Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, places, etc. in Lost Dimension or Final Fantasy Type-0. They all belong to their respectful owners.
New World, Old Allies
Ace blinked open his eyes at the sound of a loud noise, already feeling a headache beginning to form.
What…?
He glanced around, surprised to see that he was in unfamiliar territory. He tried to think back on how he got here, but nothing seemed to add up.
The last thing I remember was defeating the Arbiter… We were in Classroom Zero and…
His memories faded after that, leaving him more confused than when he started. He glanced around the area again, taking in his surroundings. It seemed to be that he was in some kind of destroyed city. The buildings, while some still seemed to be in great condition, had begun to fall apart.
What happened here?
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the loud noises again, only this time coming from a little bit away from him. He focused on the spot, instantly freezing when a man in armor came around the corner. He took in the man's appearance, noting with confusion that the armor colors didn't match any that Militesi soldiers wore.
Maybe a new unit?
He hesitated however when it looked like the man was looking for something.
But… is he really the enemy?
During the war he had known who to defeat, but here… It seemed like anything could happen.
What if they're actually on Rubrum's side?
His thoughts were confirmed to be wrong however when the man spotted him and let out a string of bullets, which cause Ace to quickly dodge them. He flicked his wrist, noting that his cards still came with ease to his hands.
Now… what to do with him…?
Ace could see two different actions that he could take. He could either kill the man here or take him captive and interrogate the man about what was happening and where he was.
Now… which to choose?
He dodged another string of bullets absentmindedly as he thought about the best course of action. The logical choice seemed to point towards interrogating the man but the question was, would he even talk at all?
"Hey Ace! Need help?"
His head whipped around at the familiar voice, a small smile making its way onto his face when he saw Cater. He had feared the worst after his memories had trailed away.
Maybe we all survived somehow?
She quickly made her way over towards him, glancing back towards the enemy before over at him again. He shook his head before gesturing to the blue and silver clad enemy.
"Just deciding what to do with him."
She frowned a bit at that, dodging a bullet that had been aimed for her, causing her to take a step towards the enemy.
"Isn't it obvious? We just take him out and go help the others." She stated, firing her gun, which hit the side of the man's armor, causing him to become unbalanced.
Others?
He glanced over at her in surprise, the man momentarily forgotten in his mind, as he processed what she had said.
"You mean…" He trailed off and she nodded, before firing again at the man.
"Yeah, Trey and Deuce are just a short ways behind us dealing with more of them. I saw the others as well but figured I should come find you first."
He nodded, before glancing back towards their enemy. The man seemed to be on his last leg and Ace figured that now would be as good as any time to interrogate him. Teleporting behind the man, which caused a sound of shock from their enemy; he quickly grabbed one of the man's arms and held a card to the man's throat. That stopped him real quick from trying to escape, with the man's posture freezing up from the unsaid threat.
Now for the interesting part…
Cater walked up to him, dismissing her gun before taking the man's own. She briefly studied the weapon before tossing it to the side.
"Nothing really that impressive about it. If anything, I'd say it's a lower grade than what they normally use." She stated and he glanced back at the captive.
Why would they equip their soldiers with lower grade weapons?
"Where are we?" Ace asked, glancing around at his surroundings, hoping that the captive actually knew something. For all they knew, the man might just be a pawn and not have been told anything.
Which means we'll need to find someone higher up if so…
Despite being a captive, the man seemed to find something humorous about the predicament.
"You should already know where, after all, you were the ones who decided to come here in the first place." This caused a frown to make its way onto Ace's face and he glanced over at Cater, who only shrugged and looked just as confused as he was. He lifted the card a bit closer to the man's throat.
"It might not look like it…" Ace started, and he vaguely wondered if this was such a good idea. If they were the ones who chose to come here, then how come they couldn't remember anything? "but these cards can cut through anything, even your armor." He stated casually while taking the tip away from the man's throat, causing the captive to relax a bit, before running the card diagonally along the man's arm.
Blood welled up from the thinly cut line, cutting through the armor like butter. He felt the man jerk at the pain, but instantly brought the card back up to the man's throat, causing the captive to freeze up again.
"Now, I'll ask again… where are we?" Ace waited a few minutes before hearing a small reply from the man.
"The Pillar…" The man trailed off, and Ace felt more confusion run through him.
The… Pillar? Does he mean the Tower of Agito or the Arbiter's Ark?
He glanced over at Cater but she seemed as confused as he was.
"You mean the Tower of Agito?" He asked and he could feel the man's confusion.
"No… The Pillar. The End summoned you all here to…" Ace exchanged a confused look with Cater, his grip loosening a bit in his confusion. The man must have noticed their confusion because he went quiet for a moment before cursing. "You don't remember anything? Unless…" Ace tightened his hold a moment later when the man tried to escape. "You're the wrong group!"
Wrong… group?
He was about to ask what that meant, but Cater instantly froze up, summoning her weapon again.
"Ace!" She shouted before jumping out of the way, which prompted Ace to release the captive and jump out of the way.
He glanced back at the man, to see him falling down, a bullet hole in his chest. His gaze was instantly drawn towards a flying small mech machine. Just as his feet hit the ground, the mech was firing at them again, causing him to have to dodge again, while summoning his cards. He flicked his wrist, sending a card towards the machine but cursed when it went wide, just scratching the surface of the enemy. He watched as a bolt from Cater's gun did the same, only on the other side. He dodged again, nearly getting hit this time, instead having to back farther away from the fight.
We can't keep missing…
Suddenly fire sprang up between the enemy and them and he glanced over at Cater in surprise. He knew that she could use magic, as he could, but he never thought that she'd use a spell that powerful with only one enemy. She seemed just as surprised as him and quickly moved over towards him.
"That you?" He asked, while gesturing back to the raging fire, which seemed to be melting the enemy's bullets before they reached their targets. She nodded before re-summoning her gun.
"I tried a basic fire spell and that's what came out." She shrugged although he could tell that it bothered her a bit. "Not that I'm going to complain or anything."
Ace noticed that the fire seemed to be dying down and he tried to focus on the enemy between the flames. All sound around him died out and his vision darkened a bit, focusing solely on the enemy in front of them. He flicked his wrist, sending a card the machine's way as the fire completely died down. Just before the card hit the enemy however, an arrow protruded from the enemy's side, causing smoke to erupt from the machine. It went down in a small explosion of flames and he glanced over towards where the arrow came from.
"Trey." Ace stated in greeting, watching as the older man nodded, moving a bit to allow his other member of their team to move forward.
Ace's heart lifted a bit when he saw Deuce, her flute clutched in her hands. The other girl smiled at him and he raised a hand in greeting. The two parties made their way towards each other, before stopping shortly in the middle of the terrain.
"No one's hurt I take it?" Trey asked as he looked over Cater and Ace and they both shook their heads.
"Just confused." Ace replied and Cater nodded in agreement.
"Were you two together when you woke up or alone?" Deuce asked, her head tilting a bit. "Trey and I were in the same area when I woke up."
Cater wrapped her arms around her body, almost as she were afraid of something.
"I was alone, same with Ace." She stated, before straightening her posture and glancing around. Ace did the same, thinking that it was strange that they hadn't been attacked yet.
I mean… there has to be more than just two enemies…
Ace glanced behind him when he heard hurried footsteps, summoning his weapon before dismissing it once seeing who it was. Cinque, Sice, and Seven were making their way towards them, their weapons also drawn but more so that they weren't attacked by surprise. Ace raised a hand in greeting, before suddenly being tackled by Cinque.
"Acey! You're alive!" He let out a laugh at that before returning the hug that the ginger-haired girl gave him.
"It's nice to see you too Cinque." She finally detached herself to go give the other three members hugs as well while Seven and Sice arrived. Sice looked irritated at something.
"You guys learn anything?" Seven asked and Ace shook his head.
"Only that we're in some kind of Pillar and some guy called The End wanted us to be here…" Ace stated, still feeling a bit irked that he couldn't have gotten any more information out of their captive. His gaze was drawn over to the corpse of the man before back to the conversation.
"What does it matter? I mean, we know who the enemy is so why don't we just go defeat him already?" Sice stated, and Ace couldn't help but let out a small laugh. She and Nine did seem to have more in common from that standpoint of their views.
"Where would we find this 'The End' though?" Cinque asked; confusion on her face as well. Ace sighed before glancing around at their surroundings once again. Nothing really seemed to be standing out as a way out of here…
Plus we still haven't found the rest of our class…
"How about we search the buildings?" He suggested, and the rest of the group nodded, spreading out shortly to look.
It had taken a bit but they had finally found a door that seemed to be out of place in the area, especially for how the building looked. The large door almost seemed to be a bit hidden but once found it was easy to see how they could have missed it. The thing that really stood out to Ace was the blue lighting lining the door.
Just like what those enemies had…
"You think the rest will be inside?" Cater asked and Ace turned towards her, a worried expression on her face. "I mean… we haven't found them so far so they have to be in there, right?"
Ace glanced back at the door with doubt but then figured that they had to be. If they hadn't been outside then maybe they would have been transported here instead…
"That seems to be the logical answer." Glancing at Trey, he watched as the older boy got a pensive look. "Due to the fact that they weren't outside, they must have already entered wherever lies beyond this door."
Seven inspected the door, causing Ace to glance at it again. It didn't seem as if anyone had opened it though…
"But why wouldn't they have looked for us before heading in? We are a team after all…" Cinque frowned at this and Ace decided to speak up.
"Maybe… they weren't able to." He began, getting the others attention. "What if they had been in that room all along, like we all woke up here?"
"That makes sense…" Seven muttered before continuing. "If they woke up there then maybe they're waiting for us to come find them?"
Ace glanced over towards where Sice was leaning up against a wall when she gestured towards the door.
"Does it really matter? Either way, we have a better chance at finding them if we continue moving."
The rest of the party nodded and Ace walked a bit towards the door. He leaned out to touch the surface, not quite sure how the door was designed to open, but instead the door's sides swung in, leaving the space now open where the door had been. Ace glanced at everyone else before entering through where the door had been.
So I'm aware that the summary and title of this fanfiction isn't the best one I've done but hey! At least I got it out! First time writing for both of these archives so hopefully I got everything correct. Please let me know how I did this time and I hope that you all enjoyed!
-AnimeWolfGirl16