I do not own any copyright material, I do not own any of the characters in Final Fantasy or Square Enix, or content from said games and companies and items from the games that may be used such as Materia or weapons, spells, summons, weapons from Final Fantasy and dark powers. My own characters are my own design and I own them, so ask if you want to use them at all.
If mentioned, I do not own anything from Kingdom Hearts (see previous vol.).
The Never Ending Battle of Light and Darkness
Vol. 3 – Gaia
Chapter 1 – Ladies and Gentlemen, Enjoy the Show.
Zidane swung his foot as he looked around his gang's hideout at his fellow bandit members, "Say Blank, how long did the boss say he was going to be with our client." Zidane asked as he looked at one of his daggers, "I don't know, he just said he'd be a while." Blank answered as a man holding a hammer sat at the central table with a drink, "well that'll mean I'll have time to have a drink and a meal," Cinna stated as he tried to open a bottle.
Unknown to the four men in the room a bright light shone in the sky, Luke shot out of the bright light and an orb followed him. Luke saw the orb and grabbed it before smirking at it. "So this is what I can use to travel to different planets…" Luke stated before looking at the house under him, "oh shit…" Luke uttered calmly as he plummeted to the house and broke through the roof, the four men in the room saw Luke crash through the roof and slam into the table.
The table broke in half and the bottle flew into the air as the table slammed into Cinna's chin, the bottle landed on a shelf and its content poured on to a man with a red bandana on his head. The man fell back from the shock and knocked a piece of wood into a book cabinet next to the bed, the books fell and Zidane was caught in the avalanche and fell on to a loose floorboard sending a bucket of water flying towards Blank.
The bucket landed on Blank's head and drenched him as he fell over, Luke slowly groaned as he picked himself up before the others did the same, "aw man, my bandana's drenched!" The man with the red bandana yelled before Luke nervously laughed, "You got a funny way of making an entrance, now how are we suppose to repair this?" Zidane demanded in aggression as Luke looked at the four of them, "I don't want any trouble, I didn't mean to land in your house but I couldn't help it." Luke tried to explain as Zidane pulled his Daggers out of their sheaths and Blank groaned.
"You ok Blank?" the man with the bandana asked before Blank nodded, "Yeah, how about you Marcus?" Blank asked before Marcus nodded, "look, trust me when I say you don't want to fight me." Luke warned Zidane before he readied his weapons, Luke pulled his Holy Swords out of their sheaths and readied himself before Zidane charged at him. Zidane tried to slice Luke with his right hand dagger but Luke blocked it and kicked Zidane away.
Marcus and Blank readied their swords and charged at Luke but he blocked both of them, Luke moved his sword to strike upwards at Marcus but stopped and struck vertically knocking the sword from Marcus' hand. Blank swung overhead but Luke blocked the attack and kicked the sword out of his hand, Zidane jumped at Luke but he blocked the two daggers from behind and turned to Zidane. Luke kicked him to the floor and before Zidane could react Luke had one of his Holy Swords to Zidane's throat.
The two fighters breathed in and out deeply from the adrenalin rush before Luke began laughing, Zidane also began to laugh for a few minutes before they both stopped, "Now, can we be reasonable?" Luke asked as he sheathed both of his swords, Luke offered Zidane a hand and Zidane took it before Luke helped him up. "Sorry about the mess." Luke apologised before Zidane began to look around the building.
"Looks like our next job will be to pay for repairs." Zidane stated before Luke looked at the damage he caused, "ok, I'll help you out, I mean it's my fault I caused this damage." Luke offered before everyone gave him a questioning look, "ok, but don't get upset when you find out what work we do." Zidane told Luke before the two heard laughing.
"Baku, your back!" Marcus yelled before Luke turned to see a fat man with an animal like face, "What the hell happened here, and who are you." Baku demanded before Luke scratched the back of his head. "This guy fell through the roof but offered to help us to pay for the damage." Zidane answered, "And who are you?" Baku asked as he stared at Luke, "Luke Naferus." Luke answered before Baku nodded.
"Ok, your in, alright Tantalus, the infamous band of thieves, we have a job to do, our ship is ready and we'll brief you when we enter the Alexandria region!" Baku shouted before he walked out of the hide out, the four men grabbed their weaponry and walked out of the building as Luke followed them, "oh, Zidane I don't mean to be rude but I've lived quite a sheltered life because of my training, so if I ask anything odd, feel free to answer." Luke explained before Zidane nodded.
As the two walked outside Luke looked in awe at the city he was in, ships flew in the sky like planes and many cultures of people lived and socialised together, "if you have any questions now, wait till you see our ship." Zidane stated as Luke followed him, as the two entered the airship docks Luke looked in surprise at the giant airship in front of him, "This is the Prima Vista, the finest theatre airship in the continent." Zidane proudly told Luke as he walked onboard before Luke followed him.
Baku watched the two enter the ship before picking up a list and ticking it, he walked up to a lever and flipped the switch causing the ship to slowly take off. Luke looked over the side of the city he was in as the ship left the city and sailed across the misty sky like it would if it was in the sea, "so, why's the sky so misty?" Luke asked as Zidane shrugged, "no idea, but monsters are spawned from it, on the plus side these airships run on it." Zidane answered before Luke nodded and Zidane entered the ship.
"Hay Slyther, I have a question." Luke asked as his guardian appeared in a ghost like form next to him, "what is it?" Slyther asked before Luke looked down at his armour, "although this armour is good, it still feels clunky, plus my movements are restricted." Luke told him before Slyther gave it questioning look, "well the ancient text did say the armour could be reformed into a more suitable form." Slyther stated before Luke closed his eyes and the armour changed.
Luke looked down to see the armour covered his upper chest, both his shoulders and his right arm while the rest of his body was in normal clothing, (A/N Red shirt and dark Blue jeans.) "Perfect." Luke replied happily as he looked at his armour before entering the ship. "So I play a part of a man with two swords, but I've never done that…" Blank stated before he looked at Luke, "It's easy, I could teach you if you want." Luke offered before Blank nodded.
The two left for the deck and Zidane entered the control room as the ship approached a giant gate, "we're almost in the Alexandria region." He remarked before leaving as Baku watched him.
Meanwhile in Alexandria Castle a young woman in a white gown slept on a chair. In her dream she appeared in the centre of a storm, waves crashed together as a woman looked out at something while a younger girl also looked.
The two struggled to stay in a boat as it flew off a wave and the boat landed back in the sea, the young woman awoke from her dream and heard the sound of chirping birds. She walked over to a large, ornate window and opened it as birds flew around the castle. Meanwhile not too far away the Prima Vista glided through the sky towards its destination, inside the ship Zidane slid down a pole and entered a small room.
Zidane looked around the room and reached into his back pocket, "Guess nobody's here yet." He commented before he lit a match and looked around the room. Zidane walked up to a candle on a table in the centre of the room and lit it before he heard something from a room near him, "Who's there!?" a voice asked before Zidane gave the room a questioning look, "it's just me." Zidane answered before the door opened and Luke, Blank, Marcus and Cinna walked in.
"You're late, as usual..." Blank stated in annoyance before Luke chuckled, suddenly the door behind Zidane shot open and a man with the head of a dragon roared, Zidane quickly turned and readied his daggers before stabbing it into the head, the head was sliced in half and Baku glared at him before kicking him in the stomach, "well you got better." Baku observed before laughing deeply and walking into the room everyone had just come from.
Everyone followed him and sat in different places as Baku coughed, "our mission from the client will take place. Tantalus, the infamous band of daring thieves, that's us, is headin' to the Kingdom of Alexandria... Our mission: to kidnap the heir to the throne, Princess Garnet!" Baku briefed his fellow thieves as he held up a wooden puppet, "I'm to assume that the real thing looks better than that hand made doll." Luke stated as Cinna shot him a glare.
"Our ship's about to dock at Alexandria... And when it does, we're gonna put on our costumes... And perform 'I want to Be Your Canary,' the most popular play in Alexandria!" Cinna explained as he looked at Marcus, "Marcus is the leading man right?" Luke asked before he nodded, "Leave the actin' to me! Of course, the real kidnappers'll be Blank, Luke and Zidane!" Marcus stated as the three nodded, "I'll distract the audience from backstage with these little buggers." Blank told the group as Luke chuckled at the inside joke.
"I can't stand these things but I'll manage for the team." Blank stated with a grimace as he placed the bug in his shirt, "once Blank does that I kidnap the princess." Zidane added before Baku nodded, "Ok, meeting adjourned." Baku stated before the group left the room, "wait, Baku you're the king in the play who's going to introduce the show?" Luke asked before Baku glanced at him.
The ship flew over Alexandria City as a small boy with a pointy hat walked through the main entrance, the Prime Vista flew overhead and the boy looked at it in amazement. The ship slowly stopped above the lake that surrounded the castle of Alexandria, the young boy hurried to the city centre but another kid bumped into him, the kid had a fat face and tail and he glared at the kid. "Owww! Why you… get outta my way!!!" the kid shouted before running off.
The kid with the pointy hat picked himself up and adjusted his hat, many people stared at him in surprise at the fact that his face was hidden by a black shadow and only two yellow eyes glowed through. The kid quickly made his way to the centre and walked up to the ticket booth, "here's my ticket." The kid stated before the man looked at it, "There's something odd about this ticket…" the man replied as he took out a magnifying glass, "wha… it's a fake." The man stated before the kid looked at him in shock.
"Nooooo!" the kid yelled in upset before the man sighed, "now, now. Don't cry, here, I've been refunding fake ticket's all day." The man comforted the boy before handing him a bag of money, the kid slightly sobbed before walking away. As the boy walked away the rat kid walked up to him and stopped him, "so, you got a fake ticket too hu?" the rat kid asked before the kid nodded, ok, if you work for me, I'll get you to the show." The rat kid offered before the other boy's face lit up and the kid nodded.
The rat kid looked at the ladder next to the wall and smirked before looking back at the kid, "Go check to see if anyone comes from that entrance." The rat kid ordered before the pointy hat kid obeyed, the rat kid stole the ladder and waved for the other kid to follow before he did, the two ran through the city streets before reaching a run down chapel.
A Mog watched them before walking up to the rat kid, "how'd it go? Kupo." The Mog asked before the kid smirked and held the ladder, "alright, time for some upward mobility!" the kid yelled before climbing a ladder up to the top of the chapel roof where a lone bell stood, the Mog looked at the kid and held his hand out, "nice to meet you, I'm Kupo." Kupo introduced himself before the pointy hated kid nodded, "Kupo? You here?" another Mog with a large backpack asked.
"Kupo! Stiltzkin! Why that getup? You leaving, kupo?" the mog asked before Stiltzkin nodded and hugged Kupo, "Well, I'm off. Take care! Oh, and say hi to Mosh in the castle for me. Ok bro?" Stiltkin told him before walking out of the chapel, "hey kid, get up here!" The rat kid ordered before the other kid followed him, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot! I don't even know your name!" the kid stated before the pointy hat kid nodded.
"It's Vivi." The kid answered before the rat kid nodded, "I'm Puck." The rat kid answered before Vivi nodded, the two kids made their way across the rooftops as the night slowly fell on the city, inside the ship Baku pointed at the stage before Luke gave him a questioning look. "Me, you want me to announce, no, hell no, there is no way that you are getting me on that stage to announce!" Luke yelled before he found himself on the stage a few minutes after.
"I can't believe I'm on this stage." Luke muttered as he looked at the audience before clearing his throat, "Noble lords and ladies, and everybody not sitting on a cushion." Luke began as the roof top viewers all roared in amusement, "tonight is a night of wonder." Luke stated as he created a fireball in his hand, "long ago where once brave knights protected the land and kinsmen fought to protect their fellow man. An evil king tries to wed his daughter to further his lands and power." Luke explained as he crushed the fireball.
"But one man's love can change the world, welcome to 'I Want to Be Your Canary', Ladies, gentleman, our rooftops viewers, queen Brahne and the lovely princess Garnet." Luke paused as a well built man lowered his sword to allow the play to begin, "enjoy the show!" Luke yelled as he fired a fireball into the air and it was followed by millions of fireworks as music began to play. Luke walked back stage and high fived Zidane as he walked passed and picked up his finishing blade.
Luke left the two holy swords on the desk in front of him and walked next to Cinna, Blank and Zidane. The knight looked at the princess to see she was still not happy as the queen danced around her throne.
"Bereft of father! Bereft of mother! Marcus! Thou has lost even thy love!" Blank shouted as he stood up and held his two swords, "Fortune hath escap'd thee! For what end shalt thou live?" Cinna asked as he readied a sword, "For the sake of our friend... Let us bury our steel in the heart of the wretched King Leo!" Zidane yelled before the three roared and ran on to the stage, "We shall back thee, kinsman!" Blank yelled as Marcus shook his head.
"Pray, sheathe thy swords! This villain is mine alone!" Marcus shouted before the king scoffed, "What ho? Out, vermin! Away! Thou darest bare thy sword before the king!? All who stand in my way will be crush'd!" the king shouted before Zidane shook his head, "Treacherous Leo, my kinsman's suffering shall not be in vain! For I shall instruct thee in his incomparable pain!" Zidane yelled before the king scoffed again.
"My knight of the crest come forth and destroy these vermin!" King Leo ordered before Luke walked on to the stage and stood in front of the king, "now, Marcus shall breath his last breath." The king hissed before Luke pointed his sword at the king, "No, I shall no longer be your assassin, for too long has my honour been tarnished by the blood of the innocent at your command, no more I say, for if I die, I shall die with honour." Luke stated before jumping away from the king and next to Zidane.
"So thy hound bears thy teeth at thy master, treason bears a price." The king hissed as he readied his sword, two men walked next to the king and the group began to battle. Marcus and the king battled as the rest took on the two henchmen, one of the henchmen swung at Zidane but Zidane dodged the attack and pretended to stab the henchman.
The crowed cheered as the henchman fell and Blank sliced the other henchman twice at the same time, once the two henchmen fell Marcus sliced the king's arm and the king held it while slowly limping away. "Thou hast not seen the last of me, Marcus!" the king shouted before disappearing back stage, "Come back!" Zidane yelled but Blank stopped him, "Out of the way, Blank!" Zidane yelled before Blank pointed his sword at Zidane, "Consider this, Zidane! If Prince Schnieder were to marry Princess Cornelia, peace would reign over both their kingdoms!" Blank stated as Luke pointed his sword at Blank's back.
"Tis foolishness! If all were so easy, why, none would suffer in this world!" Luke shouted before Blank turned and knocked Luke's sword away, Zidane went to strike but Blank blocked it and jumped over Zidane. the two swordsmen began to walk towards Blank before Luke faked an overhead attack and Zidane followed with a side attack, Blank tried to block Luke but when he stopped he turned to Zidane and blocked his attack.
Luke tried to strike Blank but Blank kicked him to the floor and tried to strike Zidane, Zidane blocked Blank's attacks before Blank turned and struck at Zidane's foot. Zidane jumped over the blade and landed perfectly before bringing his sword overhead but Blank met him with one of his swords, Luke flipped to his feet and ran at Blank before Blank swung at Luke. Luke blocked the attack and the fighters fought their way off the theatre ship.
The fight continued in a designated area near the front row, Zidane and Luke both attacked horizontally but Blank blocked both of them with one sword and swung with his other, the two jumped out of the way and Blank kicked Zidane to the floor before swinging horizontally with his left hand sword. Luke ducked under his sword and held the sword behind him to block the second blade.
Luke turned away from Blank and sliced upwards but Blank jumped away and Zidane jumped to his feet, Blank jumped over Luke and looked at the two swordsmen before smirking. "We shall finish this later!" Blank stated before running through a doorway, the two swordsmen gave chase and the three of them found their way into the castle. The audience applauded as they showered the theatre ship with gold before Brahne held her hand up to stop them.
Inside the castle Zidane slowly opened a door to see two guards in a room as they opened two chests and took out their guard armour, with their backs turned to the door Luke walked in and taped one of them on the shoulder before punching him in the face. The other soldier turned to face Luke but he met with Luke's foot, the two guards fell to the floor and Luke looked in the chest. Blank locked the door as the other three entered and Luke began placing the guard's armour on himself.
"You act as if you have done this before." Zidane stated as Luke placed the helmet on his head, "In a way." Luke replied as Blank and Zidane placed the armour on but Zidane stopped at the helmet, "Finished changing, Zidane?" Blank asked as Zidane pulled a face at his helmet, "Yeah, but this helmet... It kinda smells..." Zidane complained before throwing the helmet on to a table in the centre of the room as his tail swung lazily through a hole he had made.
"What are you talkin' about!? My helmet totally reeks! My armor's way too big, and my back's real itchy, The boots are wet, My gloves are all slimy, There's cookie crumbs in my pockets..." Blank listed as Luke chuckled, "Alright, you still have the package right?" Zidane asked before Blank nodded, "Of course." Blank stated before Zidane nodded, "Alright! First, I'll go pour some sleep potion into Princess Garnet's teacup!" Zidane stated as the three made their way out of the room.
Zidane began to make his way up the stairs opposite him as Blank and Luke followed, a woman in a white hooded cloak walked out of a room on to the balcony Zidane had reached and bumped into him, "that's an odd dress." Zidane thought as he looked at the woman, "Umm... Would you please let me pass?" the hooded woman asked before Zidane began to look under the hood, "Is there something on my face?" the woman asked before Zidane shook his head.
"Oh, no. You see... I just thought you were the one I'd been waiting for all this time." Zidane answered as Luke rubbed his forehead from the cheesy line, "Excuse me? You were waiting for me?" the woman asked as she gave him a questioning look before Zidane smirked, "I dreamt of meeting you my whole life." He stated before the woman huffed, "Do you mock me?" the woman asked in an insulted manner before Zidane shook his head.
"Then, I shall take my leave of you!" the woman spat before glaring at Zidane, "wait, have we met before?" Zidane asked before the woman shook her head, "No, I do not know you..." the woman answered before Zidane smirked, "you're right, I would never let anyone as beautiful as you get away." Zidane stated before he gave her a questioning look, "Wait, you're…" Zidane stammered as he glanced at her face, "Hey, what's goin' on, Zidane?" Blank asked before the woman barged passed him and knocked Blank over.
"Who was that?" Luke asked in a surprised manner before Zidane ran passed both of them, "Get up, Blank! That was Princess Garnet!" Zidane yelled before Blank got to his fet and the group ran after the princess, "wait, Luke get back to the ship and tell the crew to get ready, we may need a fast getaway." Zidane instructed Luke before he nodded and headed back to the ship, as Blank and Zidane chased after the woman two small jesters, one blue and one red, ran around the castle in panic.
"We are in trouble!" the blue jester stated before the red nodded, "Trouble we are in!" the red jester spoke before the two made their way up some stairs and ran to a doorway, "This is terrible!" the blue one stated as he ran, "Our heads, Queen Brahne will have!" the red one stated as the two reached an archway, "We must hurry!" the blue jester shouted as the two went through the archway, "Hurry, we must!" the red jester followed as they made their way to the queen.
The two reached the royal balcony but the man in armour stopped them, "Your Majesty!" the blue jester shouted before the man blocked their path, "Zorn…" the man began until he was interrupted, "See the queen, we must!" the red jester ordered before the armoured man grumbled, "Thorn, Her Majesty is busy! Come back later!" the man ordered before a woman with a sword at her hip and a metal eye patch on her right eye walked over to them.
"Is it an emergency?" the woman asked before the two jesters nodded, "Very well. I'll see what I can do." The woman stated before the two jesters walked up to her, "Curse that Beatrix! Always trying to one-up me!" the man in armour grumbled, the two jesters told Beatrix their problem and she walked to the Queen's seat, "No interruptions! Can't you see I'm watching the show!?" the queen ordered before Beatrix bowed.
"I'm sorry my queen, but it appears princess Garnet has disappeared, "Ah, yes... She did leave her seat awhile ago." The queen hissed as Beatrix brushed her hair to the side, "it appears that she has also taken the royal pendant." Beatrix informed the queen before she glared at Beatrix, "Well, of all the... What could she be thinking!? General Beatrix! Captain Steiner, find Garnet and bring her to me." The queen ordered before the two knights saluted and walked away.
Steiner walked on to the same balcony that the others were on and looked towards the guard room, "Knights of Pluto! ASSEMBLE!!!" Steiner bellowed to find that no one appeared, "What… good for nothing, it's hard to find good help, I'll just have to find the princess myself." Steiner added as he ran down the stairs and out of the room, meanwhile Zidane chased the princess through a tower in the east of the castle, as he ran up the stairs he threw off his armour to increase his speed.
The two reached the top of the east tower as Steiner reached the west, "is that the...fear not princess for I shall save you from that bandit!" Steiner yelled before the princess slowly climbed on to the edge of the tower, as she stood on the edge she hid a wire that she held while smiling at Zidane, the princess fell backwards off the tower as Zidane and Steiner stared in shock. The two quickly looked over the side of their respective towers to see that the princess had used a decorated rope to swing towards the ship.
Zidane grabbed one of the ropes and swung down and Steiner jumped on to the edge of his tower to follow, Steiner grabbed the rope and looked at it before looking at the drop distance. The knight looked back of the top before quickly attaching it to the back of his armour and jumping, "Hold fast Princess, I Steiner, Captain of the Pluto guard shall save you!" Steiner yelled while he readied for battle as he flew to the two before the rope pulled and it began chaining his direction.
Steiner stared at the rope in panic before looking in front of him to see one of the ship's look out towers, "No, not this way you…" Steiner yelled before the rope snapped and he crashed into the tower, the princess landed on the roof of the theatre ship before Zidane followed her. The princess quickly made her way on to the ship and Zidane continued to follow until the princess stopped as she saw Luke leaning on a door.
"Finally, now, can we, talk." Zidane stated slightly out of breath before the princess sighed and turned to Zidane, "Do you... do you work on this theater ship?" the princess asked as she looked at the two, "she's smart, I'll give her that." Luke stated before looking at the princess, "may I ask a favour of you?" the princess asked before Zidane nodded, "I am Princess Garnet Til Alexandros, heir to the throne of Alexandria. I beg you, please kidnap me." Garnet begged as she removed her hood before Zidane gave her a questioning look.
Suddenly the door to the room began to bang as Steiner punched it, "Alright then, Your Highness! I shall hereby do my best to kidnap you!" Zidane accepted the princess' request before Luke leaned off the door and opened the same door, "come on, Cinna's waiting for us." Luke stated before walking through the door and the other two followed before Luke bared the door. Steiner barged in and began looking around the room before one of the knights appeared next to him, "Where have you been!?" Steiner barked before the knight saluted.
"Sorry sir." The man apologised as Steiner tried to open a room to find it was locked, inside the room Cinna smirked as Zidane looked around. "Cinna, unless you know something I don't, this is a dead end…" Luke stated before Cinna pushed a button and a secret hatch opened, "A bandit needs his fallbacks." Zidane told Luke before he jumped through the hatch before everyone else followed. Steiner rammed the door in and looked at the hole before grumbling, the soldier jumped into the hole but accidentally got stuck as Steiner stared in shock.
"What do you think you are doing!?" Steiner demanded as the soldier tried to get out of the hole before Steiner ran out of the room to find an alternate route, "you're quite the athlete princess, it defiantly matches your beauty." Zidane complemented as Garnet smirked, "This is nothing. I have been training to escape the castle, after all." Garnet replied before Zidane sighed, "If only you weren't a princess..." Zidane moaned before Garnet shook her head.
"There's no time for this, we'll talk at a later time." Garnet ordered before the group made their way out of the room. As the group left the knight landed in the room and quickly followed them, as the group ran through the next room Steiner slid down a pole and bared their path, "Bandits, you shall go no further, defend thy self!" Steiner yelled as he readied his sword, suddenly the knight that followed them entered the room and drew his sword towards Steiner.
"Relax Princess, we'll get you out of here shortly." The knight stated as Steiner stared in shock before glairing at the Knight, "you, you're not one of my knights, how dare you wear their armour! I shall rip it from your body!" Steiner yelled before his sword glowed, the knight readied his sword but Steiner spun and swung his sword, although it never touched the knight the armour shattered as hundreds of bugs exploded from the armour and bounced around the room.
"AHHHH I hate oglops!!! I hate oglops!" Steiner yelled as they continued to bounce around the room before Zidane grabbed Garnet's arm and ran into another room, as the two ran the play continued above. "Tonight, I shall finally see my daughter Princess Cornelia betroth'd to Prince Schneider! And then Prince Schnieder and his kingdom will be mine!" the king lauthed deeply before Marcus was dragged by two men on to the stage.
"Why, my poor Marcus! Hark, lad. No matter how much thou dost treasure Cornelia... ...no matter how deeply she might believe she doth love thee... ...never shall I see her marry a peasant such as thee! When yon bell strikes three... Under the axe thou shall be!" the king told him before punching him in the face, just backstage the two holy swords began to glow, Zidane and Garnet had reached a room with several platforms before Luke followed them.
"What now? We cannot go any further!" Garnet stated before Zidane pulled her on to one of the platforms and Luke pressed a button causing the platform to rise, Steiner ran in yelling with his sword overhead and brought it down towards Luke. Luke pulled his sword off his back and blocked Steiner's sword with the handle of his sword, Luke jumped away from Steiner before jumping over him and kicking him on to another platform.
Luke shot a small fireball at the platform and jumped on it while it rose, Steiner readied his sword as a hatch opened overhead and Zidane, Garnet, Steiner and Luke found themselves on the main stage, "Furthermore…" King Leo stopped as he stared in shock at the princess, "Guys! Just improvise!" Zidane whispered as Steiner looked around in shock, "Ho? What's all this?" Steiner asked as Marcus broke free of king Leo's guards and hugged Garnet, "Cornelia!" Marcus stated before Garnet realised what part she was playing.
"Oh, Marcus! I missed you so! I wish never to leave thy side. Prithee, lead me from this place!" Garnet acted before Zidane looked at king Leo, "See, King Leo? Thou shouldst give them thy blessing!" Zidane asked before the king shook his head, "Never! Never leave his side, thou sayest? Foolish banter I'll not allow it! Cornelia shall marry none other than this man--Prince Schnieder! Is that not so, Prince Schnieder?" the king asked gesturing to Steiner who looked around in shock.
"M-Marry the princess? Me!?" Steiner asked in shock before looking around in panic, "Aye! And this traitorous crew, I will put to death!" the king stated before the king's solders ran on the stage with their swords drawn. Luke blocked both their swords and sliced them making sure to come within a few millimetres of them, the two of them fell to the floor before Luke darted towards the evil king.
"Pray, sweet daughter, come home to the castle with me." The king beckoned but Garnet shook her head while keeping her face concealed by the hood, "Nay, Father! I shan't return!" Garnet stated as the king glared at her, "Cornelia... Trouble me no more. This wedding is for thine own welfare. Be mindful of that." The king ordered as Marcus glared at him.
"Not if I can help it!!! Now is my moment of vengeance! For my parents, and for my love, Cornelia... I shall cut thee down!" Marcus yelled as he drew his blade and charged at the king, Garnet ran in front of the blade and caught it with her arm, "Mar...cus, forgive me. I still love my father... Prithee, forgive my selfishness, Father, and spare my sweet Marcus..." Garnet asked before falling to the floor as her eyes slowly closed.
"What have I done!? Am I never to hear her loving voice again!? Am I cursed never again to feel her soft touch!? O, cruel fate! Thou hast robbed me of all I treasure!" Marcus moaned before turning his sword on himself and stabbing himself in the chest, Luke and Zidane gasped as the queen watched from her seat in enjoyment. "oh, boo hoo, why did she have to die… now, if only those guards could find Garnet." The queen huffed before some guards spotted Puck and Vivi in the crowd.
Both the children saw the guards and began to run away, "Forgive me?" the king asked as Zidane knelt over Marcus before Vivi ran on to the stage and turned to the two guards that were chasing him, "Don't come any closer!" Vivi ordered as a fireball ignited in his hands before he threw it at the guards causing Garnet's coat to catch fire, Garnet quickly threw the coat off and Zidane nodded towards Baku before he ran off stage.
The ships propelers began to activate as Steiner looked around in shock, "Princess Garnet! Let's get out of here!" Zidane instructed before Steiner readied his sword, "what's going on, tell me or I shall strike you down!" Steiner ordered before Luke readied his sword, "Steiner! Don't follow me anymore!" the princess begged before Steiner shook his head, "I'm sorry princess, but my orders are clear." Steiner stated before he looked at his knights.
"Garnet, forget sir rust a lot and let's go…" Zidane stated as Luke walked over to Vivi, "you ok?" Luke asked before the kid nodded, "Seize them, and make sure the Princess isn't harmed." Steiner ordered before Luke blocked both their swords and knocked them away, "errr, sir I just remembered I have a doctor's appointment." One of the knights found an excuse before he ran off the stage before the other one followed.
"Coward!" Steiner yelled as the ship began to rise out of the water, Zidane smirked at the queen who began to order her guards before pointing his ass at the queen and tapping it with his tail. Luke did the same with his hand before three harpoon guns came out of the castle and aimed at the ship as Luke stared in shock, "errr... Zidane, I think we should stop taunting the queen and worry about the giant harpoons!" Luke yelled as he pointed at them before the harpoons were shot into the ship.
Steiner charged at Luke before Luke blocked his sword, "bandit… I shall have your head!" Steiner yelled as more harpoons were fired, Luke jumped into the air and sliced more harpoons as the nose of the ship ploughed into a building and caused several people to panic. The ship moved away from the building and began to fly away as a giant cannon appeared, the soldiers began to aim it as Luke landed on the deck and blocked Steiner's sword.
Zidane grabbed his daggers before Vivi readied a staff and Garnet readied her rod, "worthless bandits you have no honour!" Steiner yelled as Luke glared at him, "Guys I can take rusty." Luke told them before the group nodded, "I am a knight of honour, a meaningless bandit like you could never beat me." Steiner boasted as Luke sheathed his sword, "I also have honour." Luke stated as he swung his left arm vertically as one of his Holy Swords appeared in his hand before he did the same with his right hand.
The group looked in shock at the swords appearance before the two knights charged at each other, the giant cannon fired and Luke noticed it before blocking Steiner's attack and covering both himself and Steiner in a magical barrier as Garnet did the same for Vivi and Zidane. The projectile exploded destroying parts of the ship as the queen danced in happiness before she saw the ship fly away.
Steiner stared in shock at Luke's actions as the ship left the city before it slowly rocked on the clouds, a lone figure watched the ship slowly fall below the clouds as he stood on the edge of a cliff near Alexandria. "I sense something familiar… almost like my own power… another tribal?" the man asked before throwing a knife with a rope attached to the ground and jumping off the cliff, the rope slowly unravelled as he neared a dark forest and watched as the ship slowly descended towards the forest and crashed into it.
With Luke
Luke slowly picked himself up from the ground and looked at Steiner who had landed a few meters away from him, Luke pulled Steiner on to his back and checked the knight's vitals before Steiner coughed. "Glad to see you're awake." Luke stated before standing up and walking away from the knight to look at his surroundings, "Why, why did you save me?" Steiner asked as he picked himself up, "Even though I help bandits, I am a knight." Luke answered as Steiner looked at him in question.
"The queen went a little overboard…" Luke continued before Steiner scowled at him, "The queen would never act without reason!" Steiner yelled before Luke shook his head, "I don't knock your beliefs, but right now we need to find the princess and the others." Luke stated before he pulled out his left hand sword and Steiner followed him through the forest.
Meanwhile at the castle the queen continued to fan herself, "Garnet... I never imagined you would do such a thing. Perhaps you're not such a helpless little girl anymore... Zorn! Thorn! Is our little experiment ready?" she asked as she looked at the two jesters, "Yes, Your Majesty. It is combat-Majesty!" Zorn answered before Thorn smirked, "Easily terminate Princess Garnet, it can, Your Majesty." Thorn told her before she punched the arm of her chair.
"I need her alive! Bring her back at once!" she yelled before the two jesters panicked and ran away from the queen.
With Zidane.
Zidane slowly awoke on a cliff and looked around before seeing the ship below him, "man, I better check if everyone's ok." Zidane stated before he began climbing down the cliff, as he reached the ground he saw that the wounded and the ship's supplies were being taken to a safe distance, several of the crew were putting out fires as he saw Cinna doing an inventory count. "Cinna, is everyone ok…" Zidane asked as Cinna looked around, "yeah, most of us are, but Luke and the Princess are no where in sight." He told Zidane before he looked around.
"Ok, I'll go look for the others while you sort this out." Zidane told Cinna before running into the forest, meanwhile Luke and Steiner heard Garnet scream and Steiner began to look in another direction before Luke grabbed his armour. "That's the echo, the source is this way." Luke informed him before Steiner nodded and the two followed the source to see Vivi on the floor in fear and Garnet trapped in a plant like cage by a hideous monster.
"A monster with the ability to cage people." Luke stated as Zidane ran up to them, "what is this thing?" Zidane asked as Luke continued to give it a questioning look, "I have no idea but I know its dead." Luke replied before he jumped at the beast and sliced its face, the monster used one of its tentacles to drain Garnet's energy and heal itself. Zidane saw the monster sap Garnet's energy before a second monster caught Vivi and landed next to the one with Garnet.
The two monsters made strange noises before the one with Garnet vanished into the trees, "Princess!" Zidane yelled in panic before rage overcame him, "no, I promised, I promised I would protect her!" Zidane yelled before a purple glow covered his body, in a giant flash of light he found himself in purple fur with a glowing body before glaring at the one holding Vivi, "What is that?" Luke asked as Steiner stared in shock.
"Is that the legendary power of trance?" Steiner questioned before Zidane darted at the monster and sliced off both its tentacles. Vivi charged his hands in panic and used a fire spell on the monster causing the monster to scream as the fire ignited its cage like leaves, the monster moaned before Vivi jumped off it and turned to stare at it, Zidane turned back to normal and Steiner charged at it before the monster spewed a strange gas at Vivi and Steiner causing them both to fall unconscious.
The monster died and both Luke and Zidane ran over to their comrades and helped them back to the ship, "what was that gas?" Luke asked as they made their way back dragging Steiner on the floor, "that monster is a plant, I can only guess that because it knew it was going to die it released its spoors." Zidane told Luke before he nodded and the two reached the ship.
"Cinna, rusty and the kid were hit with a strange gas emitted from a plant like monster." Luke told Cinna before he nodded and led Luke and Zidane into the ship, a few hours passed before Vivi woke up in a bed, "man you're lucky, if Zidane and Luke weren't there to drag you and that old knight back here you'd be dead." Blank stated as Vivi gave him a questioning look, "Ah, some of the monsters in this forest give off toxic gasses that have spoors inside them, the spoors create monsters and kill the being they're inside to escape." Blank explained as Vivi stared at him in shock.
"Am I going to die?" Vivi asked in panic before Blank shook his head, "no, drink this and you'll be fine." Blank explained as he gave Vivi a bottle, Vivi drank its content and pulled a face at its taste before gagging a few times. Meanwhile Steiner awoke in another room to see Luke looking at his helmet, "where am I?" Steiner asked before Luke looked at him.
"You're on the theatre ship, in the evil forest… that's where Blank says we are…" Luke answered as he placed Steiner's helmet on a table, "He also said that that purple gas, will kill you if you don't drink this." Luke added as he handed Steiner a bottle similar to the one Vivi drunk, Steiner sniffed at the contents before drinking it and grimacing, "regain your strength, I feel we'll need it if we're going to save Princess Garnet." Luke told him before Steiner nodded and Luke walked out of the room.
Meanwhile Zidane made his way to the bridge to see Baku staring out of the window, "you wanted to see me?" Bake asked before Zidane nodded, "Yeah, we need to rescue princess Garnet." Zidane told him before he turned to Zidane, "Forget it. Monsters born from the Mist are crawlin' everywhere." Baku told him before Zidane glared at his boss and balled his fist.
"What?! We're just going to leave her out there!" Zidane yelled before Baku glared at him, "my men come before the princess, I don't want you to step…" Baku stop as Zidane yelled, "you know what boss, if you don't want to rescue her, fine, but right now I'm going to do what I can!" Zidane yelled before he stormed out of the bridge, as he walked through the ship he looked at the room that Vivi was recovering in and entered it.
"Oh, it's you… thank you for helping me earlier." Vivi thanked him before Luke entered, "hey Zidane, that old knight is ok." Luke told him before Zidane nodded, "You didn't ask his name?" Zidane asked before Luke hit his forehead, "I knew I'd forgotten something." Luke shook his head before Zidane gave him a questioning look, "What?" Luke asked before Zidane locked the door, "Luke, what are those swords at your side?" Zidane asked before Luke looked at him.
"Why?" Luke asked before Zidane looked at the ceiling, "Back on this ship, they appeared in your hands from nowhere." Zidane stated before Luke rubbed his forehead, "oh, the swords are magically linked to me and can appear in my hands when I want them to, because of their magic properties I can do several things with them." Luke answered with a half-truth before Zidane nodded.
"What are you going to do about the princess?" Vivi asked before Zidane rubbed his chin, "I know what I'm going to do, follow my teacher's words, and try to rescue her." Luke told them before looking at Zidane, "What was you teacher's words?" Vivi asked before Luke looked at him, "in the face of fear and uncertainty, steal your courage and brave that fear… help those who are in need, even if it means your life is the price… act with virtue so you may better the world." Luke stopped as he looked down at his hand.
"In the face of rage and anger, be mindful, so you may anticipate any action." Luke stated sadly as he continued to look at his hand as he remember the hatred and anger for the man who destroyed his world, "I'm going to go talk to that knight…" Luke stated before he left the room, as Luke made his way down the hallway he bumped into Baku, "ah, Luke, just who I needed to see." Baku stated before holding out a bag of potions.
"You'll need these on your journey." Baku stated before Luke took them and passed him before waving a thanks and entering the room Steiner was occupying, "Hey, you feeling any better?" Luke asked before Steiner nodded, "I forgot to ask your name." Luke stated before Steiner nodded, "My name is Adelbert Steiner." Steiner stated before Luke nodded, "Ok, Steiner, can you bear arms to save your princess?" Luke asked him before Steiner stood up and walked up to Luke.
"I will help you to save the princess." Steiner stated before the two left the room and entered the room with Vivi and Zidane. "Zidane, Steiner said he would help save Garnet… you in?" Luke asked before Zidane nodded and looked at Vivi, "Why do we need this scoundrel's help?!" Steiner yelled as he pointed at Zidane, "Steiner, we all have the same goals, so let's just put aside our opinions and save the princess." Luke told the knight.
"Hey kid, you helping as well?" Zidane asked before Vivi looked at the floor, "But what if I get scared?" Vivi asked before Luke walked over to him, "I promise you that so long as I have strength to wield a sword, I will protect you." Luke promised before Vivi nodded, "ok, my name's Vivi." Vivi stated before Luke shook his hand before introducing himself and the others.
"Master Vivi, can I ask you something." Steiner asked before Vivi nodded, "We'll meet you guys outside." Zidane told them before Luke and Zidane left, "Master Vivi, I was wondering if you could use magic to enchant my sword in battle..." Steiner asked before Vivi nodded, "Thank you, Master Vivi." Steiner thanked before the two left the room and met up with the group.
The group left the crashed ship as Luke looked through the bag to find another potion similar to the one Steiner and Vivi drank, "I guess Baku thought that Garnet might have this seeds in her body as well." Luke stated as he looked at it before putting it back in his bag. The group stopped at a plant like cave and Steiner drew his sword, "the vines are quite thick, I don't think we'll be able to just simply cut through them." Luke stated before Vivi began to ignite Steiner's sword with fire.
"Sword magic, why didn't I think of that..." Luke questioned before his sword ignited with fire and the two swordsmen ran at the hole, Steiner vertically sliced the vines before Luke struck them diagonally. The vines ignited and fell apart as both swordsmen sheathed their weapons, "Nice…" Zidane stated before the group walked further through the forest, as the group came to a small overhang they saw a giant monster with Garnet behind it.
"Well there's the princess, and a 500 pound plant..." Luke muttered as Steiner scowled at the monster. "You stay out of this! Alexandria would be disgraced if a mere bandit should rescue the princess!" Steiner ordered him as Zidane shook his head, "Steiner, you're one knight, that is a giant plant. We'll have to work together." Luke stated before Zidane nodded and readied his daggers, "Vivi, you stay on this overhang and shoot magic from a distance while we fight it at close range." Zidane ordered him before Vivi readied his staff.
Zidane, Steiner and Luke jumped off the overhang and ran at the giant monster, the monster swung one of its tentacles at Steiner but the knight sliced the tentacle in half, the monster roared before several plant like monsters entered the area and began charging at the group. Luke sheathed one of his Holy Swords as a monster charged at him before the monster opened its pincers to attack Luke.
Luke grabbed one of the pincers and rammed the sword into the monster's head before pulling it out and jumping away from the monster as it died. Vivi fired several fireballs at the monsters to cover the others' backs before Zidane jumped at the giant plant and sliced it twice, Steiner's sword glowed with fire before Steiner sliced 2 monsters horizontally, "Man, if we don't kill some of these monsters we'll never be able to get out." Luke stated before he placed both of the hilts of his Holy Swords together causing them to fuse together.
Luke threw the swords causing them to act like a deadly boomerang before drawing the sword from his back, Steiner sliced the giant plant as the flying sword blocked off the hoard of monsters by destroying the entrances that they were coming from. Steiner plunged his sword into the giant monster as Luke sliced one of the monsters in half before he turned and sliced another monster in half horizontally.
Zidane stabbed one of the monsters as another charged at him before Blank ran passed Vivi and jumped off the overhang with his sword held high. Blank sliced the monster behind Zidane as Zidane looked at him in shock, "Glad to see I haven't missed anything." Blank stated before he sliced another monster, Luke grabbed his Holy Sword and sheathed his finishing blade before defusing his Holy Swords.
Luke stabbed one of the remaining minions as another attacked him from behind but Luke turned and sliced the attacking monster. The giant plant opened its bud to spread a poisonous gas but several kunai stabbed into the plants. The group looked behind them to see a man standing upside down on the bottom of a branch, "ok, he's defying gravity and just severally harmed that monster… show off!" Luke yelled before the man jumped off the branch and landed safely on the floor.
A monster charged at him but the man punched it into the wall at the other side of the arena, the giant plant swung one of its tentacles at the man but he grabbed it and pulled it towards him, the monster detached from the ground and the man swung it around by the tentacle before slamming it back into the ground causing its head to splatter to pieces as the others killed the rest of the minions. "Well that was easy." The man stated as he turned to the others.
He was a crimson haired man with glowing crimson eyes, a red shirt and a belt on his arm and leg with 5 kunai on each, a white scarf and black baggy pants, on his hands were fingerless gloves and he wore black steal cap boots. "You're a…" Luke questioned as the man smirked before his hair turned to black and his eyes to blue, "Tribal, specifically the Tribal of Power, my name is Talos" Talos stated as Luke looked at him in shock.
"So, what Tribal are you?" Talos asked before Luke gave him a questioning look, "how did you know?" Luke questioned as Talos smirked, "Your power emanates an aura that other Tribals can sense, can't you sense mine?" Talos asked before Luke realised that he was right and a distinct sense of power was emanating from his body, "errr Luke, I'll ask questions later but right now, Garnet needs our help" Zidane stated before Luke turned to him and pulled out the potion that removed the plant seeds.
Zidane walked over to the princess and slowly poured it into her mouth making sure she wasn't going to choke, "Princess, please drink it all." Steiner begged as the princess continued to drink before the ground began to shake, "Oh, what the hell, what now?" Luke questioned as he looked around, the ground below the giant plant collapsed into a hole causing the plant to fall and several plant like monsters to crawl out.
"I think it's time to leave." Zidane stated before Steiner picked up the princess and the group ran through a hole in the wall, several monsters began to chase them as Talos jumped into the trees and began jumping along them. As the group continued to run through the forest Zidane stopped and looked at the sky, "Zidane, What do you think you are doin'!?" Blank asked before Zidane looked at him.
"Something's wrong here..." Zidane stated as Blank gave him a questioning look, "What is it?" Blank asked as Zidane looked where the others were running. "The whole forest is after us… Blank… take care of everyone." Zidane told him before running towards the group's direction as Blank followed, the group continued through the forest as Luke, Vivi, Talos and Steiner ran pass Zidane, as the group continued to run a legion of plant monsters continued to chase after them as the forest slowly turned to stone.
One of the monsters chased Zidane and readied to attack him but Blank shoved Zidane out of the way and got caught in the monster's pinchers. Zidane looked back at his comrade in shock before Blank threw a scroll towards Zidane, Zidane nodded and began to run to the exit catching the scroll on the way. Several vines sprung to life and began shooting towards Zidane as he ducked under one vine before jumping over the next.
A monster tried to attack Zidane but Talos blocked it and began to make hand signs, several vines tried to block Zidane's exit but Zidane jumped through them and saw them close of the exit. In a cloud of smoke Talos appeared just outside the exit and looked at the group as the forest slowly turned to stone, Talos huffed at the vines as the stone statue of him turned into a petrified log.
"Dammit! Blank!" Zidane yelled as he punched the petrified vines, after a while Luke, Talos and Steiner began to set up a camp to allow Garnet to rest, "So, what skills do you have?" Luke asked as Talos looked at him, "I've been trained in the ways of the ninja." Talos explained as he looked at the rest of the group, "Your martial arts skill with strength… nice combo." Luke stated before Talos nodded.
"Plus you have the strength of a giant. But look like an average built man." Luke stated before Talos smirked and looked at the rest of the group, "Is she going to be ok?" Talos asked as he looked at Garnet, "Rusty gave her some medicine she should be fine." Zidane stated before Talos looked over at Luke, "So, you're a Tribal too..." Talos asked as Luke scowled at him, "Yeah, my power's destruction. And you're Power… right?" Luke asked before Talos nodded.
"Tribal powers?" Zidane asked before Talos looked at him, "Throughout this tiny universe there are 8 powers and 2 of each power, your friend's power is destruction, and is fuelled by adrenaline. Mine is strength, otherwise known as Power, and is fuelled by courage. In short his power blows stuff up, while I'm incredibly strong." Talos explained as Zidane continued to give him a questioning look.
"We'll explain everything when we get to a safe place." Luke stated before he stood up and walked over to Steiner who was stood on a large hill, Luke taped Steiner on his shoulder before Steiner nodded and walked back to the group. As the night passed Zidane, Luke, Steiner and Talos took turns guarding the camp, as morning came Talos walked back to the group and Zidane handed him some food before Garnet slowly moaned.
"Princess!!!" Steiner shouted in shock as Garnet slowly awoke, "Steiner… how did I survive that monster…" Garnet questioned as she looked at the group, "It is my sworn duty to protect you at any cost." Steiner stated as Zidane, Luke and Talos stared at him, "last I checked you weren't the only one fighting!" Talos shouted before Zidane nodded, "Yeah, It was Vivi's magic, Luke's swords, Talos' fist and my dagger that got you out of there, Princess." Zidane stated before the princess smiled at them.
"Thank you… all of you." Garnet thanked as Steiner scowled at Zidane, "That thieving monkey deserves no praise! None of this would've happened if you and your band hadn't abducted the princess! And how dare you claim to have rescued her!? When we get back to Alexandria, I will…" Steiner stopped as Garnet glared at him.
"Steiner... I left the castle of my own will!" Garnet yelled as Steiner looked at her in shock before he glared at Zidane, "So what do you say, Rusty? Friends? Come on, let's enjoy this camping trip while it lasts." Zidane asked before Steiner glared at him, "Camping trip! Once I get you back to Alexandria I will have that thieving brat hung on the gallows for this!" Steiner yelled before Zidane shook his head and walked away from the camp.
"Well that was nice, Steiner, we need Zidane to lead us, he's a very skilled person when it comes to fighting." Luke stated before Steiner growled at Luke, "I will never follow him!" Steiner yelled before Luke shook his head, "Steiner!!! State your sworn duty!" Luke yelled before Steiner stood straight and to attention. "What else!? To protect Princess Garnet Til Alexandros with my life!" Steiner stated before looking at the group and sighing.
"Fine I'll follow him for now." Steiner stated in defeat before Luke looked towards the evil forest, "I feel sorry for Zidane, Blank was his friend and now he's petrified in stone." Luke stated before Garnet looked at the Forest as Zidane continued to look at the entrance, "I see, excuse me?" Garnet asked before getting up and walking towards Zidane, "How are you feeling?" Zidane asked before Garnet smiled at him.
"I'm fine, is this the forest…" Garnet asked as Zidane looked at it, "Yeah, I was surprised, too. After we beat that big plant-guy, the forest got completely petrified." Zidane told her before she sighed, "Luke told me of your friend, I'm sorry." Garnet apologised before Zidane nodded, "Shouldn't we find a way to help him?" Garnet asked before Zidane shook his head, "We can't do anything for him right now. The map he gave me states that there's a cave not too far from here that might lead to the surface…" Zidane stated before he walked passed Garnet and back to the group.
After a few hours the group packed the camp up and began to walk through the mist as monsters lurked through the thick fog. Meanwhile in another city the night's calm breeze blanketed the city as a silver haired man sat in his lounge above an auction hall enjoying some well picked food, as he enjoyed the food he sensed a dark presence fall over the city as a man in black robes entered the main gate.
The slight clang of armour sounded with each step as the man walked along a pathway next to a lake, as he continued to walk passed the lake its edge froze with ice as the man smirked under the hood on his head. As the man approached a door to the auction building two guards stopped him, "I'm sorry sir but this is the owner's personal rooms." One of the guards stated before two dark grey chains with spikes on the end ran through the two guards causing a dark power to crawl along their bodies.
"He's expecting me." The man stated with an evil smirk before the chains receded and the two soldiers turned into dark soldiers with jagged blade swords, the two soldiers left as Shadow Slyther pulled back his hood and walked into the building with a smirk on his face, Shadow Slyther entered the lounge and looked at the man who took a bite of an apple before looking at him.
"I suppose I shall have to hire some more guards to play the role of guarding the door." The man stated as Shadow Slyther smirked, "Sadly I have more matters to attend, now, to business, I am here, to speak to you of a most spectacular power." Shadow Slyther stated as the man gave him a questioning look, "And what is this power?" The man asked before Shadow Slyther smirked.
"That's for me to know, and you to find out in time, for now, I propose a partnership." Shadow Slyther offered as the man smirked, "And why would you offer this?" the man asked as Shadow Slyther smirked and looked at him, "well, we're both not of this world, and nether is one of the people currently travelling with the princess." Shadow Slyther stated as the man smirked.
"All I ask is that I'm informed of their actions and I shall help you with your ambitions." Shadow Slyther offered before the man smirked and walked over to Shadow Slyther, "You have yourself a deal." The man stated before shaking Shadow Slyther's hand, the two men began laughing deeply as dark clouds began to move towards another country.
End of chapter
Wow that took longer than expected, till next time.