-Author Notes-

This is a crossover story of the two game series Final Fantasy and Hyperdimension Neptunia. I own neither of the series in question, or any of their respected content. They are copyrighted by their respective owners, and I am merely crossing over the series to write my own little story using their characters and locations and things of that sort. I do hope that you enjoy the story, and please give me tips as to how to improve my writing. This first chapter is being told from a 3rd person view, but I have plans to change this for the future chapters.

With all that out of the way, please enjoy the prologue.

"...by my blade, innocents have been slain… "

The vibrant rays of the sun shone down upon the planet that its inhabitants referred to as the Blue Planet. The sounds of propeller blades could be heard from miles away as these airborne vessels soared across the sunny blue skies above the land and the sea. Such vehicles were a rarity in the world that these folk lived within, and the very sight of them signified the approach of the most elite force of the Kingdom Baron. Through them they became known as the most powerful nation on the Blue Planet, as they were the only nation to have such vessels. This division of Baron's military is referred as the Red Wings of Baron, their most elite military force.

"Is this truly path that I wish to take in my life…?"

Thanks to research done by Baron's own airship engineer, Cid Pollendina, Baron quickly became a very powerful nation due to the fact that were one of the only nations of the world with access to these airships. The Red Wings are returning back to their home, the nation of Baron after having completed their most recent task assigned to them by their king. It was a simple order for them to fellow: to retrieve the Water Crystal located within the village of Mysidia, well known for being the home of the mages.

"The path of darkness. A ruthless killer. This is the path of the Dark Knight that I have taken. "

The Red Wings of Baron is a force to be feared, no doubt. But even more so than the Red Wings of Baron should one fear the leader of this most elite force. When compared to the rest of the men that makes up the Red Wings, their captain stands out in a league all to himself. He is known throughout Baron as one of their most powerful and loyal soldiers. His men respect him as their fearless leader, and they would want no other leader besides him. He stands out on account of being the Dark Knight of Baron, garbed in dark armor from head to toe, with a helmet for his head and a sheath on his right side for his sword. His appearance was one befitting for one of his job class. However, he was best known by his name.

"The path of the Dark Knight, Cecil. Cecil Harvey. "

The airships of the Red Wings of Baron soared on through the air, leaving behind them the sound of their propellers as they headed back home towards their destination: their home, the Kingdom of Baron that was awaiting their arrival. With the Water Crystal from Mysidia in hand, their mission had been most successful. Their arrival back in Mysidia had been met with little resistance, and what resistance was there to greet them was easily struck down by them. Their mission though, left them with a very sickening feeling; a feeling of remorse and guilt, over their actions back at Mysidia. Were the actions that they took to complete their mission truly necessary? Might there have been another way for them to have obtained the Water Crystal without needless bloodshed? All that they kept focus on now, was their new mission: to deliver the Water Crystal they obtained to their king.

"Captain Cecil, we shall arrive back at Baron Castle shortly." A solder spoke up to Captain Cecil, informing him that the Kingdom of Baron, their home, was not far off from their current position.

"…Very well. " Cecil responded to the soldier with a most monotone voice. He was lost in his own thoughts, thinking over what had just recently transpired. Being a Dark Knight, he was taught how to fight as one. As such, it was normal for him to strike down anyone who threatened the stability of peace in Baron. But this mission was different than any other. Striking down innocents that meant him or Baron no harm; they were no different than any other civilian that lived peacefully within the Kingdom of Baron or anywhere else. These thoughts plagued his mind like a most foul virus that refused to leave his body, no matter how he tried to tackle it.

"The captain seems kinda down." Another soldier spoke up, seemingly trying to initiate a conversation with some of the others. Much like them, he was concerned for the well-being of his captain, seeing as their recent mission left him in such a meditative kind of state. Though he was not the only one to be feeling that way.

"After what we did, who wouldn't be?" It seemed to be growing slightly lively on the ship after the soldier spoke up. They began to talk about their mission at Mysidia, or rather, their feelings on the atrocities that they were forced to commit there. While the captain certainly took it the hardest, he was not the only one who felt such disgust about the actions that they took at Mysidia.

"Orders are orders, but killing innocent people to get the Crystals isn't right no matter how you look at it. What did they do to deserve this?" The clamor on the ship grew louder and louder with each passing moment. As they continued to talk, Cecil recalled his time back in Mysidia…

"Please, do not take our Crystal! You don't understand what would happen…" The white mage cried out to the soldiers of Baron, begging them not to steal their precious Water Crystal. She wore upon herself a white robe that covered her from head to toe, with a red triangular lining and a hood for their heads. This is normal white mage attire. White mages are best known for their healing capabilities and she was no different than any average white mage.

Within the back room of the Hall of Prayer is the crystal room, in which the white mage, black mages, and Elder of Mysidia can be found defending the Water Crystal from the Red Wings of Baron. Its glow radiantly illuminated the room in a faint blue light as it floated up and down within the pedestal in the center of the room. The floors, aligned with a shiny glass-like tiled floor; the walls, looking as if they were crafted out of the finest and highest of quality crystals; and the crystal pillars helped bring about the mysterious essence that these rooms emanated. Should everything go as planned, Baron planned to make it theirs by the end of the day.

"We are sorry for this, but we have received our orders from our King to retrieve your Water Crystal through means necessary. We do not wish to harm you anymore than we have harmed the civilians who interfered with us, so please, just hand over the Crystal." The soldier spoke to the white mage in a rather sincere voice, emphasizing that what they had to do, was not what they had originally intended to do. In their mind, their mission came first as the king's orders were absolute; they had a duty to fulfill, no matter what the costs might be.

"T-Then we sh-shall do what it takes to p-protect the Water Crystal!" The two black mages on both sides of the white mage spoke up, stating that they were, at least, somewhat willing to fight for the protection and safeguarding of Mysidia's Water Crystal. The black mages were dressed in in normal black mage attire: a blue robe accompanied with a sharp and pointy hat that somehow manages to completely shroud their faces in darkness aside from their bright yellow eyes. Black mages are best known for their black magic that, unlike their white counterparts, was meant for harm rather than healing.

However, as the soldiers could hear in their voices, their confidence in themselves was rather lacking, and for good reason. They were just humble black mages in the village of Mysidia, who had just recently begun their advancement to the second level of black magic. In addition, they were not mages who were training to use their magic as a means of fighting; yet here they were, attempting to put their own lives at risk to defend Mysidia's Water Crystal.

"I'll do what I can to assist as well!" The white mage suddenly chimed in as her black mage companions spoke up. Being just a novice white mage who knew only basic white magic, she was unsure as to how much help that she could offer them. However, with the crystal at stake, she knew she had to do whatever she could to keep the soldiers of Baron from stealing it. Even if she had to lay down her own life to defend it…

"We wish it did not have to come to this, but we will not fail our liege. As such, you give us no choice. We are sorry, but it must be done." Cecil spoke to the group of mages that stood defiantly before them. His voice, much like the soldier that spoke before him, carried with it that hint of sincerity. He, much like his men, did not wish to take lives of those that were merely defending their village's most treasured item. However, the orders of the king were absolute, and he could not bear to fail him, or even worse, betray him.

"Men, take them out! They stand in the way of the wishes of the King of Baron, hence, they need to be taken out! Go forth soldiers, for the King!" Cecil yelled out the orders to his men, though not without there being a hint of guilt being carried out on his voice. They were in the way of their mission, and as such had to be taken care of, even if it meant killing them.

"Yes, Captain! For the King and the nation of Baron that we serve!" The soldiers spoke in unison as they each brandished their swords. The mages saw that the soldiers were truly intent on ending their lives, as they were standing in their way. As the soldiers approached the mages, with their swords by their sides and at the ready to strike, the mages slowly back up to the small carpeted stairway that lead up to the crystal. On this stairway also stood the elder of Mysidia, who witnessed these events transpire before his very eyes.

With the crystal at their backs, the mages readied themselves to stand their ground, and prepared themselves for battle. The battle for the Mysidia's Water Crystal, and their very lives, was about start.

"Fira!" "Blizzara!" The two black mages yelled out the names of their spells as they held out their hands, aiming their spells towards their targets, the soldiers in front of them. As they held out their hands towards their opponents, their hands began to glow as they concentrated on their spells. The one who had called Fira had their hands glow red; the other had their hands glow blue. The color of the glow represented the type of elemental spell they were casting.

"Fire!" The two black mages yelled out in unison as they casted their spells upon their opponents. From the one on the left, as his hands grew much brighter, there seemed a reaction of some kind as the words escaped from their mouths. As quick as he was able to utter the word fire to unleash his spell, a stream of fire shot out, like an arrow from the bow of the most excellent of marksmen. The stream of fire flew towards the soldier in front of the black mage, who stood his ground, ready to take his attack. Holding his long sword with his blade facing its side, he blocked and shifted the fire shot out from the black mage to his sides, negating the mages attack.

The other mage did not fare any better than his partner. As the mage on the right yelled out fire in conjunction with his partner, the glow on his hands, much like his partners, grew much brighter. A reaction occurred as the word escaped from his mouth, and like his partner, his spell was unleashed into the soldier in front of him. A line of blue mist shot out from his hands, flying towards the soldier with much speed. Holding his long sword out with the blade facing its side, like his comrade, he blocked the spell with his sword, causing the mist to burst into ice upon impact with the blade; the ice fell to his sides rather than directly on him. The ice fell down onto the ground, having missed its target, or any other target for that matter, and shattered upon impact with the ground.

"You blocked our spells? How is this possible?" Their eyes lit up in surprise as they witnessed this spectacle of an event. The black mages were astonished upon this new discovery. Given that they had never been in a true fight before, this was to be expected from them. The best spells they could muster were merely blocked by the soldier's long swords.

However, their astonishment wasn't to last.

In the time span that they spent being in awe of the soldiers having blocked their spells, the soldiers managed to sneak up upon the black mages, who took notice of their movements a little too late. Quickly and swiftly, the soldiers swung their swords and stabbed the black mages directly in their chests. The mages eyes lit up brighter than ever before as they began to feel the searing pain that the stab had inflicted upon their body.

"We're sorry it had to come to this…" The soldiers spoke to the black mages that stood before them, retracting their swords from within their bodies. The tips of their swords were stained red with the blood of the black mages that they had just stabbed.

As the swords were retracted out of their bodies, the black mages collapsed down onto the ground face first, gasping for breath. The stab had gone and pierced their hearts, and was successful in ensuring that they would not live for much longer. With the one stab, their lives were now forfeit.

"No! You can't die now…!" The white mage spoke to her black mage companions, with tears breaking out from her eyes as she looked down at them. She knelt down near them, looking at them as they gave their final breaths. With one last sigh, and the closure of their eyes, their lives had now ended.

"Don't worry guys, I'll get you healed up right away!" The white mage stood back up and brought her hands together, closing her eyes as the tears continued to flow down her cheeks. She began to calm her mind, so that she could begin to focus on a raise spell; a spell that would hopefully bring her fallen allies back to her life. The magical spell that is called Raise.

But she was much too slow, as her time was also at an end.

Another soldier moved in stabbed her in the chest, much like the other mages, before she could finish gathering up the power she needed to cast the spell. His sword tip stained red by her blood, she stumbled over face first onto the floor, gasping for air as the blood poured out of her chest. In her last moments, she lived to watch as the soldiers walk over to the Elder; their mission was still incomplete. They would obtain the crystal for the king at any costs.

With the mages down and out of their way, the soldiers walked up to the Elder, the only one who now stood in their path of the Mysidian Water Crystal. Having witnessed the murder of some of Mysidia's mages in front of his very eyes struck some fear into his heart; he got the thought that he might be killed along with them. Nevertheless, he stood his ground in front of the stairway to the crystal, not willing to back down just yet.

"Those poor souls did not deserve this cruelty. If only I could have stopped them from sacrificing their lives for the crystal. But alas, I cannot allow you to have this crystal despite their failed efforts." The elder spoke with much wisdom and authority in his words and manner of speech. He felt ever so guilty for having caused the death of those innocent mages that gave their lives for the crystal and wished to continue on what they had started. But he did not wish to resort to violence, like they had done.

"Stand aside men. Allow me to speak with him myself." Cecil spoke to his men that stood before him, telling them that he would take over from here. Knowing how impulsive his men could get, he took hold of the situation before things could get out of control. His men moved aside as he moved up in front of the elder to speak with him.

"Sir, I do not wish to cause anymore bloodshed or violence here in this hall. Our king has given us a mission to retrieve your crystal through any means necessary, but we did not wish to resort to having to use violence. Please, just step aside so we may end this peacefully." Cecil told the Elder of his mission, and that he did not wish to use violence on someone such as him.

"You do not know the destruction that you would bring upon the world by taking our crystal. The consequences of your actions will plunge the world we live in into chaos." The Elder spoke of things that were to come, as if he were able to see the future of the world. What he meant by his words, Cecil did not know, but despite his warnings, he had a mission to complete, even if he had to move the Elder out of the way by force.

"Please forgive me, sir, but we have our mission to our king to keep. So, I must take action!" Cecil quickly brandished his blade and took a quick slash at the Elder; his slash leaving a mark upon the sliced open robe of the Elder, as well as his chest. While he was harmed from the slash, he was not at the risk of death, as Cecil held back on his attack. The Elder knelt down and covered his chest with his hands out of pain, feeling the true sting that Cecil's blade inflicted on him.

"Men, move him aside. We have a mission to accomplish now." Upon his order, the soldiers went and moved the Elder aside and out of the way. With no one else in their way, the mission could now be completed without further issue or delay. With nothing else left to oppose him, Cecil went up the small stairway and stood in front of the crystal, the source of all of the strife and bloodshed that had just transpired.

He took a moment to gaze upon its radiant beauty; the pure blue glow that shone from within it that reflected off of his armor. Slowly, he grasped upon it with his hands, and lifted it out from its altar. As he grabbed the crystal, its glow intensified for but a moment, before going back to its normal glow. With the crystal in hand, their mission at Mysidia had finally been completed, and there needed to be no further violence there. Their next mission was simple; to now return back home to Baron Castle.

"Come forth men! Our mission here is at end! Let us return to the king what he has called for us to obtain!" With the crystal in tow the Red Wings left the crystal room of Mysidia, their mission complete. As they departed from the hall of prayers that concealed the crystal room, a few of the remaining mages rushed into the building, concerned for the Elder's condition.

"My liege, why did you order for us to commit such an atrocity…?" Cecil spoke to himself as he left Mysidia, and was homeward bound for Baron.

As Cecil lost himself in his own thoughts, the talk aboard the ship had increased. The soldiers had begun to talk about themselves, as the members of the Red Wings. They knew what they were formed to do, and their last mission got them talking about how what they did went against what they were originally formed to do.

Cecil could overhear some of the conversations that they were having. In one he heard one soldier say "The Red Wings are meant to protect people, not harm them!" It seemed as though one soldier was getting to be rather spirited in his talk, and Cecil would not allow someone, even if they are of the Red Wings, to talk bad about one of the king's decisions.

"That's enough!" Cecil shouted out on the airship. He would not tolerate disobedience or ill talk of the king. Their views on what they had done were justified, given that they had committed some very heinous acts in Mysidia, but Cecil's faith in his liege would not allow him to doubt that what they did would help Baron prosper in the long run. However, even now he had shades of some doubt forming within his heart. Was the king truly wanting the best for Baron, or was there more to it than that?

"Captain! Surely you don't condone what we've done, do you?" The soldier spoke up against Cecil, believing that what they did in Mysidia was just simply unjustified and that it went against what the Red Wings stood for. Cecil felt it himself as well. He couldn't condone what he had done himself, but he continued to push his feelings down, believing that he was doing right.

Cecil then began to speak up to his crew, as to explain to them why they had carried out their mission. "Listen well, all of you. The raid on Mysidia that we performed was imperative. For Baron to prosper, we need the crystals power…" Cecil could continue to feel it in his heart. He simply couldn't condone the attack on Mysidia so simply. He had to ask of the king as to why he sent them on such a mission.

Cecil went on, continuing to speak about the mission. "The king and his counsel concluded that the Mysidians had grown to know too much about the crystals. " The soldiers listened intently as Cecil spoke to them. As their captain, was to give them their moral; give them a reason to continue onwards on their missions. He was their leader, and they respected him as such.

"We are the king's Red Wings! We, cannot defy… his orders…" Cecil's doubt had somewhat come out into his words as he spoke. Talking to the king was to be his first objective once he had given the king the Water Crystal. This was a most grievous issue for Cecil to face, as it made him question how far his loyalty to the king, and by extension, his loyalty to Baron would go.

"Captain Cecil…!" His soldiers spoke up once his speech had ended. They could hear from his voice that even he had some doubts about the mission that they just performed. Just what was the king's intentions for the crystal? They expected that they would hopefully get answers once they had arrived home.

As the crew stood there and took in their captain's words, the pilot noticed some creatures of some sort flying towards their airship with alarming speed. Upon closer inspection, he came to realized that those creatures were monsters, who were coming to attack their airship! With this realization, he went to warn the others of the incoming threat.

"Captain! Monsters have been sighted dead ahead! They're coming to attack us!" The pilot frantically told his captain the news, worrying that the monsters could potentially take out the airship that they were riding upon. Hearing the news however, jolted Cecil out of his thoughts. He had a duty to his soldiers to keep them from harm as their captain, and he would make sure to do so.

"Soldiers! Prepare for battle!" Cecil yelled the orders to his soldiers, who immediately sprang to action. Monsters were headed towards their position, and they needed to defend both themselves and the airship. Quickly, they all run to their positions; these positions were to command the on-board cannons to attack the oncoming monsters.

One by one they fired their shots out of the cannons to take out the incoming threat the monsters posed to them. While their attacks on the monsters proved mostly successful, they were unable to take out each every single one of them. Some of the monsters managed to get through their defenses, and managed to get aboard the ship. As their captain, the deed of defeating them fell to Cecil first.

Cecil braced himself as the monsters charged forth and attacked the ship. "The monster seemed to be some sort of demon, with large wings and clawed arms attached to a huge, round body. It's face contained a wicked mouth full of sharp teeth, and a single eyeball just above them. This monster was called a floating eye.

Cecil pulled from his pocket an item he had been saving for just such an occasion. He pulled out a red, tooth-shaped object. It was a Red Fang, taken from a fire-breathing dragon! Clutching it in his hand, he held up it in the air. As soon as the best moment presented itself to him, he crushed the fang in his hands, reducing it to nothing but a red dust.

Cecil was ready for those monsters, and this item would be all he needed to take them out. He began his attack by blowing the red dust towards the monsters, and as it flew towards them, it quickly began to catch on fire. The fire created by the dust surrounded the floating eyes, burning them to nothing but ashes in a matter of seconds.

However, things were still not quite right. More monsters came upon to attack the ship. Among the group of monsters came a bird creature, called a Zu. It was no more than a gigantic black bird monster, whose strength can kill any inexperienced warrior with ease. For Cecil, this beast would prove to be no challenge for him to take out on his own.

He pulled out from his pocket another fang, this one blue in color. Much like the Red Fang, this is also a tooth from a dragon. In this case, this is the tooth of a lightning-breathing dragon. Crushing the fang in his hand, he blew the dust toward the Zu, surrounding it in the blue dust. As the dust swirled around the creature, the air about it grew to be more and more humid in temperature; the signal for the strike of the fang. In a matter of mere moments, lightning struck the beast from every angle, frying it and leaving behind in its aftermath nothing but dust. The creatures had returned unto once they were made from.

Though Cecil had defeated the monster with relative ease, the ship did not share the same luck as him. Many of their supplies that had been aboard the ship had been destroyed by those monsters. In addition, they had also managed to inflict minimal, but nonetheless damage unto the ship itself. The soldiers had fought to the very extent of their abilities to fend off the monsters, and they had made it out of the fight as well, with minimal injuries.

As Cecil looking about his ship, his eyes caught sight of one of his soldiers who was down on the ground, injured. Quickly, he rushed over to aid the soldier in getting up. As he was brought up onto his legs, Cecil asked him "Are you alright?!" He was concerned for his men's well-being, and he was not about to lose one of his soldiers if he could help it.

"No fatal injuries captain. I'll be ok." The soldier replied to his captain of his status. Aside from a few minor injuries, he was going to be just fine.

Helping him stand upright, Cecil continued to help the injured soldier keep himself standing upright. Looking upon the ship, it seemed that while there was some damage, there did not appear to be any major damage.

"Any losses?" Cecil asked his crew if there had been anything major lost in their brief fight with those monsters. Though they had been weak individually, the sheer number of their forces was quite staggering. Thankfully however, it had seemed that since Cecil had defeated the Zu, the rest of them had retreated.

"All accounted for sir." The soldiers aboard the ship all reported in to Cecil. Thankfully, aside from some minor damage to the ship and the poor soldier, nothing major had been lost in the battle. Though, the sudden appearance of those monsters got them wondering about the current state of the world.

"We've been encountering a surprising number of monster lately…" One soldier stated. The amount of monsters that had been appearing in the world had been steadily increasing for some time now. Some were puzzled as to what the reason could be, while many others simply didn't take notice as they lived on in their daily lives.

"Could this be some kind of punishment from the gods above?" Cecil pondered this to himself for a bit, believing that his recent actions had brought this upon them. Was the increase in monsters truly done because of their actions? As Cecil thought about these things, a soldier broke him out of his thoughts as he spoke up to inform him about something.

"Captain, we are now over Baron." Baron, their home. They had finally arrived back home with the Water Crystal in their possession. The time was drawing closer for Cecil. He had questions that he wished to ask the king, but he had another task to complete first. The crystal had to be given to their king posthaste. That was currently of top priority for Cecil to do.

"Very well. Prepare to land, men. Our mission has come to an end." The kingdom of Baron was just below their airship, and their mission was now over. But for Cecil, this was only the beginning of his mission. Fate had many things in store for the Dark Knight of Baron; for him, he was about to embark on a long journey.