(Author's Note: I don't own Final Fantasy...heck, I don't even have a PS2 yet...poor me. If you like Mega Man X, check out my other fic. I could always use the support. Enough talk, let's do this thing.)
Prologue
A lone man stood, staring down from a rocky ledge. He wore a long-sleeved black shirt, a padded vest, dark jeans, and boots. On each of his arms was a gauntlet, black but with a metallic shine. His face was covered by a blank black mask. Only a pair of blue eyes were visible. His gaze jumped back and forth, noting different aspects of his target. His inspection complete, he lifted his hand to his ear, pressing something.
"Doc? It's me. How's the feed?" A pause. "This place is nothing. But, Doc, after this job...I want to apply to the Aca-" He stopped, shaking his head at the voice on the other end. "Look, I've got it under-! ...Fine, after. We talk. I'm out." His hand dropped to the side, balled into fists. The man walked down from the ledge, making his way towards his target.
"Heh heh...don' look like you're going to no academy soon. Hey, Wedge, got anything on th' voice ID?" A guard sat at his terminal, watching as cameras tracked their soon-to-be intruder.
Next to him, Wedge was playing the recording back. "Nah, man...the computer's picking up crap. Some sorta...sorta muffler or something. I say we, like, beat the crap outta him, Vicks!" Wedge leaned back in his chair, stretching out his arms. "He's not armed, and we can handle a dumb kid, right, man?"
Vicks shook his head. "No way! That guy's outta our league. Well, yours, anyways." After a quick laugh, he enhanced the picture, zooming in on the intruder's face. "He's wearin' one of those things...only THEY were those damn face things."
Wedge snorted. "You're dreamin', man. No way in the red hells a punk kid like HIM is a Masque!"
Vicks shrugged, powering up the auto-defenses. "I dunno. Either way, he's target practice."
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. No need to waste equipment."
The two guards jumped out of their seats, guns raised. "Who's there!" they shouted, spinning around in circles. They were stopped by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Sitting in Vicks' chair, with his legs stretched across Wedge's, was another masked man. They trained their guns on him, but the weapons were shaking in their hands.
"Pitiful. Turn off the auto-guns. Anyone in the Masquerade can get by them, just like I did. Second, he's not armed because he doesn't need to be. You'd think OmniCorp guards would scan an intruder for a probe system. Like I said, pitiful." He rose to his feet, walking past them. "If he's here, he's after something, and since this is a research facility, it's probably on the computers. I'll head him off there."
Vicks finally managed to speak up as the man reached the door. "W-wait a minute! Stop right there, Masque!"
The man just laughed. "Relax, you moron! OC hired me to take care of this little situation. If I were in on it, you'd be dead by now. Heh. Turn off the auto-guns, but leave the sentries out. We don't want him getting suspicious, do we? Bye, now." With a wave to the confused guards, he disappeared, the door left unopened.
"Hey, Wedge?"
"Yeah, man?"
"I hate this job. Too much freakin' stress."
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The intruder made his way through the facility, either unaware or concerned about the cameras tracking him. Any guard he came across was quickly dispatched with a steel-gloved punch. He reached the doors to the main laboratory without incident. He pulled a keycard he'd taken from a guard, running it through a panel. The reader blinked red, and a curse escaped his mouth. "Techs only, huh? We'll see about that," he whispered.
After a quick scan of the hall, he placed his hands on the lock. As he pushed, his metallic gauntlets began to glow with a green light, and the doors suddenly burst open. He stepped in, doing his best to close the broken doors behind him.
The main lab was a large room, two rows of tables with half-assembled parts strewn across them. Pipes ran along the walls and ceiling, most of them connected to a large computer terminal that took up an entire wall. Shade stopped to look at some of the parts, taking some of the small ones, as he walked to the main terminal. "Cake job..." he muttered, holding up a piece of machinery to the screen's dim light.
"Ain't it, though?" A knife knocked the part of the intruder's hand then dissolved into nothing.
Above him, he heard a yawn. "Tsk, tsk, my fellow mercenary. I mean, if I wasn't so bored, you'd be dead right now. Imagine that... Shade, the rising star of the Masquerade, killed for being stupid." Identified, Shade stared up at his attacker. His mask was silver, with a single red streak down one side. His mouth was left uncovered, showing a wide grin. He wore a black leather trench coat with a green bandana on his chest over a black T-shirt and jeans. He leapt down, landing in front of the intruder.
Shade crossed his arms. "Get out of my way. If you're really part of the guild, you can't interfere with a job and you know it."
The man chuckled. A knife formed in his outstretched hand. "Oooh... that's where you're wrong. That's the thing about us, we can be hired on opposite sides, and I'm here on a job. Killing you, to be precise."
Shade shook his head, a deep sigh muffled by his mask. "Whatever. Let's get this over with."
"Fine by me! Wild Card Kaerz, at your service. Well, your funeral, anyway!" That said, he launched the knife at his opponent. It struck his chest, knocking him back. The blade disintegrated on contact. "As I thought, you've got a probe system!" Kaerz applauded. "I'll have to bring down your hit points, then, now won't I?"
"Do you ever shut up?" Shade lunged, throwing a punch at Kaerz's face. As Kaerz blocked, the green light surrounded Shade's fist. Screaming in pain, Kaerz jumped back, throwing two knives as he went. Shade ducked under the first, but the second landed, keeping him back.
"That hurt, dammit! What WAS that?!" Kaerz screamed. "I've never seen-"
"Shut up already." Shade muttered, raising his fists.
"Fine! Actions speak louder than words, right?"
They waited, staring each other down, then both of them charged.
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"Hey, Wedge, you watchin' dis? These guys 'r better 'n I thought!" Vicks and Wedge were watching the battle in the lab unfold, lounging in their comfortable seats on the other side of the building.
"Yeah, man, I've got, like, 50 gil on the guy with the black mask! Dude...He just smashed a table with his damn hand, man!" Wedge slammed his drink down for effect, getting himself wet in the process.
"You nuts?! Knife guy's wit us! Sides, he musta hit 'im five times with those things! Probes can only take so much 'fore they go quits on ya!"
"You're on! Not like it matters, man...We've got every dude on base just, just waitin' to take care of the leftovers! Got any chips?"
At that moment, Shade was running to catch up with Kaerz, dodging a hail of blades. The chase continued around the room, the occasional hit wearing him down.
"Hey, c'mon! Catch him!" Vicks yelled, sitting at the edge of his seat.
"Hah, only a matter of time now, man. You like, you owe me your paycheck!" Wedge replied.
Meanwhile in the lab, the place was in ruins. Tables were overturned or simply smashed. Parts were lying in broken pieces across the floor. Every window on the outer wall bore small cracks from knife impacts. Traces of blood were beginning to appear as Shade's probes took repeated attacks.
Suddenly, Shade stopped his chase. "This is getting nowhere. Time to quit playing around...," he said. Arms outstretched, a low groan came from Shade's throat.
Kaerz paused, standing on a table with a knife in each hand, panting from near-exhaustion. "Giving up already? You're smarter than I thought! Too bad, though. I hate for all the fun to end..." Kaerz put his hands on his hips, threw his head back and laughed. "Or is that some sort of kung fu crap? Bring it on, man!!!"
Shade couldn't hear him anymore as his moan slowly grew into a scream. His gauntlets began to glow brighter, an aura of energy surrounding them. "SHUT UP!!!!" His eyes started glowing with the same green light. Kaerz stopped in mid-gloat, looking down.
"Huh? What the-"
"Pulse Wave!!!" Shade screamed. As he raised a fist, all of the energy flowed to that hand. Palm open, he thrust his arm forward. With a deafening boom, a crescent of light struck Kaerz head-on. He went flying, crashing to the ground, unconscious.
"Almost got me..." Shade muttered. As Shade made his way through the mess, he put his hands together and whispered. "ProgramWHITE: Cure1" As a white light spread over his body, he felt his wounds close up. "Now, time to finish the job." He reached into his pocket, taking out a disk. "Hmm. Didn't break it."
Placing the disk into a slot, he began typing commands into the terminal. "There. Got the file, now to-"
"Like, not so fast, man!" A voiced called over the speaker.
"Hey, I wanted to say that, Wedge!" Another yelled.
"Fine, Vicks, you say the rest. What a baby, man..."
"I heard that!!! Well, anyways...You! We've got you surrounded! Yer darn fight brought the blast seal down on that door, so yer stuck! Every guard on base is right outside, too, just waiting to shoot ya as soon as we open it! Give up now and we'll only kick ya a few times!"
Shade only sighed and shook his head. "Idiots. How about this deal? You can all run away or die."
"Yeah, right, man! You've got fancy moves, but you can't, you can't beat us, man!"
"Right, Wedge! You an' what army, ya punk!" Cackling came over the intercom. "Face it, kid, yer toast!"
Shade shrugged, putting the disk in his pocket. He calmly walked over to a table near the window. "No, you are." Shade pulled a pipe free from the wall, causing it to burst. "That's gas." He pulled a metal sphere out of his
pocket. "And this...this is a time-delay explosive. I'm supposed to blow this place anyway, so it's all part of the job. Tell your men to back off and open the seal."
Frantic yells could be heard from outside. "Hey, man! D, don't get hasty!!! We can, we can work it out, man!"
"Shut up n' open the darn door, Wedge! You wanna get us fried!"
A loud sound came from outside of the room and the doors swung open, revealing an empty hallway. "Good. Now run. You've got two minutes!" Pressing a switch on the bomb, he threw it behind him and started running.
On the intercom, the two men were in hysterics.
"Man! We'll get you, man! Mark my, mark my...we'll get you!"
"Dammit, Wedge, let's get the hell outta here!!!"
"Hey, Vicks, what about Knife Guy?"
"Screw 'im. We were just gonna off him, save half the money, anyways! And you owe me 50 gil, you hippie!"
"Whatever, let's just RUN, MAN!!!" With a click, the intercom turned off and alarm klaxons screamed throughout the building.
"Son of a..." Kaerz was leaning against a wall, rubbing his head. "At least I got half. San's gonna be pissed..." He shrugged, the smirk coming back to his face. "Least I had fun." Then, he was gone.
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Shade rushed out of the building, no one caring enough to stop him. Once he reached the perimeter gate, the lab blew. A fireball swept up from the middle of the building, climbing several stories. In seconds, the entire facility was ablaze. Putting his hand to his mask, Shade whistled in amazement.
"Mission accomplished, Doc. Returning home. And we really need to talk about-"
"Like, not so fast, man!!!"
"Dammit, Wedge, you did it AGAIN!" A huge crash was heard as the gate was knocked open. Shade turned to stare into the face of a huge machine. It stood twice his height, roughly shaped like a dragon. Inside of it's 'stomach', two guards were sitting inside, working the controls. It's head snapped back and forth, then released a gout of steam.
"Shut up! Like, you're under corporate arrest! Anything you do or say will get you, will get you, like, killed!!!"
Shade took a fighting pose, then yelled. "You dolts! You think I'd come unprepared for your toy mech? ProgramBLACK: Lit1!!"
A bolt of lighting lashed out at the dragon mech, coursing through its circuits. Screams of pain and anger rose from the cockpit.
"Oww!! That freakin' hurt, but you fell into our trap! Wedge, hit the switch for the Lightning Breath!"
"Like, which one?"
"Dammit, the big red one labeled Lightning Breath!!!"
"Not enough power, man!"
Shade couldn't help but laugh. "Looks like your little trick's ruined. Now..." He spread his arms out again, and they began to glow.
"Gonna cut me out of my half, huh?!" Everyone looked up to see a figure land next to Shade. "Nobody messes with Wild Card Kaerz!!! Have a thunder ball!!!"
"No, don't-" Shade yelled, but it was too late. Kaerz reared back, then hurled the yellow ball at them. On contact, jags of lightning struck the mech in a blinding flash.
"Like, that hurt, man! Where's that, that switch?"
"Aww, gimme that!" The dragon's head stopped swaying, turning its gaze to the two mercenaries. It's mouth opened, pointing at them. Then, with a burst of steam, a stream of electricity shot out from its throat, as it began to sway again, slashing them with each wave. Kaerz was knocked out by the blast, his probes unable to take the punishment. Shade fell to his knees, breathing heavily. His gauntlets' light dimmed, then faded.
"Hooo-aaah!!! WE GOT 'EM!!!"
"Like, TOTALLY, MAN!!!"
"Let's finish it!!! Dragomech Destroyer, ONWARD!!!""
"YEAH, MAN!!!
The mech rose onto its hind legs, the dragon's mouth open again, this time to reveal a gatling gun. Shade stared up at the machine, pulling himself to his feet. "No...I won't lose! I...I..." Shade groaned, his gauntlets glowing bright, then dimming, only to light up again. "I'm...I won't be beaten!!! Pulse Wave!"
He fired the crescent, only to see it harmlessly dissipate on the mech's plated chest. Shade fell again, thoroughly drained. "No..."
"Yer gonna die now, boyo!"
"Like, you're going down, man!"
The gun began to spin, gaining speed.
"5!"
"4, man!"
"3!"
"2, man!!!"
"1!!! Hey, what the-"
Suddenly, a flash of purple struck the mech, knocking onto its haunches. A blur of purple energy rushed forward, leaping onto the dragon's neck. The light faded to reveal a man in silver armor, a sword of the purple energy in his hand.
Shade watched in shock as the man attacked, slicing downward. A pillar of steam rose from the gash, then the dragon's head fell to the ground, the rest of the mech soon after. The two guards jumped out of the mech, running for dear life.
"We're gonna get ya next time!"
"Like, hurry up, man!"
Shade could only sit in shock as the man turned his gaze towards him.
"Stay away from OmniCorp. You've been warned."
"Wait, are you-"
"Stay away. For your own good." With a flash of light, the man was gone.
Shade rose to his feet. He turned to wake Kaerz, to find him already gone.
"Doc, did you get all of that. Was that...Doc, was that-?"
For a moment, there was silence as Shade watched the fires still raging behind him.
" Understood. Returning home. But I want answers when I get there. Shade out." Walking out of the facility, Shade pulled off his mask. His black hair, now free, waved in the wind.
"Was that you, Cale?"
_____________________________________________________________
For several years, war raged between the nations of Kalos and Salia. The Kalosian Empire used its superior machinery to conquer its own continent, then quickly set its sites on the East. The Eastern Continent allied itself under the Salian Monarchy, becoming a powerful adversary with its control of magic. Things seemed to be at a stalemate until a man named Dracus sold a new form of a technology to the Empire which utilized the soul's potential as a power source for Kalos's advanced technology. With application after application found, Dracus's small company began to grow to amazing heights as the Kalosian Empire paid huge amounts for a military edge. Even magic, the Salian Coalition's sole advantage, was soon mimicked by the new Spiritech technologies.
Soon it seemed imminent that Salia would fall. Then, miraculously, Dracus himself negotiated a peace treaty with the Kalosian and Salian royal families. He became an international hero and his growing company began to slowly creep into every facet of Kalosian life. Thus came the Age of Spiritech and the birth of OmniCorp, whose power grew to rival, then overwhelm, that of the Emperor, as he was practically forced to institute an elected Ruling Council. Fearing this new power, Salia cut off all trade with Kalos, in fear of losing its own sovereignty.
This climate of economic conquest, led on by OmniCorp's merciless tactics, spurred the birth of corporate espionage as a regular means of business. The demand for mercenaries and assassins grew exponentially, leading to the formation of the Masquerade, a vague alliance of outlaws. Competition for top ranking became rampant, as the highest prices were paid to the top Masques.
Even as things seem to calm across the world, rumors continued to grow about OmniCorp's darker practices. Many Kalosians believe that the Ruling Council has been corrupted, and a resistance is slowly building...
The situation is volatile and one thing becomes increasingly certain: Something will soon come to pass. Something momentous.
(AN: Well, that was a blast. I just sat down at 8PM and stopped to rub my tired behind at 11. I didn't even check it over that much. I just got the urge to kick this out. Been in my head for a while now, anyway. Hope you guys liked my take on Vicks and Wedge. They may be back if I feel like it...anyway, good night!)