A/N: XcutionENT: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy. If I did then I wouldn't be writing for free.
A/N: Logan: I would!
Liam's PoV
I landed hard on the snowy ground. My grip on my sword tightening as the pain becomes unbearable. My breaths becoming rapid as I struggle to a knee. I hear the sound of someone landing in front of me and I see a man with a black jacket and scarf with hair and skin as white as the snow. His green eyes stared directly at me as his sword was held in his hand.
"Ready to surrender?" He says and I laugh to myself.
"Sorry, I don't spit out weakness." I say and charge at him with my short, curved blade. I strike as he raises his to defend it. He breaks off and sends a flurry of quick strikes at me. Due to the shortness of my blade I'm not able to block most of it but I do manage a counter-strike that sends him back.
"In fact I say I'm just getting started." I say as I use the falling snow and turn it into ice shards. I send them flying at him and my opponent disappears in a white flash. I curse under my breath as I surround myself within a blizzard, hoping to throw off his trajectory. I see a small light gleam in the distance and I feel the sensation of being cut on my stomach.
I can only gasp in pain when another slash comes, this time on my back. They keep coming like darts as they hit my chest, leg, arm and face. They keep coming until they're the only thing keeping me from falling.
"Enough." I hear a voice shout and the darts of light end. I fall face-flat on the snow, my blood starting to coat over the white tundra. I can barely move a finger when I feel someone turning me over. I see that my opponent had helped me and a man stands above a hill that looks over the both of us.
"Is he dead?" The man on the hill says and my opponent places his fingers on my soaked neck.
"No. His pulse is still going strong. I gave him minor cuts after all," he says and removes his fingers.
"Thats good news. Time to get up Liam," he says my name and I groan.
"I... I can't. I'm injured... require assistance. Now please?" I say and the man scoffs.
"I leave you to freeze out here if you don't get up. Roque and I will have to enjoy the hot meal ourselves," he says and I groan again. Roque, my opponent, was the apprentice of the legendary warrior of Esper, Tristan Dramuid. He's an ex-mercenary and also my adoptive father. He agreed to train me so I could get stronger and find my mother and sister. Not to mention his training methods make drill sergeants look like boy scouts.
Much to my body's dismay, I get up and limp my way to Tristan with Roque behind me, "Ow... Ow... Ow. You could've went easy on me ya know?" I say to Roque.
"I was. You're body is just weak," he says then walks ahead of me.
"That or you're used to these conditions," I say when I feel the pain on my stomach again.
"Its my master's orders. He said to push you strong but not to the point of death. I say I did well in my part... which is less I can say for you." He says and I growl. If I wasn't for my injuries I would slap him right now.
"Please, if it wasn't for Tristan being here I would've kicked your pale ass across the frozen barren," I retort.
"You've been saying that for the last five years. Yet you've still haven't proven to me or Master Slip that you have any strength whatsoever. All I see is a boy trying to wear a bigger pants size."
"If I wanted to I could freeze you solid right now!" I shout.
"Both of you, enough with your squabbling," Tristan says this time. Silencing us both, "You're both acting like children."
"He started it," I add and Tristan growls in response.
"I don't care who started it. I have no patience for childish rants, I just want a quiet walk to the Sanctuary and no more complaining. Understand Liam?" He says.
"What about him?" I mention Roque.
"He already knows I don't tolerate that. You're still learning so answer my question. Do you understand me?" He repeats. I sigh in defeat and confirm his authority. It's not long before we get to the Sanctuary, Roque's little pad that he 'found'. I won't say anything about who were the previous owners because at this moment I just wanna get inside, warm up and heal these open wounds.
We walk in and I'm immediately thrown by a shadow tentacle into the front room. I can only register a little bit when I feel something around my leg and I get tossed again, this time into a medium hot tub, "What the hell Tristan?!" I shout at him and I get pushed under. I try to swim up but I'm tugged down by something heavy. I feel something tug on my head I get pulled up. Out of instinct I react and move the water away from me long enough to then freeze it in position.
"Unfreeze that pool. You wanna be healed don't you?"
"Healed, not drowned!" I shout at him.
"The pool has herbs mixed with my own energy that speeds up your healing. As of this moment you just froze our only medicine. Congratulations." Roque explains.
"Oh…" I say and then thaw out the water, thank goodness I only froze the outside and didn't freeze it solid or I wouldn't have a way to thaw it out, "So Tristan... How did I do on a scale from one to ten?"
"3," he says and I scream out my frustration.
"A three?! Come on, how many times have you given me a three?" I shout.
"You had three point nine when you were younger but ever since you've been failing to meet the mark," he says.
"I couldn't even control my powers that well when I was younger! How am I doing worse than I was then?!"
"I don't know, you tell me. The only person who know you the most is you. You should know by now why you're not meeting expectations," Tristan says as he takes off his jacket.
"And you said you could beat me?" Roque says walking past me.
"I could!" I shout back.
"Where's the proof?" He replies and I toss some water his way. I expect it to hit him but he holds up his hand and a shield made of pure light causes it to disperse.
"The only reason I haven't beaten you is because I haven't been training as long as you have, if we were on equal terms I would beat you in five seconds," I say to him, "Your training started years before mine did."
"It wouldn't matter the scales, I'll still beat you either way," he says before going upstairs and a door closes.
"Whatever!" I shout up at him, "You know that i'm going to be more powerful than you in the end!"
"If you make it past your training," Tristan says.
"I will. I will get through the training easily."
"Everyday is a new challenge, both physically and mentally. You're cocky, expecting to win at everything you do just because you have a master's blood within you. Nothing came easy when I was young and I expect to teach you the same. After you're done wash up and get some fresh clothes. Supper's in a hour," he says and goes off into the right hallway.
After I am all healed up, cleaned and dressed I go downstairs to eat. Strangely enough, Tristan's cooking is... good. Its nowhere close to Claire's cooking and not as disastrous as Jade's, but its tolerable. He made something thats called Buongustaio. I don't know where its from but it smells delicious.
"This looks really good," I say to him.
"Its nothing much. I rather have someone else cook for me," he says with a smile. I know who he's referring to, can't say that I don't agree with him, though…
"If this is half as good as it looks she might have some competition in the best cook category," I say to him as I sit down to eat.
"I bet you wouldn't say that to her face." Tristan says then sits down along with Roque. Before I get a bite, I feel a sting on my hand causing me to yelp and drop the fork.
"What the hell?!" I shout out.
"No eating before we say grace," Tristan says then nods to Roque.
He clears his throat before starting the prayer, "Dlya kazhdoy dushe , chto vzyal , Nasha boginya chasy ikh vsekh. Pust' ona blagoslovit nashi dushi na kazhdyy den' my berem dykhaniye v nashikh telakh . V yeye chest' my dorozhim pishchu ona dostavlyayetsya do nas ... Amin'."
"Amen," Tristan says before digging into his food while I just stare at Roque.
"What? You never heard of the goddess' prayer before," Roque says.
"I have just… it was in english… I'm sorry I just didn't recognize it," I explain.
"Well I guess that isn't your fault. You're not accustomed to my native language," He replies before eating his food. "This is really good. Thank you for the meal, Master."
"You're welcome," Tristan says, "So Liam, have you made progress on your search?"
"No, Not on finding my parents, Uncle Akio, or my sister, But I think I can find my grandmother," I say to him.
"On whose side? Your father's or mother's?" Roque asks.
"On my dad's. I think she is still alive and is in the remains of pulse," I say causing Master Tristan to spit take.
"The remains of pulse? Boy have you lost all sense? The remains of Pulse were enveloped by chaos, exactly what makes you think that your grandmother is still alive?" he asks.
"Is there any proof that those who are enveloped by the chaos are dead?" I ask.
"Is the end of an entire world not enough proof for you?" Roque says.
"Is the world over or was it that Bhunivelze lied because he could not see through the chaos? I don't believe that the world has been destroyed. I think that it has been changed."
"So you're speculating now?" He adds.
"What reason do we have to believe Bhunivelze after all the lies he has told. I know about his false promise to Claire about bringing her sister back. I know about his lie to Vanille about how the dead souls would be saved instead of destroyed," I retort.
"He made have lied but the end of pulse was not. To be honest it was bound to happen anyway, they way the planet was being treated I wouldn't have been surprised if it fell sooner," Roque says.
"Well I don't believe it. If it has been destroyed then why is the chaos still there? Why hasn't it either moved on or dissipated?" I ask.
"If you're so curious on Pulse's fate... why don't you go ahead and jump right in it. See for yourself if your theory is right. That is if you survive."
"Because I know that the Chaos beasts are stronger in the Chaos so I want to be stronger before I jump in," I explain.
"Thats out of the question," Tristan says, "Even if you're right there isn't a chance that your grandmother is still surviving amongst the Chaos. I'm not letting you take that chance."
"Why not?! If you truly are as good of a trainer as you say you are, then I shouldn't have any trouble," I taunt.
"You must remember that I'm not just your trainer. I'm also your guardian, your overwatcher and I have a say-so in what happens to you. I don't wanna make the call to her, telling why I let you run off into a barren wasteland and die because of a stupid theory!" He says.
"I will go there one day."
"As long as I'm alive, you aren't. I don't wanna hear no more about Pulse... or Bhunivelze. Understand?" He says but I don't respond, "Understand?"
"Yes sir…" I say in defeat. I barely finish my plate when Tristan takes it up and sends me to bed. I trudge up the steps and flop on my bed. I can understand his concern but the signs are just so obvious, how can I not ignore them? I roll over in my bed, trying to let my body rest when I hear a noise.
Due to my training, I've learned to always take hint of the environment so I sit up and I grab my blade from my bedpost. I look to see that a person in a black coat is leaning on the wall in the middle of my room.
"You got five seconds before I unleash a frozen hell upon you," I growl out but the person seems unphased.
"Look at you. All alone, looking into the stars... searching for a place among the light," the person says with a deep voice, sounding like a male.
"Who are you?! Answer or I will freeze you solid," I shout.
"You require answers... I can give them to you. I can offer you, an escape." He says.
"Then start by answering the question of 'Who are you?' or I seriously will freeze you solid."
"Me? I'm nobody important, just here to send you a message from my colleague. If you wish to seek what you claim, then follow me." The man walks backwards and disappears in a black portal that stays open. Apparently for me. I strap on the sword's sheath, sheathe it, then walk through the portal.
When I walk through I expect to be in a dark place like a throne or something but instead I'm on top of tower with white flooring standing over a broken, shambled city. I hear a screech of an animal out there and I start to feel drowsy and broken. Like having a really bad hangover except I haven't touched a drink in my life. I'm not even old enough to drink.
"I knew you come," I hear the familiar voice of the man who was in my room. I turn and see that there's now three men standing across from me. One of them leaning on a white spike and the other with his back to me.
"And where are we exactly?" I ask him, " And why do I feel like I have been here before?"
"Liam Tristar," I hear, one of them, say "Son of Logan and Aqua. So lost yet defiant. You wish to see your loved ones, yes or no?"
"Yes I do," I say.
"Its so convenient. The Tristars, scattered and broken like the things they compared themselves to. I wonder, will you shine like one? Like your father did not so long ago."
"You know what happened to my father?" I ask surprised.
"He's the one that caused this. This Forgotten City, to be what it is today. Too bad he couldn't destroy the darkness, no one can. You can only control it... conquer it... make it bend to your whim. That's how you get strength," he continues.
"Controlling the darkness leads to madness. It always has…" I say.
"Only for those who wish to see it destroyed. There's a balance in the worlds that must be kept alive. You're father tried to understand this but he was blinded by foolish ties."
"My father wasn't foolish. Nor where his ties to his family… My family. He was a hero!"
"Scratch any hero Liam... and you'll find a monster lurking inside. I see that monster in you, waiting to be surfaced, to live amongst us. His masters... but in order for that to happen... I need you. You need to unleash the darkness from within you, to let the beast arise. So I can have one of the stars on my side. Liam... join me and I'll show you where your mother is hidden," The man opens his hand to me in a welcoming gesture.
All the sirens ring in my head but I ignore them over the rush of seeing my mother again. Her smiling face, her warm embrace. I miss that so much... and i would do anything to get that back, "I accept your offer," I say as I take his hand. When I feel his hand I get queasy again.
"You have chosen well. Now... show me your beast," he says, standing up and opening his arms wide.
"I don't know how…" I say to him.
"Awww, the little pup doesn't know how to bark. So innocent," The other person... well the female of this little group, says, "It isn't that hard. Just think of the worst most awful thing to happen to you and multiply it by your death."
"Yeah seeing your face won't make it easier." I say with a smirk, "Even if it was multiplied by 'death,'" I don't see her expression because of the hood but in response I get the feeling of being shot on my thigh and immediately fall to the floor, "Yeah I probably deserved that…" I groan out.
"I guess no one ever taught you to never insult a lady, especially a lady with a gun," she says and I see a purple and white sniper with needles on the side in her hand.
"I'll keep that in mind, when I see a lady," I say scowling at her. I grip my thigh as I stand back up.
"I don't have time for your nonsense, Velta. Liam, summon your darkness now!" The one in the middle says.
"Getting impatient Eion?" The one called Velta says.
"Would you have me crush your skull just to pass the time," he snarls out.
"I prefer to keep my face beautiful, thank you very much," she says before sitting on the edge, "Now Liam, you wouldn't like to keep us waiting would you?"
"Like I said, I don't know how to summon my darkness… Wait do you mean this?" I ask and I send a purple ice chunk straight her. The thing explodes before it reaches her, making the pieces scatter amongst us. One of them actually manages to hit me on the head. Its then that I feel a tight pressure on my neck and I get lifted by an unseen force.
"Stop playing with me Liam," The man called Eion starts walking to me, "Summon your darkness now! Or you'll force me to bring it out of you."
"I told you I can't! I don't know how!"
"Then you leave me no choice. Xalm," Eion motions to the other man as I'm lowered to the ground. The one called Xalm grabs my hair and starts to pull me to the edge. His grip is rough and it feels like my hair is being ripped out. Before I can make a move of resistance I feel the cold floor leaving me and I'm flying through the air.
Realization hits me, figuring out that Xalm jumped off with me in hand. The view of the tower is growing smaller but it allows me to see what its chained to. It's connected to a large white castle with what appears to be a dragon's body at the bottom of it with the wings folded in and it floats above the city. I only register it once when the speed of my fall increases and I hear the crunch of pavement or my shoulder as I hit the ground.
I sit up, Xalm isn't around but I hear something roar once again.
"You might wanna brace yourself!" I hear a voice shout from above me and I see Xalm standing on what's left of a building, "Because you just been tagged."
"Tagged? What do you mean by…" As I say this I hear a screech coming from right beside me. I slowly turn my head showing me the view of a… red, orange and yellow combinated being with black eyes and blue pupils, "Oh… you meant that kind of tagged," I say as I start running while firing ice bolts at the creature.
Strangely the creature isn't there when I look back until I get hit by a huge blast of steam, directly in my face. Knocking me off my balance. I look up and see the creature again except its standing on a light post along with another creature of the same kind except it's a dark blue and black combination.
The red one stares at me before it opens its mouth and a huge flame emits from it. I dodge it and start running again.
"You can't run from them. The tag attracts them to you, so wherever you go.. they will follow," Xalm's voice echoes out to the streets.
"Not really running, just keeping moving while fighting," I say to him while I send more ice blast at the creatures.
"Is that so?" He says when I feel something wrap around my legs. I see another creature has appeared so I slash at his head but it goes through it like I'm slicing air. I kick at it, causing it to lose its grip and allowing me to get up. I turn around, sending furious attacks at them and I notice how their numbers have grown, Making me think about how long I can really keep this up.
"How do I get myself 'Untagged?'" I ask, desperate.
"Only those who can manipulate the darkness can physically remove it. All you need to do is unleash yours and I'll get rid of it. Along with the heartless."
"I seriously don't know how! That Ice-blast I did earlier is the most I've been able to force!" I shout, "I have done more before but only when I was younger, when I had nightmares."
"Do you think we care about how you feel? All we want is your darkness. Your family has a great history with the darkness, we hoped the same luck fell to you. So far no good," Xalm says when I feel another heat blast. I then feel even sicker then before and I see my hand start to give off a black aura.
"Here we go!" I shout with a smile knowing I have just regained access to that power I used to use all the time before my mom sealed it off. She did that a few days before the day Hope said I fell on him from the ceiling. I send a large blast of black ice at the fire-breathing creature. It takes off his head and evaporates into black smoke.
"So you've tapped it I see, now try to remove the tag." Xalm says and I try to remove it but I then realize that i don't know how or where it is.
"Can you tell me how? Or at least where it is?!" I shout hearing a dark echo in my voice.
"Thats not my problem. Oh yeah, you might wanna hurry up, I think I hear a Supreme coming." He says and I hear a loud roar emit from within the city. The creatures that were around me start to scatter away and disappear, leaving me alone in the street. I start scanning my body for the tag when the ground starts to shake around me.
"Please tell me that you are causing that shaking!" I shout worried about what he meant by supreme.
"Oh, you're gonna die real quick if you don't get rid of that tag. Its moving fast." Xalm says looking out into the distance to something I can't see. I keep searching myself then I have an idea. I search my sword and realize that the tag was on the blade. I remove it just as I see a bit of black appear above the buildings.
I sigh in relief, only for it to disappear when the sky above me becomes completely black. The air gets more dense and I suddenly feel light-headed.
"Its here."
Xalm's voice sends shivers down my spine. Everything goes silent to the point where I can hear Xalm's breathing. I hear the soft sound of footsteps and I see something starting to walk up to me. I see a… person of some kind except he's pitch black, has no shirt on but has boots, pants and a tattered jacket around his waist. The one thing that stands out is his yellow eyes.
"H… H… H… Heart. Devour… Conquer… Consume… all. Never… escape… death… awaits," Its says and I slowly start to back away until I hit a barrier, blocking my path. I draw my sword and surround it with the same energy then take the battle stance master Tristan helped me develop.
The thing charges at me as I prepare my strike. As it gets closer I swing my curved blade slicing the Supreme at his abdomen. It lands behind me and I expect to hear a thud of his body but instead… I hear its rapid breathing.
"Devour… Conquer… Consume. Devour… Conquer… Consume. Devour… Conquer… Consume," it keeps on repeating it like a slogan. I prepare to strike at its back when suddenly my body freezes when the blade touches its skin. I feel the cold sensation of death running through my body, making my whole nerves stop. I barely feel my heart beating… it almost feels like I'm dead. The Supreme grabs my blade but I'm too frozen to do anything.
It snaps my blade in half then proceeds to stab it in my shoulder. I can barely feel it because my body has gone numb. It takes the blade from within my shoulder and rubs its black tongue along the blade. It then throws away the blade and moves its hand to my head. It tilts it to the side exposing my neck as it opens its jaws.
"Looks like you're gonna die. Too bad, we really were gonna take you to your mother," I hear Xalm say and I see the figure is about to bite… when inexplicably, it stops. It sniffs my neck then start to sniff me more. It stands upright then turns to Xalm.
"Oh, whats this? You got bored I see?" He says as the Supreme pushes me to a wall, breaking it in half and starts to move to him. I hear Xalm chuckle before he jumps down and a spear with two large scythe blades on both sides appears.
"Well then I'm sure I'll provide some entertainment for you," Xalm says as he charges. The beast cackles as it goes after Xalm and the connection of fist and sword, create a massive shock-wave that sends me flying. I land away from the clash and near an old market street. I get up and start to walk off, I don't know where but away from those two.
After I have walked for a while I see a towering building, but in its condition it probably will collapse soon. It's then that I feel another dark presence near me and I reach for my blade. It's then that I realize that it was broken by that supreme. I now know why it's called that.
"There's no need to be afraid. I'm not an enemy," A faint voice says from out of nowhere.
"With the day I've had I don't know who is and who isn't," I say trying to figure out where the voice came from.
"I'm sorry. I've known about Eion's crusade for sometime, I didn't expect that he would go after you. You've sided with a crooked man," The voice says. It sounds feminine, and familiar.
"If only I knew that earlier. With how hard he pushed me to release the darkness I figured it out pretty quickly. And you can come out, even if I wanted to hurt you I am in no condition to."
"Look behind you," The voice says and I turn to see a person wearing the same coat as Xalm. Except this person is… well peaceful from the other people I've met. She moves her gloved hands to her hood and pulls it down revealing her face.
"Hello Liam. My name is Namine."
Price: Namine up in this [censored]! Sorry, I'm just a huge fan of Namine… and the Roxas/Namine pairing. Mostly because its the only thing that makes any sense in the KH Plot.
Logan: Seriously? Namixas makes sense but Sokai doesn't? How is that?
Xain: He just hates how they interpret Sora to be a little kid. If you noticed in KHII.
Logan: I noticed that the organization did but not Riku, Mickey, Kairi, Yen Sid, or Roxas. Yeah I put Roxas in that list.
Price: Look I don't need reasoning. I just feel it okay. Roxas rocks, Sora sucks. End of Story.
Rikimaru: Do I get a say in this?
Price: No!
Logan: Yes he does. Just remember that Roxas and Namine wouldn't be together if it wasn't for Sora and Kairi being together.
Price: Ugh, fine.
Rikimaru: Okay. Well I think its pretty obvious who i'm gonna side with. Even though its not official but its pretty obvious. Besides, if it wasn't for the pairing I wouldn't exist. So anyway thank you for reading chapter one of Liam's journey and lets hope younger me will get a cameo in this. Until next time.
Price: Peace out [censored]es!
Logan: Umm… Wait how am I here… Maybe I'm a ghost. *Makes the stereotypical ghost noises*
Xain: Thats racist to ghosts everywhere and bye from me.
Logan: Racist to ghosts? Ghosts aren't a race! *Rushes off after Xain then returns* Woops forgot to say goodbye. Goodbye. *Leaves*