Landing to Heliodor, Axel and Team make their way to the castle. But something felt off, very off...
There was an air of a sinister aura.
Veronica clearly feels it too and gives Axel that look.
Yes. THAT look. It's her 'Something bad is going to happen.'
The people didn't even bother about this concerning situation..."Anyone feel a little off?" Axel asked.
Jade looks to him nodding to his question, "Yes..." the party shared her answer, Erik looks around, there were a few people, amidst the crowds
who where indeed afraid of...something.
The group reaches the castle gate, and is let in without hassle.
Axel seen the castle hall once more... the slight discomfort he felt as he remembered being detained and imprisoned in the dungeons, of course it's where he met Erik, of course and began his adventure, eventually meeting Serena and Veronica and it all snowballs from there. He was knocked out of his thoughts by a pat on the back from Erik, who chuckled to himself, "Man, the guards are in for a surprise once they see me walking freely."
Serena raises an eyebrow, "What did you do exactly, Erik?" He shrugged, "Ehhh...stole the red orb from Heliodor."
Veronica gives him an evil smirk, giving him her usual hands-on-hips sassy stance, "Guess you're not so skilled after all!" Erik glares at her, "Hey, let's see you trying to sneak out of the castle with a shiny orb in your hand, brat!"
Hendrik suddenly is behind him and Veronica, "Watch your tones. You'll cause a ruckus." Veronica folds her arms and sticks her tongue out at Erik, who just huffs. She always wins their fights...
Sylvando smiled as he folds his arms, looking at the various people. His audience was already present. "This place is just fun-tastic, Hendrik Darling! All the décor and the people, I will make sure these people are entertained!"
Hendrik nods, "Well, thank you." He'd clear his throat, "We mustn't keep King Carnelian waiting."
Rab nods, "Aye, the sooner we have this banquet, the sooner we look for Mordegan." Axel looks to his grandfather, "What are we waiting for?"
Hendrik led the group up the stairs through the hall heading to the Throne Room.
King Carnelian and his men had awaited Axel here.
As Axel walks past the soldiers with his friends behind him, he no longer feels daggers on him.
"Honoured Luminary! It brings me great pleasure to welcome you in the manner you deserve at last!" King Carnelian said.
"To think...I thought ill of you... Thought you to be the harbinger of calamity, called you... unconscionable things. Truly, Jasper cast a most malign shadow..."
He'd look to Axel, "I owe you a great deal. You have revealed the traitor in our midst, and returned my daughter to me. As a small token of my appreciation. I have arranged for some... special visitors. Hendrik, if you would..." He looks to Hendrik
Hendrik salutes, "Yes, sire." He walks through the doors, a few minutes later, Gemma and Axel's stepmother, Amber walks into the Throne Room, who gasp as they see him, "Oh there you are at last...! We've been dying to see you!"
Gemma ran in to Axel, her expression was a mix of joy and worry, "I were so worried about you...I heard all these horrible stories and I thought you...That you might be..." Axel smiled, "It's alright Gemma. Deep breaths." Gemma smiles, "Right after you left the village, this horrible man called Jasper came with all these soldiers."
Axel nodded slowly, "I'll never forget his eyes - they were so cold. He ordered us to gather in the middle of the village... then he ordered his men to kill us all..."
Jasper smirked as he stood in front of the Cobblestonian People, "S-Sorry sir...?"
He then turns to a lone soldier, "Do I have to repeat myself? Kill them! Show the world what happens when they hide the Darkspawn from Heliodor!"
The people panic slightly as the soldiers reluctantly raise their crossbows. But with a neigh from a horse, Hendrik suddenly appears, "Hold your fire, men!" he shouts as he dismounts from Obsidian, marching to Jasper, "Let them live, Jasper. There is no need for such bloodshed. We will lock them up in the dungeons for their crimes. "
Jasper widens his eyes, "What?! They hid the Darkspawn from us, and he had the gall to walk right into our castle, possibly to assassinate King Carnelian and you want to let them live!?"
Hendrik glares at Jasper, "Killing them will make us no better than the Darkspawn! We will Imprison them until the Darkspawn has been dealt with."
He turns to the people, who looked to him as if he just saved them. But he looked away, was it guilt? disgust? No one knew for sure, but they clearly seen Jasper silently seething in anger...
"Damn you...Hendrik...!"
"...and then they came and told us you weren't a baddie after all, and let us go!" Gemma had explained.
Axel had cursed Jasper twice as much, now...but at least he was dealt with. Axel breathed much easier knowing his step-family was safe. His step-mother, Amber walks to Gemma's side, "We've been through an awful lot, love. But from what I've heard, so have you... I'm proud of you. And so is your grandad, I'm sure."
He fought back a tear or two as he nods, "T-Thank you, Mum..." He said with a cracked voice, only to clear his throat. "Thank you..."
King Carnelian speaks, "Now, let us begin the festivities at last! A Banquet worthy of our saviour awaits!" He stands, "From this day forth, none shall doubt the Luminary! He shall be Honoured , Celebrated, Adored!"
The Soldiers raise their arms and cheer, "All hail the Luminary!"
At long last, Axel, his friends and family enjoy a long break, through the festivities.
Sylvando had gathered an audience as he worked his usual routines and dances, causing the people to dance with him. He even had Veronica and Erik to some juggling, with Veronica setting the balls alight while Erik juggled them with finesse, passing them to Sylvando.
Of course, Axel wasn't able to see anyone else, as he was exhausted from the entire journey. he went to retire for the night.
Creeaak...*
Axel had groaned as he readjusted himself in his sleep, Of course, when you dream of fighting a good version of yourself and his companions and becoming good friends afterwards, you tend to sleep like a log. King Carnelian had walked into the room, his eyes on the Sword of Light. He'd approach it as a black shadowy...thing flowed from Axel.
As Carnelian raises his hand to grasp it's hilt. He's struck by a mysterious entity, "Agh...!" He'd stagger back, "N-..Agh...? What is this...!? Why can I not touch the sword!? Surely it cannot be...?"
Axel glares at Carnelian before making a mad dash for the sword, grasping it and taking stance.
Carnelian returns the glare, his eyes glow an ominous red, "Accursed Luminary! Give it to me! Give me the Sword of Light! IT BELONGS TO ME!"
Soon everyone barges into the room. from Erik to Jade. "What's going on in here?" Axel looks to her, "Your father's possessed by something, that's what!"
Everyone sees the scene before them, Hendrik comes behind everyone, looking at Axel, then at King Carnelian. "Princess...What is the meaning of this?"
King Carnelian turns to face the group, Jade sees his facade. "I knew it! You're not my father, You're a monster, not a man!"
Rab frowns, "Ye blighter, ye! I had a feelin' in me waters that something wasnae quite right with ye, Carnelian!"
Erik shrugs, "So this whole thing was a sham? The Banquet, the speeches? Wow...That's cold. So who ARE you?" 'Carnelian''s response to that was a mere growl, just soon after, he vanishes from the room, leaving behind purple aura.
Mordegan's aura... Axel cursed himself, "Damn it...!" Jade widened her eyes, "He disappeared!" She and the group quickly change priorities and move closer to Axel, No doubt that Carnelian could attack from any direction.
Veronica, of course, taunts him, "Oi, you! Stop skulking in the shadows and show your stupid face!" Axel looks to Veronica, "Don't underestimate him, Veronica! He'd look around, "I think he's livid."
Jade turns to face Axel, a sign of worry is on her expression, "Something tells me he won't have gone far...Quick, let's search the castle!" He nods as everyone leaves the bed room.
They immediately see a group of guards at the door to the Throne Room. "There...!" Axel points down the hall. the group immediately makes their way to the door, hearing...growling and awful noises on the other side... but unfazed, Axel opens the door, his companions behind him, they run in, with Hendrik lagging behind slightly.
King Carnelian stands at the throne, his back turned to them. He turns to glare at them, Veronica steps forward, pointing at him, "No more giving us the runaround, you! We've got you cornered!" Serena steps forth as well, "Now let the king go, and show us your true form, fiend!"
Instead of doing so, however...King Carnelian starts...laughing...Not just 'ha-ha!' funny, pure evil laughing. Suddenly, he falls silent, before jerking violently as Mordegan leaves him, smirking cockily at the group. "Unmasked at last...I have been enjoying Carnelian's...Hospitality since the day Dundrasil fell..."
Axel growls, "You...You'll pay for this!" He said, before being stopped by Rab, "Hold on, Laddie! ye cannae go rushin' in, It's what he wants ye to do!"
Mordegan continues, "But the game ends here. I have wasted too much time waiting for you to lead me to the Sword of Light!" He'd smirk cruelly, "And since I was unable to steal it from you, it seems I must take it by force. Very Well..." He'd slowly power up energy in his staff, "Come to Mordegan like good little lambs...and die!" He unleashes a purple mist into the air. Rab growls, "Mordegan! So it's you! I've waited years for this day to come!" Mordegan smirks in response.
Hendrik frowns, feeling betrayed and angered, "Not only Jasper, but his Majesty too!? Your deception shall not go unpunished, Devil!" He said, reaching for his greatsword. Mordegan looks to him, a cold, cruel smirk grew on his lips, "You have been a serviceable puppet over the years, Hendrik. But it is time you joined your wretched kinfolk...In Hell!"
This sparked something inside Hendrik, "My... you mean it was you...!? You who massacred my people!?" Jade slams her foot down, her rage unbound, "It was all you...wasn't it? The Destruction of Dundrasil, the families torn apart... You've stolen so much, from so many and now you're going to pay..."
Hendrik stands beside Axel. "I stand with you, Luminary. My loved ones, my countrymen, They must be avenged!" Erik stands beside him too, "I'm with you too, This is the guy who's had in for you all this time, right?! Let's show him who he's messing with!"
Axel smirks, "Yeah...You'll torment Erdrea no more, Mordegan! We're taking you down! TOGETHER!" He shouts as everyone prepares themselves.
Mordegan retorts with the same cockiness, "Well then, Luminary!? What are you waiting for!? Come! Give me your power, that I may rule this world unopposed!"
Axel and his companions charge forth, as does Mordegan, and his scepter and Axel's Sword of Light clashes in a mix of Dark and Light. The Decisive Battle begins.
As Mordegan blows Axel away, Erik jumps over Axel to swipe downward, his sword wreathed in flame as Mordegan raises his staff to stop the attack. Hendrik keeps back, protecting Serena and Veronica as they begin to cast their respective magics. Rab dashes at Mordegan, claws primed to perform Hardclaw and Jade beside him, prepping up Multithrust.
Mordegan knocks away Erik, then casts Zammle instantly on Jade, who is knocked back a far distance, before regaining her footing and Rab bats away a Kafrizzle, "It'll take more than that to take me down, ya blighter!" He shouts as his Hardclaw connects, sending Mordegan sliding across the floor and slamming into a wall.
But Mordegan smirks, as he teleports behind Rab and casting Kazam, But Rab dodges before the dark explosion occurs, However, he wasn't able to dodge a sudden bash of the staff, "Agk!"
but suddenly Axel comes from Rab's left, striking Mordegan with a hard left punch before swinging his Sword of Light in a hard horizontal swipe.
Mordegan coughs from the hard punch, but hovers away in time, the sword just missing his midsection, "Not good enough Lumina-" He's struck from the side by Veronica's Kacrack, "You're going out with a BANG!" She shouts with a grin as Mordegan is struck by a massive Boom.
he curses himself as he'd emit a black fog, damaging everyone.
Sylvando retaliated with Kaswoosh, striking Mordegan hard before charging and connecting with a strong vertical swipe, his wounds healed slightly, his expression wasn't happy, but instead focused, tactical and strategic.
Mordegan hurls a Kazam, but Sylvando evades it,then another, and another. Sylvando retaliated with Oomph, dodged a quick swing of Mordegan's staff before striking with a Falcon Slash.
Mordegan, angered by this persistent bug, blew him away with an angry roar. he then calls forth purple fog, engulfing the battlefield. Serena suddenly feels on edge. Mordegan zooms to Veronica, striking her hard with a Zammle, before focusing on Hendrik, Jade and Axel.
Erik tried to heal his wounds with a medical herb, only to growl in pain, his wound glowing purple. he suddenly turns to Serena who was about to heal Veronica with Moreheal, "SERENA, NO!"
"GGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHH!"
Veronica screams as the purple mist instead caused Moreheal to give Veronica immeasurable pain.
Serena suddenly runs to Veronica, "Veronica! I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I didn't know!" Veronica was still screaming from the pain, before rolling onto her sides, "Serena..! help me, help me, HELP ME!"
Axel started to breathe heavily, he suddenly sees red. blood red. Everyone watches as he holds his head, the painful memories of all the times Veronica was hurt and her sacrifice. His heart gives out all it's condensed emotions at once, Jade runs to him, but it's too late. A burst of energy emits from Axel, clearing the fog.
"HnnnnnggggrrrraaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHH! MORDEGAAAAAAAANN!" Axel roars bloody murder, his hand glows yellow as suddenly launches a Quadraslash at Mordegan, who stops it with a Magic Barrier, getting pushed back, "Oh...? Did I hurt your poor brat? Don't worry, her pain will end soon...As wi-"
Suddenly, Mordegan is overpowered by an angry, senseless Axel, swinging his sword to and fro with such speed he rivaled the Falcon Blade on the Quadraslash, pushing it further and further through Mordegan's barrier. "I'LL KILL YOU! I HATE YOU, I CURSE YOU, I DESPISE YOU!"
Mordegan backs off to summon Sinister Sceptres, all firing Frizzes, but Hendrik gets In front of Axel, tanking all the hits, "Hnnngggh! Go! Luminary!"
Axel jumps and again starts whaling on Mordegan's barrier, "I am letting every single ounce of my anger, my rage, my sadness and my despair in my entire ASSAULT! I AM NOT STOPPING UNTIL YOU'RE GONE, HISTORY! DEEEAAAAD"
Axel suddenly grabs the Quadraslash blade, slashing both his sword and the blade downward on Mordegan.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! HOW CAN THIS BE!?" Mordegan roars as he holds his gaping injury.
Serena heals Veronica's injuries, no longer held down by the fog, Veronica breathes heavily. "She recalled Axel screaming. "Where is he!?" she shouts suddenly, her voice slightly hoarse from her pained scream, she sees the sudden violent scene of Axel slashing Mordegan here, there and everywhere.
before Axel grabs Mordegan by the face. "GO TO THE UNDERWORLD WHERE YOU BELONG, YOU EMOTIONLESS, HUSK OF A POWER HUNGRY CUR!"
Sudden Kazap strikes down on Mordegan, as he roars in pain and anger. He sees the black time spirit hiding in the seams of Axel's Armour. He smirked, "If you think you were the only one who traveled through time, you are mistaken!"
Axel let's go as Mordegan explodes in ash and fog, evaporating into nothing. Axel takes a few steps back before collapsing. He hears his companions cry out his name in urgency...but he heard Veronica's sobbing cry... before falling into darkness.
Axel awakens in a void. He sees his goody Doppelgänger, The True Luminary, before him. "Axel!?'
The True Luminary turns to face him, "You've defeated Mordegan?"
Axel, Aka The Reclaimed nods, "Yeah...how are we talking...?" The True Luminary folded his arms, "Maybe it's because of our contact that we... I don't know. But if you defeated Mordegan, a word of warning. A being named Calasmos will rise. Me and my companions had fought him. I nearly lost Everyone."
The Reclaimed nods, "I nearly lost Veronica... I completely abolished Mordegan...I heard her cry for me...she never cried..."
The True Luminary smiles, "She has a very hard exterior. but under that is a soft, cuddly interior. She cares for you. For us."
The Reclaimed raises an eyebrow, "How are things?"
His Doppelgänger clears his throat, "It's... interesting. We're married."
The Reclaimed smiled, "Huh!...Nice one." The Luminary shrugged, "That'll be you soon." With a cough he'd turn his back on The Reclaimed. "This'll probably be the last time our timelines may keep in touch. Thanks for invading my timeline. I wouldn't of been able to get you on the right path."
The Reclaimed grew silent. "I mean, you stormed in and just sent guys after us. reigniting our bonds and gave us one last good fight. then i was able to get you on the path of light, then you reignited those in your heart...I can't thank you enough."
Suddenly, The Reclaimed extends his fist out. The Luminary extends his and the two pull back, throwing their hardest punches in an awesome fist bump, smirks on their faces, if this is going to be their last meeting, might as well make it go out with a bang, literally.
Axel awakens in his bed, Veronica lying in his arms... she felt soft...warm and, he felt her cheek... tears?
Veronica sniffled lightly as she opens her eyes. suddenly, she gasps getting up, "O-Oi! What's with touching a woman when she's sleeping!? Don't you have any manners!?"
Axel smiles, only to get lightly slapped. it was very light, "Get that grin off your FACE! You scared me yesterday!"
Axel wakes up after the hit, staring at Veronica, was fighting back tears. "You terrified me..." she'd suddenly hugs him, and he returns it, "You were screaming in pain because of him...and i just... I only wanted Mordegan to die..."
Veronica shakes her head, "You think I care!? I'd throw myself in the firing line for you! it's my duty-"
Axel hugs her tighter, "No...! I can't lose you! I won't lose you again..."
Veronica frowns. Was she really that important to him? She looks down with sad eyes, She felt bad about causing him such pain in the first place...
The two glance into each others eyes... before Veronica suddenly moves forward, her lips and his connecting in a warm kiss.
Axel was going to pull away...but why? She moved first... right?
They pull away, Veronica blushed heavily, "We...We should go to the throne room...King Carnelian and everyone is waiting for you..." Axel grew worried, "You're not gonna mention the kiss right?"
Veronica hops off, walking with the sassy walk, but with a slightly more noticeable sway, she suddenly turns her head back at Axel, her cocky smirk on her lips, "Now why would I do that? everyone knows I'd be in trouble. I am 3 years older than you..."
Axel cleared his throat as she leaves, he blushed, "She's 21?"
Fun fact: if this Headcanon was in Japan DQXI, Veronica would be 19 and Hero would be 16.
Veronica would get in so much trouble XD
