A/N: So, This story won the poll. Initially, I was planning on writing all of P3:R's thirteenth chapter then writing the three chapters for this, but I realized I could
just work on that in my spare time, seeing as how school is out for me now and I
currently have little to nothing to do besides working around my house, playing
various games, reading or writing. Anyways, this chapter has been in my head
for just as much time as the future chapters involving the elemental fiends and Chaos.
I'd like to thank Herald and Lucenthia for reviewing, both of which helped me
feel more content with the previous chapter, and everyone who has read or is
currently reading this story.
Character Bios:
Garland La'Noire- A knight of Cornelia that defected and kidnapped one of the princesses
of Cornelia for some reason. He earned the title, Cornelia's Greatest Knight, with his
prowess both in the dark arts and with his unusual weapon of choice. He is a formidable
opponent for even veteran warriors, making him a rather large impetus for the Crystal
Bearers. He seems to be older than his years... Class: Knight of Black(Dark Knight/Black
Mage) Ability: Black Artes(Origin), Jinx(Passive), Style Shift(Unique Weapon Skill)
Princess Serah Chere Cornelius- A princess of Cornelia that was abducted by Garland
for some reason. She is the third of eight children and is the most beloved. Contrary to
her calm, collected and somewhat docile exterior, she is quite adventurous, rebellious
and independent, something that she inherited from Elvis. She is the goal for the
Crystal Bearers at this point of their journey and seems to be connected to Alvis. Class:
Princess(Unique. Songstress/Fencer). Ability: Perform, Bluff, Sword Play.
Cherubim- A goddess of the Cupid designation. She is new to her position and seems
to have bad luck pairing up people with their partners. Above all, she hates being looked
down on because of her lack of experience and has a mean streak that influences her
powers as a goddess. A certain individual has tasked her with watching over Ikari. She
seems to know Ai. Class: -. Ability: Varies.
Igari- A being that resides within Ikari's subconscious and claims to not be a part of him. What he is exactly isn't clear, but he is far more severe and strict than Ikari. He knows all of Ikari's secrets. Class: Mimic. Ability: Unknown, Ikari's.
Node Three: Garland, Knight of Black
It was cold. It was dark. I couldn't move. Was I dead?
"No, you aren't," said a voice I didn't recognize. It belonged to a girl and was rather annoyed sounding, not to mention very close by. "Anyways, are you some kind of damned idiot? You took on the Lord of the Skies, of all things, and you couldn't even ruffle its feathers! What the hell was going through that empty skull of yours?!" Ouch... I tried, it wasn't my fault it turned out to be a Phoenix...
"He wasn't really thinking, only acting out of impulse," said another unfamiliar voice, though this one was strikingly similar to my own voice. What's going on? Is this what the afterlife is like?
"For the second time, you aren't dead, idiot," said the girl's voice, sounding more annoyed. The lack of specification was not helpful, especially when I didn't feel like I was alive. I felt disconnected from my body, yet trapped in a prison that confined me to a single spot. I couldn't feel any part of my body, only registering the world around me based on what I could feel: The cold air and the lack of light. I wasn't blind, but everything was pitch black so I felt that way. The only thing I could properly perceive was sound, I could hear everything perfectly and properly. I didn't like that at all, it was a terrible state to be in and I felt as if I would vanish at any given moment. If this was truly what dying felt like, I had been misinformed and-
"For the last time, No, you are NOT dead, nor are you in a dream in your bed at home if that crossed your mind," exclaimed the girl's voice a moment before I felt a jolt run through me. I suddenly was aware of my body, thankfully full intact feeling and not in agonizing pain, and the rest of my senses, which flooded back to me in a torrent of sensation. I clutched my head, getting a severe headache the moment everything came back to me.
"Who flashed me with Dia," I groaned, shutting my eyes until they finally adjusted to the mild light. I winced slightly when I felt a hand touch my forehead, I was tender to the lightest of touch and I could barely stand the scent of herbal tea and lavender that pervaded my nostrils, at least until I finished adjusting... Still, I felt worse than I did when Teleport was used on me, something that I didn't think was remotely possible.
"Finally ready to listen," said, more so commanded, the girl with a huff as I finally caught a glimpse of the two strangers with me. The first was a girl that looked strikingly similar to my mother after she expended all of her Mana on the day of the Darkening, a day I would have much rather forgotten. She was barely up to my chest in terms of height and had the physical appearance of a child no older than eight, maybe ten, years of age. Her skin was tinted peach and her face was slightly rounded, contrasting with her sharp, annoyed blue eyes, the only part of her that made her physically stand apart from mother as she had the emerald eyes that I had inherited. Her golden blonde hair was tied up in a ponytail that extended to just below her waist and she had a left facing bang. She wore an oversized white coat of the exact style as mother's and a pair of cotton trousers, dyed blue, with a white and blue tunic.
The second stranger was more peculiar. He was my height and, similar to the girl, had icy blue eyes. His hair was a stony bluish grey and was styled in a way that resembled both my hair and father's. Stranger still was the fact that his armor seemed to be a polished, refined version of the Rustic Armor I wore, the only real difference being that his armor came with a helm that had a pair of black, curving, curling horns as opposed the circlet I had... How odd, that they both look familia- I stopped in mid-thought, having realized that the person I was looking at was almost my spitting image, even the way he stood and held himself. I was going to voice my confusion as to why we were so similar, when the girl interrupted me by clearing her throat.
"Ahem. Now, are you ready to listen or are you going to continue staring at yourself like you do in a mirror," she asked, giving me a dull look as she held her ponytail with one hand and twirled it with the other. "Because the longer you take, the longer it'll take to explain this and get on our way." Huh? What does she mean by 'our' way? Does she mean herself and me or herself and Blue Me?
"I'd prefer not to be called 'Blue Me' or any variation of anything implying that we are the same being," said... Er, Blue Guy out of nowhere, as if he could read my mind... Wait, don't tell me-
"You're just now noticing that, Ikari," asked the girl, tsking at my... Incompetence? It wasn't my fault I couldn't tell that they were able to see inside my head, though I guess it was a little obvious, considering the fact that the girl seemed to know when I thought I was dead and commented on it each time... I blame my odd situation earlier for me not noticing that.
"He's going off on a tangent again, Cherubim," said Blue Guy before sighing and turning to face me directly. "Igari. That's my name, not 'Blue Me', 'Blue Guy' or any other name with the word 'Blue' in it. Understood?" Yikes, someone is a little touchy... Fitting, given his name.
"I'm going to hit you..." Right, he can read my mind, that makes things more odd and confusing.
"Finally done with that? Good," said the girl, whom I was sure Igari called Cherubim. Maybe it's her name? "Ikari Light, son of Hikari and Ai Light, if you do not stop going off on mental tangents, I will make sure that, by the time this is over, you'll wish you were personally annihilated by Anima herself." That killed off any stray thoughts. Who ever she was, she was not to be trifled with, judging by her threat. "Now listen, and listen well, I have a headache and I hate repeating myself. You, Igari and I are in your subconscious. This is not a dream nor a vision appearing to you as you take your dying breaths, you are unconscious. I'd berate you for the reason you are in your present state, but, if I waste too much time here, it'll take longer than necessary to tell you what you need to know. Understanding me so far?" I nodded and the girl(Cherubim?) sighed with relief.
"I'm oblivious, not dull," I said, earning an irate glare from Cherubim, which I decided was probably her name. I'd correct that if or when it was brought up.
"You're right, you aren't dull, you're a complete idiot that relies on impulse rather than thought out actions."
"I'm beginning to wonder if you say and do the first thing that pops into your head. That would explain why you end up in messes like this," added Igari, sounding both bored and tired. Ouch, those two are rather sharp tongued.
"Continuing, you are currently detached from your physical body..." Wait, what? "Let me finish. You are still inside your body, but your spirit isn't tethered to it, at least for now. That'll be changing very soon. Until then, Igari will teach you how to not get yourself killed in upcoming battles and I'll be teaching you a few more spells to go along side Dia, Cure and Spark." Well this will be fun... Who am I kidding, this will probably hurt a ton.
"Ikari, prepare yourself," said Igari, drawing his sword, a rapier like weapon with a bejeweled, spun guard. I didn't like the smile he had or the direction my situation seemed to be heading...
The last few days had been uneventful and dreary. Ezra and Sabrina were still visibly distraught by Ikari's fate and I was the one who looked like the bad guy. Part of me said I should've given the two more time to get over Ikari, but the professional in me told me that I had made the right choice, even if it left a bad taste in my mouth. The only real upside to the most recent events was the lack of monsters during our travels.
Since the Stratoavis had appeared, no monsters came near us, a rather strange thing in the eyes of one who had fought countless monsters in order to keep himself and his allies alive. It was if the bird had some sort of lingering effect on us, one that spooked even the most aggressive and openly hostile monsters in the area. It was... Unnerving. Not to say the peace was unwelcome, which it wasn't, but it still put me on edge since I couldn't discern why we were being avoided rather than confronted. It's as if that bird marked us as its prey and nothing else's... As if it is waiting for a moment where it can swoop down and finish us off...
I shook my head, ridding myself of the thought, when we came across an ancient shrine in ruins. We had reached our destination and, judging by the sheer malice I felt pouring from inside the ruined shrine, it was not going to be a simple walk in, save the princess, then leave type of job. No, that would've been far too easy and inconvenient of a task for one of my skill. Damned gods of fate, always making things more difficult than they need to be.
"Ezra, Sabrina,you two feel that right," I asked, unsure if I was the only one who sensed the evil and bloodlust emanating from the Chaos Shrine. I was both relieved and worried when I received silent nods from the two of them: That meant something really bad had happened here and whatever remainders of said incident were not content with their fate.
"...le..ded," muttered Sabrina, drawing in the air what I assumed to be a warding symbol from her home before drawing her gun from its holster. I wanted to ask her what she said, but I knew I wouldn't get a response. The only person that would've gotten a response was gone and there was nothing we could do about that now. With a sigh, I drew my broadsword and imbued it with the power of my Flame Ninjutsu.
"We might as well get ready for a big battle the moment we head inside," I said, my eyes hardening as I tensed up for the coming trials.
"I had already prepared in advance," Ezra said in an even tone, her short sword drawn and at the ready.
"In that case, let's not waste time," I stated, pushing open the partially destroyed entrance to the shrine, smelling the foul stench of mold, decaying flesh, blood and rust as I did. Ezra gagged at the smell and covered the lower part of her face, clearly not as prepared as she thought she was. Sabrina, however, looked unphased, though it was difficult to read her with the hood she wore to conceal her face. I was used to the smell, unfortunately. A similar smell lingered on every battlefield I had visited, only worsening as the conflict did... Too many bad memories...
"Alvis, look out," shouted Ezra, tearing me away from my thoughts in time for me to see a sword hurtling towards my head. I snapped to the side, evading the weapon by a hair, then retaliated by throwing three knives that were previously hidden in my coat's sleeve at the mystery assailant. A moment later the sound of blades meeting flesh escaped from the dark place, followed by a ghastly moan that came from something less than human. Soon, several other inhuman moans sounded, along with the sound of feet sloshing through liquid and rattling bones, all of which converging on us. You've got to be kidding me... Undead!? Of all the things to have to deal with, we have to fight UNDEAD!? Dammit, we needed Ikari for this place!
"Move it, you two," I snarled, pulling the women after me as I entered the defiled shrine, a mistake as it was pitch black inside. Cursing, I heard Erza mutter "Fire" and small flame was brought into existence, again to both my relief and distress. While the light from the fire made us less helplessly lost in the unnatural darkness of the ruined shrine, it also revealed that it wasn't a simple few Undead, It was an entire legion of the menaces, but, just to pile on the bullshit, i wasn't just Undead! No, there were also Arachnids, Spirits, Puddings and Beasts, all of which made the hell that this place was already was ten times fucking worse! Okay, Alvis, you're losing your composure, calm down before you make a mistake... Still, this is absolutely ludicrous! I closed my eyes, then sighed: This was not going to be easy with two people that probably weren't prepared to handle a situation like the current one, much less anything on its scale.
"Listen up," I barked, gaining the full attention Ezra and Sabrina, "We're going to make a run for it, the safe zone of this place, because that's the only way Garland could've survived the mess we're about to take on. We're going to cut down all of the enemies that are important, the ones that either bar our path or get too close for comfort, and do our best to avoid any others. We'll have to be quick about it too, Undead don't like to remain dead in places like this, even if killed again. Any objections?" When no verbal answer came, I knew that they had no objections, at least none that were even partially valid at this point. "Alright then, move it!" It was then that all hell broke loose.
As if a spell had been broken, the horde infesting the shrine surged towards the three of us. I managed to cut down a few of the Zombies and Skeletons before I had to use Flame to put some distance between us and the horde. Ezra, having gotten over the smell of the shrine, alternated between Cure and Fire burning anything that tried to cross the flames. Sabrina did nothing at first, but it took me no time to figure out why: Her gun would only bring more of the shrine's denizens down upon us, something we couldn't afford as we were barely keeping the ones after us away, even as we raced through it and blocked their access. It didn't help that we were being slowed by the bloody water that filled the majority to the shrine and went past our ankles for the most part, barring the areas with debris and higher sections of the uneven floor, or that no matter where we turned or how many we cut down, more and more monsters kept appearing. Damn, we're in a tight spot! I gritted my teeth at the situation at hand, knowing that there had to be a way out of it... Oh my goodness, I'm either a genius or crazy for thinking of this! Wait, can they even pull that off? If not, we're screwed...
"Alvis, any suggestions," yelled Ezra, her face contorted with a mixture of fear and anger. "I don't think we can stand too much more of this before things turn sour!"
"I know," I returned as I launched a wall of fire at a few oncoming Black Widows and Green Slimes. "Ezra, can you absorb magic by any chance?"
"Of course I can," she snapped, swiftly cutting the throat of a Zombie before igniting her short sword and free hand, then swaying her hips in an almost seductive manner. "Rondo of Fire!"
With grace I hadn't seen from her, Ezra danced into a group of enemies, twirling and swaying gently as she serenely cut through and immolated all that she came across, finally ending her dance of death by bringing her hands together above her head, then spreading them, releasing two rings of fire that spun around her until she brought her sword to the air and crossed her legs, a faint yellow spark running along the edge of the blade. Not good.
I practically forced Sabrina into my arms as I jumped out of the liquid, just in time to avoid a painful death by electrocution as Ezra struck the liquid with her blade, generating a visible surge of electricity across the the surface of the bloody water as she danced, differently than before. Just as she prepared to finish her dance, a Black Widow attempted to literally get the jump on her, only to be split in half by a frozen projectile fired, albeit silently, by Sabrina. I began to realize that the two of them deserved far more credit than I gave them initially, still we were up against the wall and had very little to keep us from falling to the sheer number of monsters.
"Sabrina, can you pull off an Elemental Rhapsody," I asked, praying that the silent girl could use the technique that combined the five colored black magics into one. I felt her nod then sensed the the power of fire, ice, lightning, water and darkness gathering into a single point. Next comes the risky part. Ezra, forgive me for what I'm about to do... I gulped before I ordered Sabrina to fire the coalescing elements at Ezra. Without batting an eye, Sabrina fired, hitting Ezra between her shoulder blades with the combination, stunning the woman in the dress before she began to scream in pain as the elements gathered in and around her. She fell to her knees, her hands sinking into the murky water as she began to glow with the power of each of the six basic elements. I quickly shielded Sabrina as Ezra released a piercing scream before everything was engulfed by prismatic light, myself included...
...
...
When I came to, I was sprawled out on the ground, thankfully no longer partially submerged, with a terrible headache. I barely pulled myself off the ground when I was slammed into a wall, now a brilliant cobalt as opposed to the grimy, sooty black it had been, by Ezra, who was justifiably seething.
"If you try something like that again, dying will be the LEAST of your worries," she hissed, her sharp blue eyes narrowed ferociously. I nodded, knowing I deserved worse, when she slugged me across the face, hard. I deserved that too, though she hit much harder than I expected her to. I rubbed the side of my face once she let me down and, thankfully, there was no swelling. Sabrina looked on, amused, but made no comment, as usual. I was really beginning to think that Ikari was the only person who could get her to say anything.
"Now that we're past that, let's look around for the safe-," I stopped in mid-sentence, seeing a door that I missed while we had been running from the Undead and company... Hidden in plain sight, of course it would be. "-area... I think this is the door to the place we were looking for." Sabrina nodded slowly while Ezra scoffed, as if I had said the obvious... Which I had. I sighed then walked to the door cautiously and prepared to open it, when the Earth Crystal I held began to pulsate. I checked it and found that the Crystal was shining intensely, as were the Water and Fire Crystals. Something important was behind this door... I told the others to stay back before I pushed the door open and stood face to face with the successor to my title.
"Hmph, to think someone managed to dispel the malice here temporarily," said the man clad in fearsome silver armor, his voice rumbling under the horned helmet he wore. "I take it you have come for the princess. Unfortunately, she is rather... preoccupied by her current situation." The smugness in the man's voice was enough to make me want to beat him within an inch of his life, but his remark about Princess Serah is what nearly tipped me over the edge. I glanced to the side and saw that some sort of shadowy mesh was binding the princess in place, one that seemed to be trying to either merge with her or absorb her. It didn't matter what it was TRYING to do, I had finally lost my composure, my temper following suit. I felt myself become angry.
"Release her," I growled, my broadsword and Ninjutsu at the ready. Garland only laughed, deepening my anger greatly.
"You, harm me? Surely you jest, vagrant," he chuckled before removing a massive sword from his back. "If you're all of the competent warriors that Elvis can send after me, I have nothing to worry about. Instead, I, Garland La'Noire, shall knock you down!" I barely had time to finish registering the knight's words before I was blocking a blow that shook me to my core. Without so much as a second to recover, I was forced to dodge and parry Garland's onslaught of attacks, most of which I could barely get out of the way of. This man was no joke, even if I wasn't in the best condition and unable call upon my full strength. I could tell that he was going to give me a serious run for my money, something that worried me because I got the feeling he wasn't going all out. I ducked under a wide swing from the man, only to have to roll away from the man as he tried to catch me with a punch. I retaliated with Flame, hoping to knock the knight off balance, but I had no such luck. If anything, he seemed to absorb the flames into himself and countered with a heavy strike with the blunt side of his sword, a blow that sent me flying out of the room and back into the interior of the shrine.
"Damn, he hits like a Gigas," I cursed, springing to my feet in time to avoid being impaled by Garland, who ended up stabbing his blade into a wall of the shrine. I wanted to capitalize on his position, but he simply tore his sword out of the wall, flinging parts of it in my direction. I managed to roll out of Garland's way, but he wouldn't let up for a second! I was forced to dodge for my life as Garland swung his sword around, single handedly but, with great skill and precision. Damn, I need an opening! It was at that moment Sabrina and Ezra joined the fray.
"Frost Tempo," Ezra hissed before stomping on the ground, generating a large symbol similar to a snow flake under her foot. A series of smaller ones shot towards Garland, who jumped back, only to slip when he landed on symbol that mirrored the one Ezra stood on. The symbols must've had another property because the knight was suddenly sliding towards Ezra, who unleashed a series of elegant, yet vicious kicks that caused Garland's armor to freeze over. Not finished yet, the dancer crouched, readying her sword, which was now surrounded by a series of glyphs that coated the blade in jagged ice, before stabbing the knight in the center of his breastplate, sending him into the air to be struck by six small ice crystals followed by a much larger one that slammed him into the ground. Sabrina followed Ezra's combination with what I assumed to be a simple casting of a spell. I was wrong.
"Ruination," chanted the cloaked girl before firing a clear sphere of energy with a swirling black and purple center at the downed knight. At first, nothing happened, then Garland was launched back into the air by an explosion that occurred beneath him. Sabrina then fired several more of the spheres into the air, directing them to surround Garland before she spun her gun around several times, then fired a larger sphere with grey energy tendrils along with with the swirling mass in the center. "Bang."
The moment the sphere touched the knight he was flung into one of the smaller spheres by the larger one's explosion. The same happened with the smaller spheres, though the explosions were delayed, eventually grounding the knight with enough force to crack the ground. I had definitely underestimated the two of them... Those attacks weren't anything to laugh at, they were destructive and had probably slain the knight.
I dusted myself off and thanked the two women for their help, especially Ezra's because she restored me to peak condition with Cure, before walking towards the room, intent on freeing Serah. I stopped when rumbling laughter echoed behind me. The three of us whipped around and saw that Garland had not only risen to his feet, but he seemed barely affected by Ezra and Sabrina's attacks.
"Was that truly all of the power you could muster? You disappoint me," mocked the knight as he readied his monstrous sword. What the hell!? He shouldn't have been able to get up after that!
"How are you still standing," shouted Ezra, her sword ready. Garland only laughed, then replied.
"I'll show you real power," said the knight, swinging his sword in my direction despite his distance from me. I thought that he must've been delirious and on his last leg, when Ezra shouted three familiar words at me.
"Alvis, look out!" I didn't have time to properly block Garland's attack, which had come from his his sword over an impossible distance, so I skirted to the side, avoiding being cleaved by Garland's extended weapon. What the hell!? The blade snaked back to Garland, bringing his sword back to its original form. Garland wasted no time swinging the extendable weapon at the three of us showing excellent control over the weapon's movement, speed and direction. It was harder to dodge and hit harder, making the battle drastically harder as long as the three of us remained close together.
"Make some distance," I ordered before I dove away from the weapon, readying, Blitz, my lightning Ninjutsu. Garland must've considered me to be his primary target because he sent his whip like sword after me, though I had begun to get a feel for the weapon's movement speed. I ducked and slinked between Garland's attacks, rapidly closing the distance between us, then cast Blitz. For a moment nothing happened, then a lightning bolt struck the knight, stunning him. My turn now!
Not wasting a moment, I closed the distance between myself and Garland, slashing him thrice across the torso with my still enchanted blade. I quickly cast Icicle, launching a frozen lance at the knight before driving my sword through his chest. I expected a dying gasp, but only got more laughter from the man before he lifted me up by the neck and hurled me at a wall with inhuman strength. Luckily for me, Erza softened my impact with a quick casting of Aero, though it still hurt.
"Good, good, you are more entertaining than I thought," Garland lauded before he snapped the guard and handle off of my broadsword. "I guess it is time for me to show you real power." I really didn't like how that sounded or how he began to glowing brightly. Within seconds, Garland was clad in brighter armor and the long, tattered cape he had worn was now white with blue symbols adorning it. The wound to his chest was still present, but there was no sign of it bothering him in the slightest. That's! He can Awaken!? Damn, this just became much less favorable for us...
"Alvis, what's going on," asked Ezra, shocked by Garland's transformation.
"He just awakened. You two, get as far away from here as you can because this is going to turn ugly very quickly," I snapped. I couldn't feasibly take on Garland in his current state, especially since I didn't know what powers he had gained from his Awakening, but I knew I had a chance if I played my card's ri-
"We're not letting you get yourself killed," said Sabrina, matching my tone, "I'll provide ranged support and analysis, while Ezra acts as your partner and close ranged support. Since you don't have any weapon besides your knives, focus on Ninjutsu and hit-and-run tactics." I found myself nodding to what Sabrina said. Our ideas for my actions were similar, though she had also incorporated supporting roles, which drastically increase my- our- chance at success.
"Alright, but don't blame me if the two of you get a scrape or two," I said with a grin before charging Garland at my top speed, six throwing knives at the ready and more in reserve, with Ezra in hot pursuit. Garland seemed to expect this and waited until I was a few feet away from him to shift his sword... into an axe... and swing it directly at me... Oh, shi-
I was batted away from the knight like a doll, landing hard on the ground and sliding a few additional feet. That hurt a lot. He got a strength boost and a new weapon for- Oh that's just not fair! I saw Ezra fending off Garland with her short sword and dagger, though the aforementioned knight was using a pair of swords: One of which was smaller and appeared to be a part of his other, larger sword that was missing a portion in the shape of the smaller blade. Despite their differences in stature, Ezra was doing quite well against the knight, at least until she managed to knock both of his arms upwards, which allowed him to reform his weapon into one.
"Ezra, move to the side," I yelled a moment too late. Garland transformed his sword into its axe form and struck the area that Ezra had been a second earlier, catching the dancer off balance with the tremor his attack generated. I began to sprint towards Ezra and the knight in time to see Garland smash the woman into the ceiling with a quick strike from his sword, now in whip mode. He caught Ezra by the throat as she fell and transformed his sword back into an axe in order to cleave the dancer in half. Thankfully, Sabrina took a shot at the knight at that moment, briefly slowing him with a shot to the head, something that allowed me to pull off a quick casting of Terre, my Earthen Ninjutsu. Before Garland could resume his attack on the struggling dancer, a jagged, uneven stone slab stabbed into his back and stunned him long enough for Ezra to break out of his grasp and skirt away from the knight.
Garland didn't laugh this time, rather, he grew infuriated by the three of us and lifted his sword above his head after pulling himself off of the stone. I felt dark energy gathering and went on the defensive, recognizing that the next attack would not be pleasant.
"Brace yourselves," I warned just as Garland finished gathering energy into his sword and launched it towards the three of us in its whip form.
"Dread Blaze," he roared as the sword hit the ground and black, red and purple flames exploded outwards, burning me and Sabrina while knocking us to the ground, while Ezra was barely singed by the dark flames. I growled, still not quite sure how we were going to defeat the knight when Sabrina spoke, albeit with a slight cough.
"Observation... Complete. Target has... No weaknesses," she huffed, holding her chest, "Target is also rather slow, explaining his lack of movement... Capitalize on this." I nodded, coughing lightly, as I drew six knives and enchanted them with Blitz. I had a plan, one that I had used to fell a dragon in one of my previous jobs, of course it wasn't going to be easy to pull off.
"Ezra, Sabrina, do either of you have enough Mana to cast Thunder," I asked, my plan was dependant on that since I had enough Mana to do what I was planning, but not much else after that.
"No, I barely have any myself. If I got hit by a normal spell, maybe," Ezra said, nearly dashing my hope for my plan succeeding.
"The same is applicable here," said Sabrina, "I don't have enough Mana because I used most of it with Ruination and the Elemental Rhapsody... I could, however, transfer what Mana I have left to Ezra in hopes that it is enough for her to cast Thunder. Why?" I side stepped a ranged attack from Garland before I could answer.
"Just do that," I shouted before I sprinted towards Garland, my knives ready to be thrown. "Bring it on, bastard, I'll finish you off with this!" Garland laughed at my bluff before he shifted his sword into axe form and dashed towards me, faster than he appeared to be able to. I skipped away from the knight, then to the side when he smashed his axe into the ground and a trail of spikes erupted from the ground, following me as I tried to gain some distance. I easily avoided the attack only to be bombarded by cutting winds when Garland returned his sword to its base form then extended the plates, making the blade longer, and swung it at me.
"What's the matter, I thought you were going to end things quickly," scoffed the knight, attempting to spear me with his extended sword. I rolled under the attack and managed to place three of my knives into the ground before I had to dodge a swing of his axe, which had been getting more accurate as time progressed. I positioned my fourth and fifth knives before I had to make more distance between myself and the knight because I was barely avoiding his attacks again.
"Hurry up," I shouted to Ezra and Sabrina, not taking my eyes off of Garland for an instant. I back flipped away from the knight, placing my last knife in its intended position before I was slammed into the ceiling, then slashed across the chest after the wind had been driven out of me. I gasped from the shock of the two blows, sluggishly rolling to the side of the knight.
"Ready," shouted Ezra, whose timing I was thankful for. Now all I needed to do was lure the knight into the middle of the area where I had positioned my knives. Easier said than done...
I had the time to down half a Potion before I had to skirt away from Garland and ready the last part of my plan. Using what Mana I had left, I imbued another of my knives with both Blitz and Gale, my wind ninjutsu, then did my best to try and lure Garland into the circle of knives. I was partially successful.
Garland took a few steps in my direction before he shot his sword at me, cutting into my left arm. I clutched my injured arm, now unable to avoid the knight as easily as before. He seemed to recognize this because he began taking slow, purposed steps towards me, his sword back in axe form. This worked in my favor because I was able to toss my seventh knife and get it into its position at the center of the circle before I had to focus solely on evading the knight. Garland continued to pace after me, a smug aura about him, either not realizing or caring about the trap that he was walking into. When he stepped over the center knife, I made sure I was outside the ring before I shouted to Ezra.
"Ezra, Thunder!" At first nothing happened and was I afraid that Ezra didn't have enough Mana to cast Thunder, but my doubts were cleared when lightning struck Garland, and the knife under him by extension, dead on, stunning him as I began drawing a sigil in the air, finishing just as the knight recovered. The six knives around the knight began to crackling with blue electricity while the one beneath him trapped him in place, signifying that my plan had succeeded. Soon the electricity began to spread away from the knives, connecting them with a faint ring of lightning.
"What sort of trickery is this," roared the knight, unable to move from his place at the center of the circle. It was my turn to laugh this time.
"Trickery? No, this is the power of Ninjutsu," I proclaimed as the ring of lightning grew brighter and began to spin, "Enjoy the show." With that, the first lightning bolt struck Garland. Unable to do more than squirm against his binding, the knight was hit by the second bolt, stronger than the first, and the third, which was stronger than the second. Soon the fourth, fifth and sixth bolts struck the knight, whose armor was now orange from the repeated lightning strikes, before all of the electricity converged on the knife below the knight. A few moments passed before a violet stream of lightning erupted from below the knight, engulfing him completely as it tore through the ceiling of the ruined shrine. All that remained of the knight was a molten puddle of what used to be his armor,his sword, which showed no signs of damage despite what it had just experienced, and blackened bones.
"A-Alvis, What was THAT," asked Ezra after a moment, "That wasn't something anything less than a tier three spell could do... So how did you pull that off?"
"Easy," I replied, clutching my wounded arm, before explaining how each lightning strike fed the one following it, boosting its power, and how the ring had kept the power from being released after each subsequent strike. By the time I was done, Sabrina was also listening, though she had gone back to being silent.
"You mean to say that this Ninjutsu of yours deviates from the rules of standard Black and White Magic? That explains how it would be able to bypass and work around some things..." Ezra said, perplexed. "I guess it's similar to my Dances in that sense." I wanted to ask her what she meant, but we had more pressing matters to attend to, mainly confirming the well being of the Princess. I rushed into the room where Garland had held Serah captive and found that the shadowy mesh was no longer present on the now collapsed princess. I quickly checked the girl for a pulse, sighing with relief when I found one. I quickly embraced her and whispered to her.
"Serah, Uncle Alvis is back."
"Can you two be a little less rough? It's not easy to avoid the both of you, ya know," I whined as I was knocked over for the umpteenth time in less than however many minutes had passed. I couldn't really judge how much time had passed while I was still disconnected from my body, which made things annoying.
"If you would replicate your actions from earlier, you wouldn't have to complain," stated Igari as he readied his sword yet again.
"What he said," chimed in Cherubim, "We would've been done awhile ago had you not showed us something interesting and beyond our expectations." I sighed. They were referring to the moment in which I managed to surpass Igari's speed and strength and counter Cherubim's Aerora. While I was glad to find out that I could surpass these two, I couldn't repeat what I had done, no matter how much I tried or how much they sent my way.
"I told you, I can't do it again," I said, "It was a fluke that I could do that!"
"If you've done it once, you can do it again," said Igari, matter-of-factly. "Accident or no, we won't stop until either you reconnect with your body or you can access whatever power you drew from in any situation. Now, get up." I sighed, readying Light Seeker and Minerva's Defender. Damn,this is almost worse than father's training...
"Alvis, she's clinging to you again," said Ezra, exasperated. Princess Serah was indeed clinging to my arm as we entered Cornelia after an equally uneventful return trip from the Chaos Shrine. I scratched the back of my head, chuckling lightly as I persuaded Serah to let go of my injured arm.
"But, Uncle Alvis, I want to stay close to you," responded the Princess, squeezing my arm enough for me to wince as we neared the castle.
"Serah, you can just hold my hand," I sighed, "Elvis would have my head if he saw you doing this." The funny thing was that I wasn't joking. Elvis' family was his life inside the castle. He made sure that his daughters were well mannered and understood that power wasn't a free pass to living as you pleased. He had, along with his late wife, taught them morality and how some of the most infuriating decisions were often for the best. He was also extremely overprotective of his daughters, enough to scare away their suitors with anything he could, and while he was my closest friend, he would still be rather severe to me if he thought I was after any of his daughters. He already threatened to dock my pay if he found out that Fran went through with her plan to try and elope with me...If he saw Serah clinging to me-
"Alvis, we're at the castle gates," said Ezra, pulling me out of my thoughts. I nodded and waved at the knight who had been with Perimedes when Ezra and I had first visited the castle. He returned the gesture before having the castle gate raised, allowing my group to enter the castle. A few minutes of walking and a flight of stairs later, we were in the throne room, where Elvis was waiting.
"Alvis, you've returned," exclaimed the king before he saw his daughter and cried out with joy. "Serah!"
"Father," cried the princess, running to her father and giving him a hug.
"I'm glad you're safe," said Elvis, tightening his embrace on his daughter before looking up at me, Ezra and Sabrina. "What can I do to repay you? I'm in your debt." I prepared to answer, but Ezra spoke up in my stead.
"Two things actually," she said, "The thing I ask for is the restoration of the bridge that links Cornelia to Pravoka and the rest of that continent."
"Ah, that," replied Elvis, "I'll send word to have that repaired as soon as possible. And your second request?"
"Have you seen any sign of a Paladin in the area? One with blonde hair and green eyes?" I noticed Ezra pause, as if waiting to hear that Ikari truly wasn't among the dead. She hasn't given up hope... Poor girl.
"Alas, no," responded Elvis, dashing Ezra's hopes, "I apologize, but the only person that has entered the city is a strange blue haired male. He was unconscious when he arrived and has yet to wake up."
"I-I see," muttered Ezra, dejectedly. "In that case, that is all I have to ask..." Elvis peered at the girl curiously before nodding, as if he understood something.
"I see, you lost an important person to you... In that case, tell me the person's name and I'll see to it that they receive the best funeral rites and honors they deserve."
"Father will keep his word," said Serah, "He never has gone back on it nor has he lied about doing things." I nodded, Elvis was that kind of person. He would never play with your trust and always kept his word.
"Ikari Light," mumbled Ezra.
"I see... Ikari shall receive the best that I can give him," responded the king before changing the topic, "Now, enough with that! Let us feast in remembrance of Ikari and to congratulate you... three- in your endeavor to save my daughter!" Within seconds the room was filled with people in assorted costumes, pulling Ezra, Sabrina and Serah out of the room, leaving me and Elvis.
"Is something bothering you, Elvis," I asked seeing the serious expression on his face.
"Was Garland...," Elvis needed not complete that sentence. I nodded and drew the monstrous sword that the former knight had carried around.
"Yes, this is all that remains of him," I replied, "You don't mind if I keep this, do you?"
"Do what you please with it, Alvis, I don't want a reminder of that traitor to remain in my kingdom longer than it must," the king said, "Serah seems to be alright, thankfully. If she had been harmed or worse... I don't think I could've dealt with that..." I patted my friend on the back.
"Remember, Serah is hardier than she lets on," I reminded him, "Remember when she punched the man after Rinoa, then proceeded to fight off his entire entourage while insulting them? Or when she got lost in the forest near town, only to return with light scrapes, a few bruises, a dirty dress and the tooth of a wolf?" Elvis chuckled.
"Or when tore the sides of her dress because it 'Slowed her down...' She takes after me the most out of all of my daughters. I remember doing things like her when I was her age."
"Yeah, and I was the one trying to stop you from hurting yourself," I said with a smile, "The tables sure have turned..."
"Indeed they have, Alvis," sighed Elvis, "I remember the day I ran away from the kingdom to adventure and you trailed behind me, trying your best to get me to return because father asked you to." Elvis laughed a little.
"As I recall, we ended up slaying a dragon during that escapade of yours," I said, remembering the battle that made me choose my current lifestyle. "Ah, those were the days."
"They were," agreed Elvis, "I miss them, but I wouldn't trade anything I have now to relive those days."
"That's because you've matured, Womanizer Prince," I said, a sly grin replacing my smile.
"Those are some mighty words coming from the Womanizing Emperor," countered Elvis, "My title no longer fits me, unlike yours." A moment of silence followed before the two of us exploded with laughter.
"Ha... I'll miss working under you, Elvis," I said after a moment, gaining the king's attention.
"You're leaving?" I nodded.
"Yeah, those two girls need my help with what they have to do."
"...Did you-"
"No! Sure Ezra is my type, but Sabrina? She hardly talks with anyone and doesn't appeal to me even slightly. Plus, I don't go for women with red eyes."
"...Still, knowing you, you'd make an exception to that rule."
"Nah, not in this case... You mentioned a blue haired kid showing up here," I asked changing the subject.
"Ah yes. An armor clad teen appeared outside of the castle about a week ago. He was unconscious, so he was sent to the guest room to recuperate. You can visit him if you'd like."
"Maybe before I leave. I have provisions to get and I need to have my arm and chest looked at by a healer before I can do anything extra."
"I see... Well, I do believe you'll have ample time. it will take a few days before the bridge is fixed," said Elvis before standing, "I believe we've kept the others waiting. Let us go before they worry." I shrugged before following Elvis to where we were going to dine.
"Finally," I exclaimed as I slipped between the whirlwind of slashes Igari launched at me. I avoided each slash and countered with my own, growing faster with each strike i managed to land on the more experienced fighter.
"Very good," applauded the blue haired man, setting down his weapons, "You've finally gotten the hang of that skill. Now tell me, was it a technique or magic?"
"Focus," I said, puzzling him and Cherubim. "It was a state of focus. I had to concentrate on each individual attack that you launched in order for me to avoid them."
"Only an idiot or a genius could come up with something like that," said Cherubim, "Still that doesn't explain how you neutralized my Aerora and Aerogas." I shrugged. I didn't really know how I had done that either. I know that I didn't do anything really special, really it was as if the Mana had dispersed when I struck at the spells.
"I don't know, it just happened," I said, earning an irritated look from the girl that was apparently a Goddess.
"Whatever you say, Ikari," she tsked, "You're almost connected to your body again, so I'll let you off with that answer for now. In any event, I'll be accompanying you even in the outside world, so don't think you've heard the last of me." I nodded just as I felt myself fade into back into unconsciousness.
...
...
"...an... min... o. He... Ca... yo. ... me? Can you hear me," asked a voice I didn't recognize. I gingerly opened my eyes, but didn't shut them because the shift in lighting hadn't hurt my eyes.
"Yes, just a little slow," I yawned as I took in my surroundings. I was in a large room that was well furnished. I was currently sitting in a soft bed, surrounded by three girls, all of which were near my age. The first was wearing a simple dress and had grey eyes that stood out because of her nearly golden hair. The second wore a ballroom gown and had the same grey eyes, but had silvery hair. The third wore a dress that was between plain and elaborate and had eyes that gleamed gold, while her hair was a light brown. "...Where am I?"
"You're inside of Castle Cornelia," said the silver haired girl, "I'm Princess Fran, these are my sisters, Luca and Rinoa." ...Wait, Princesses? Cornelia... Wasn't I supposed to save a princess?
"It is a pleasure to see that you're finally awake mister...," said the princess with the golden hair, the one I assumed to be Luca.
"Ikari," I responded, gathering my wits about me, "Ikari Light."
"Ikari Light, eh? Interesting name for an interesting person, right Luca," said Princess Rinoa, the princess with brown hair.
"He does give off an air of mystery, sort of like Alvis does..." The trio of princesses began to bombard me with questions about myself. I answered as best I could before Princess Fran seemed to remember something.
"Ah, I need to tell father that he's finally awake! I'll be right back." With that, the princess left me with Luca and Rinoa. ...Why did I suddenly get the feeling my stay here would be short lived?
Chapter Four Preview:
"Well isn't this interesting?"
"This is a first for me too, ya know..."
"Cherubim? Why can I see you here!"
"And I thought I had met the densest person... He takes the cake."
"Explain what you mean by many possibilities. I don't think fate works that way..."
"Y'Ar! It's Plunderin' Time!"
A/N: And there's the first of the three chapters for this story. It probably left a few questions, but most of those won't be answered for some time. This chapter was actually about the length I wanted it to be, a plus for me.
On the note of Alvis' Ninjutsu: Remember Edge from Final Fantasy IV? He's the base for the Ninjutsu Alvis uses. Ninjutsu can do things regular Black and White Magic can't, such as passing through Reflect, Barrier or Wall and defy the conventional tiers of spells(first tier, -(a)ra, -(a)ga, -(a)ja, -(a)za) to an extent, though said defiance often costs more than a spell of the the same tier(i.e. Alvis' Ikazuchi, the combination of seven Blitz and one Gale he used in this chapter, would cost approximately 40 MP going by FFI's standards, while Thundaga would cost 30-35 MP by the same standards.). Obviously there will be stronger Ninjutsu than Flame, Flood, Blitz, Icicle, Terre and Gale in the future, but none of those will appear until after the Cavern of Earth.
Ezra's Dances also made their debut this chapter. Ezra's dance style is based off of the Samba and Fire Dance styles of dance, but she doesn't use music to dance in battle, rather she reads the pace of the battle and moves accordingly. Frost Tempo is an exception as she forces an opponent to follow her own rhythm rather than flow with them. Not all of her dances are simply for attacking, many are for support as well. Her known dances, at this point, are: Rondo of Flame, Shocking Samba, Frost Tempo, Tempting Tango, Haken Danse and Revitalizing March. Those who've played FFV should recognize Tempting Tango as one of the dances the Dancer Class in FFV uses. It and others will be worked into Ezra's dances, so expect to see a few familiar dances if you've played FFV.
Sabrina's magic also appeared properly in this chapter. She is moderately skilled with her magic, enough to skip incantations, at the cost of power, and fire her spells from her gun. Her spells at this point are: Fire, Thunder, Blizzard, Water, Darkness* and Ruin. Her spells follow KH Logic in a sense. If she casts a spell repeatedly, she'll be able to pull of a "Combo Finisher" version of the spell for boosted damage, like she did when she used Ruination on Garland. Additionally, she, along with and competent Black Mage, can combine the power of Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Water and Darkness into one thing called an Elemental Rhapsody, which is simply a compressed version of all of the spells mixed together.
*The skill that appeared in FFIV as Cecil's Skill. Not the DS remake version of the skill, though.
Thanks for reading this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. Now, to work on the next two...
-Haos/Azure
