. Maybe if he was a member of SOLDIER, but there was no barrier materia available in Midgar. Tifa pondered the following evidence: long blond hair, teleporting, and barrier magic. Two theories came to mind: Either Cloud has had an extreme makeover or...
Holy Knight Cecil Harvey was in Midgar.
Lukahn reclined gently in his chair, stroking his beard. Stacks of books and papers were lined up on top of his desk. He spent the past couple of days searching through Cid Lufaine's reports trying to find the answer to his long sought questions. Caffeine was no longer his source of staying awake, only the will to seek the truth. He needed to know more about the final battle between The Knights of Cosmos, and The Lords of Chaos. As a child, he grew up listening to stories of the Knights' heroic exploits and the Lords' villainous actions. The most notable tales involved the Warrior of Light and his eternal rival the Dark Knight Garland. Both were the epitome of the gods they served, Cosmos and Chaos. Nowadays, nobody remembers the Gods, who were referred to throughout history as 'Aeons' or 'Eidolons'. Many people (most notably summoners) were able to harness their power, but eventually even they were hard to come by. Lukahn still believed in their power, as well as the existence of The Knights.
The Knights of Cosmos were virtuous warriors of different abilities passed down from one generation to the next. Their sworn enemies were The Lords of Chaos, those who sought power for personal gain. Their actions caused discord, the energy that Chaos fed off of. A Dark magic spell called Apocalypse was created to trigger events that would bring him into this world for good. A white magic spell called Rela Crystal was created to counter this, but its actual verification is unknown. Prophets have spoken about a coming 'end of days' where good and evil would clash once more, and with the way things were these days; Lukahn wouldn't be surprised if it was happening soon.
"Things were probably much easier back then, huh?" he wondered out loud, thinking about the ancestor whom he was named after.
He had to find The Knights and share with them his information. The only problem is discovering their identities and what they can do. The names and abilities of Knights were known to change from time to the time. With each roster there was always a different set. And when it came time for a 'Crisis' to occur, there was always twelve Knights and twelve Lords to face off with one another. The only knights that the Circle of Sages knew about were Holy Knight Cecil Harvey and Dragon Knight Freya Crescent. World renowned martial artist Zangan was once known to be the Chakra Knight, but it was said he passed down the role to one of his students.
Lukahn sighed as he prepared to dive into his work once more. There was work to be done, and he didn't know how much more time he had left. The world needed to be saved, and someone had to make sure the heroes were there to perform their sworn duty.
Darkness…pain…destruction. These were the words that Garland lived by ever since he could remember. The Lufenians created him to be a weapon. Cornelia used him as their so-called shining beacon of hope. Hope. What a stupid name. Chaos had taken him in, understanding his twisted wants and needs...his darkest desires. Not just those of the flesh (and his obsession with Princess Sarah), but his need to control. He was made to control. He was forged to be a king that would serve his god Chaos, faithfully. His loyalty was so flawless, that he was brought back into this world by one of his own. This man was a dark knight who now fought for the side of good. A betrayer whose personal confusion and cowardice is what made him to be the pawn of Cosmos. Now Garland was back...back to take back what was once his...back to command the Lords of Chaos once more. He was back to exact revenge on the Knights of Cosmos and to take the soul of Cecil Harvey once more and bring it back to the side of evil. After all, he already owned the soul of someone close to him...
Garland was still weak to act upon his own orders, but that's what an apprentice is for now isn't it? He personally trained Leonhart to be his successor as the Dark Lord and leader of the Lords of Chaos. The young man was promising; and he had enough darkness in his heart to pass the trials that killed many before him. Leon would deliver him Cecil Harvey...
And Garland will watch as his dearest sibling will kill him.
Long live Chaos. Long live Discord.
