The unthinkable Chapter 10: Gabrielle, a code lyoko fanfic

Like I said before, I am not an obsessed fan boy anymore. Therefore, Luna has been replaced with a more normal female. Hence, Gabrielle.

Disclaimer: I don't own code Lyoko or Final Fantasy OR Fire Emblem, and I'm not in the mood to make this crazy.

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Out of all of his games, one of his favorites was the PSP game Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. One might even call it an obsession, but Jason scoffed at this, calling it "a considerable interest."

Jason had hooked up the PSP to his big screen TV in the living room. He was sitting on his couch playing it, and Aelita was sitting next to him, watching in excitement. This was Jason's favorite cutscene.

CRISISSCORECRISISSCORECRISISSCORECRISISSCORECRISISSCORECRISISSCORECRISISSCORECRS

Jason manipulated Zack Fair through Mako Reactor 5, happy to be helping Sephiroth on his investigation. Surprising Jason and Aelita however, a black and white turtle-looking thing with a trident dropped to the walkway, intent on killing Zack.

"What is that?" Aelita cried.

"It's a Sahagin. They appear in this game a lot," Jason explained. Jason dispatched it instantly with one quick casting of his "Hell Firaga" Materia. Three red orbs of pure flame emanated from Zack's palm, homing on the Sahagin and destroying it. As it died, Jason motioned for Aelita to stay quiet, for a cutscene was happening.

::Zack knelt down to inspect the creature, gasping as he saw a familiar face etched into the skin right above its eyes.

"Is that Angeal's face?!" he cried, drawing back. Sephiroth, however, did not seem surprised.

"It appears Genesis isn't the only one who can be copied," he mused, walking past the crouching Zack.

Zack looked up at Sephiroth at this statement, his eyes following the dark figure as it walked past him.

Sephiroth paused, his back facing Zack.

"The company training room," Sephiroth said suddenly, not turning around.

"Hm?" Zack said, looking confused at this statement.

"We used to sneak in there for fun, when the 2nds were out," Sephiroth explained with a hint of a smile on his face. "Genesis, Angeal, and I."

"You guys were pretty tight," Zack commented, still marveling that Sephiroth had any real friends.

"Humph, I wonder," Sephiroth said, and then began to tell Zack about one such incident.

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Sephiroth stood on the top of the Junon Mako Cannon, gazing at the beautiful sunset as it slowly sank beneath the waves. Behind him were his two best friends, Genesis and Angeal. Angeal stood against a wall with his arms crossed, while Genesis read aloud from his favorite book.

"Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess. We seek it thus, and take to the sky. Ripples form on the water's surface. The wandering soul knows no rest," Genesis quoted. Angeal lifted his head slightly, recognizing the quote. Sephiroth smiled wryly and turned to face Genesis, drawing his sword.

"'LOVELESS' Act I," Sephiroth clarified. Genesis looked up at this and smirked slightly, closing the book.

"Hmph. You remembered," he said, rising from his seat.

"How can I not, when you've beaten it into my head?" Sephiroth joked, tapping his temple for emphasis. Then he swung his sword down to his side, signaling that it was time for their training. Because Sephiroth was the strongest of the three, it was always Angeal and Genesis versus him. Angeal walked up next to Genesis, lifting a standard issue SOLDIER sword, still refusing to use the Buster Sword. Genesis drew his blade made out of ruby red Materia.

"Don't take Sephiroth lightly," Angeal warned.

"Hmph, noted," Genesis commented, confident as ever. The two friends charged forward at the same time. But because Angeal was faster, he arrived at Sephiroth first. Sephiroth blocked Angeal's overhead strike with a vertical guard, and then used his superior strength to repulse him, knocking him back for a second.

A split second after this move, Genesis arrived and unleashed two quick strikes, each of which were blocked. Then Sephiroth turned and blocked four successive strikes from Angeal's blade. Then he retaliated with a diagonal strike to the left. Angeal ducked beneath the cut and attacked with an uppercut. Sephiroth smirked and sidestepped the blow.

Genesis decided to come back in and struck. Sephiroth whirled and blocked that strike and then whirled again to block Angeal's next attack. This action was repeated again, Sephiroth confounding both of his friends with his lightning fast parries.

There was a pause as Angeal and Genesis attempted to coordinate their next attack. Simultaneously, the two lunged at the same time, on from each side of Sephiroth. The black clad SOLDIER blocked both lunges with one parry, all three blades meeting at once. Then he threw them away, much to their frustration.

The three continued to fight. A cloud moved over the sun, casting a dark shadow over the three.

Genesis attempted to beat down Sephiroth's defenses with three quick but powerful strikes. Even as he blocked, Sephiroth noticed Angeal charging towards him from behind Genesis, obviously attempting to leap over Genesis and strike. Sephiroth swiftly jumped backwards, avoided the expected lunge. Genesis also stepped backwards. Then Genesis leaped into the air, spinning around until he was nothing but a crimson tornado head right for Sephiroth.

With his trained eyesight, Sephiroth calculated exactly where Genesis's blade would be when he struck. Acting on this, he swung horizontally, meeting Genesis's blade and knocking him away.

Angeal rushed forwards, determined not to let Genesis have all the action. He struck twice with his SOLDIER blade, and then engaged in a sword block with Sephiroth.

"Ha, is that the best you can do?" Sephiroth taunted before disengaging his blade. Angeal stepped backwards until he joined Genesis again.

"All hail Sephiroth, eh?" Angeal joked, a grin on his face.

Genesis decided he wanted to test his skills to the max.

"Angeal, stay back. I'll take Sephiroth alone," he ordered.

Genesis?!" Angeal said incredulously.

Genesis ran his fingers along his Materia blade, causing the crystal to light up until his sword was nothing but a red beam of light.

"The world needs a new hero!" Genesis cried.

"Hmph, come and try," Sephiroth taunted.

"So smug, but for how long?" Genesis said calmly before charging forward. He attacked with a swift over head chop, which Sephiroth blocked with a horizontal guard. Genesis ducked under Sephiroth's retaliating strike and then sliced at him again. Before Sephiroth could attack again, Genesis whirled around and struck with all of his might against Sephiroth. But Sephiroth did block, sparks flying from the impact. The two of them looked at each other and chuckled slightly before disengaging.

Then Genesis charged forward once more, slicing left, and then right, and then attacking Sephiroth with many slashes, attempting to keep Sephiroth on the defensive. It worked until Sephiroth surprised Genesis by blocking with a horizontal guard and then slashing upwards. The impact sent Genesis flying into the air. Genesis used his knowledge of Materia to slow his descent. Sephiroth did not wait for him and used Materia to enhance his jumping capabilities. He leaped after Genesis, and the two dueled across the skies, practically flying due to their ability with Materia.

With one strong swipe, Sephiroth forced Genesis further to the ground. Genesis again resorted to Materia, but this time it was for attacking. Small fireballs streamed from Genesis's hands and flew towards Sephiroth. The black-clad SOLDIER was not daunted however. With amazing reflexes, he slashed up all of the fireballs he could. Many missed however, and flew behind him. Genesis grinned and pulled his hand back, controlling the missed fireballs and sending them back towards Sephiroth. Since there were so many, Sephiroth could only block two or three before they all engulfed him in a raging ball of fire.

Angeal, who was watching from the ground, saw that things were quickly getting out of hand. So he used his Materia to fly up besides Genesis and stop him from blasting Sephiroth again.

"Stop! You'll destroy us all!" Angeal commanded, staying Genesis's hand. Genesis knocked Angeal's hand away and hit him with the blast intended for Sephiroth.

"That's no way to talk to a hero!" Genesis yelled in response as Angeal fell to the cannon, smoking from the hit.

Unleashing a blast of blue energy from his sword, Sephiroth emerged from the fireball almost unscathed. Genesis winced as he saw the wave of blue energy slice half of the cannon off and let it fall into the sea. He then blocked two more of these waves and Sephiroth attacked. Genesis flew to the ground again, dodging another wave. The wave sliced another piece of the cannon off. As the piece slowly sank, Sephiroth landed on it and grinned as he sank out of sight.

Thinking that he had won, Genesis took a step back. But he didn't expect the flurry of super fast strikes cutting through the bottom of the cannon and Sephiroth jumping towards him. Mad now, Sephiroth attacked again and again, slicing bits of the cannon off as he went. Genesis was panting hard, and he knew he was outmatched.

Genesis attacked three times with his sword and then engaged in a sword block.

"Estuans interius,"

Sephiroth disengaged the lock with a powerful horizontal strike, sending Genesis flying backwards from the impact.

"Ira Vehementi, Estuans interius, Ira Vehementi,"

Genesis renewed the spell on his sword and then clashed with Sephiroth with a mighty forward chop.

"Sephiroth!"

The clash soon turned into a massive sword block, sparks flying. The two disengaged and charged at each other once more.

"Enough!" Angeal shouted coming out of nowhere. With his SOLDIER blade, he blocked Genesis's strike and with the handle of the Buster Sword on his back, he blocked Sephiroth.

"Angeal," Sephiroth muttered, annoyed at having his fight interrupted. Genesis was far more vocal about it.

"OUT OF MY WAY!" he screamed, pushing his sword against Angeal's with all of his might. He used so much strength, that his sword cut straight through Angeal's. The broken half of the blade flew backwards and left a gash on Genesis's left shoulder. He yelled in pain, blood trickling down his trenchcoat.

"Genesis!" Angeal cried, concerned.::

Jason heard a sound of a vehicle outside his house and jumped up.

"Oh crap, that's my bus!" Jason yelled, turning off his PSP.

"What about your game?! You didn't save!" Aelita called after him as he prepared to leave the house.

"I'll watch it again! It was an awesome cutscene anyway!" Jason replied, walking out the door. He hoped Aelita would be okay by herself.

"Yeah, it was," Aelita agreed, although only she was in the house now.

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Aelita sighed as he left. Jason was nice, but she wanted to be home with her friends. She wondered how they were doing. She knew that they would be sad, but they had lived without her for most of her life. But, she recalled, Odd had told her that Jeremy was in love with her. He had to explain it to her until she understood. That meant that he would be taking it very hard.

She felt sorry that he had to feel that way, but she hadn't the faintest idea how to be in love, and her feelings toward Jeremy were nothing like the ones Odd said you were supposed to have if you were in love.

Aelita looked at the clock on the wall in the living room. It was ten in the morning, four hours from when she woke up. She yawned, wanting more sleep.

So Aelita went to Jason's room (where she slept) and took off her clothes. Aelita reached inside Jason's dresser and pulled out her nightgown that Jason had bought for her. Donning it, Aelita got in the bed and closed her eyes.

All too soon, Aelita woke up. Yawning, she looked at the clock. Huh!? It was only 11:00? What on Earth had made her wake up so soon?!

Then something caught her eye. Perched on the windowsill was one of the biggest birds she had ever seen. According to its size and ebony color, it was a raven. It was just staring at her like she had done something wrong.

"Hello, Raven," Aelita said, annoyed that it had woken her up. The raven cocked its head at her. Then it lifted from its perch and flew out the window. However, instead of leaving like Aelita expected, it just hovered there, as if waiting for something. The raven stared right at her.

She wondered whether or not the raven was intelligent. Was it smart enough to enlist help from humans? If that's what it was after, then the raven was doing a good job. Deciding to humor it because she had nothing else to do, Aelita quickly got dressed in a nice pink suit Jason had provided and raced outside. The raven called and flew off; just slow enough for Aelita to keep up.

It flew into the forest, with Aelita still trailing behind. The raven led her to an enormous flowing creek and stared at it pointedly. Aelita looked, but saw only the creek. Then Aelita noticed a girl a few years older than her floundering about in it. She looked like she was in serious trouble.

Without looking for confirmation from the raven, Aelita dived into the creek, realizing the urgency of the girl's situation.

Aelita was immediately immersed into a brown, frothy melee. The creek had obviously swelled almost to its overflowing point due to the rains. The girl Aelita was supposed to be saving was on the verge of drowning, for she had just dipped below the surface. A bolt of adrenaline tore through Aelita, and she dived underwater as well. Spotting her, Aelita quickly swam to her. Then she locked an arm around her waist and kicked wildly towards the surface.

She made it, barely, but the weight of the girl she was carrying took its toll on her. Aelita began to struggle simply to stay above the surface.

To her surprise, the raven on the bank of the river began to transform, shrinking in upon itself and then reforming into an extremely tall man looking thing completely hooded and cloaked. It was a frightening sight.

Picking up a long, sturdy stick, the man reached out to Aelita. Grateful, she grasped it and let the man pull her in. Aelita climbed up onto the bank with her burden. Before she had a chance to thank the man, he seemed to melt into the ground, leaving no trace of his passage. Aelita was somewhat freaked out by this, because the man was obviously not human.

Aelita turned to look at the girl, who was rising from her position on the ground.

"Thanks," the girl said, letting Aelita lead her back toward the house.

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"Ciao, Jason!" shouted one of his friends as he stepped off the bus. Jason waved at his friends and started home.

As he entered the house, he was greeted by a cool breeze from the inside. At the same time, a pillow fell off the couch by itself.

"Hello Vincent," Jason said, greeting the friendly ghost. Then he heard voices coming from upstairs. One was Aelita's, because Jason had memorized her voice. There was another voice that he didn't recognize. Did Aelita wander out and make some new friends already? He wasn't sure he liked the idea of her walking outside alone.

Just so Jason could try and figure out who the other was, he walked upstairs silently and put his ear to his door.

"So, Gabrielle, tell me about you," Aelita said to the other one in the room.

"Well, I lived in your world as well. I went to a school called Junior Beta High. I had all A's because I studied all the time. I had my heart set on graduating and going to a good college, but life didn't turn out that way," answered a female voice who was obviously Gabrielle.

"How did you get here?" Aelita inquired.

"It was right after I arrived at school. My guide had befriended a girl named Rebecca, who had some power to see the future. At least, that's what everyone else says. He had joined their band as an electric pianist, and I became his friend. Right after I met him, I was confronted in my room by a terrifying monstrosity. It was like a skeleton, only its bones were black and covered in white fire," Gabrielle continued. Jason was confused. Since when was there a black skeleton in Code Lyoko? Was it some new invention of Xana's? Jason sighed. Apparently things in the Code Lyoko World were a lot different than in the show.

"YOU SAW XANA!" Aelita gasped.

"Who?" Gabrielle asked, plainly confused. Jason then decided that he wanted to step in. So he knocked on the door lightly.

"Hey, Aelita? Can I come in?" Jason asked politely.

"Of course! It's your room," Aelita replied amicably. Jason opened to door to see the two girls sitting on his bed.

"I didn't notice you get home, Jason," Aelita said, surprised. Jason nodded to her and then turned to Gabrielle.

"I'm afraid we haven't been introduced. My name is Jason," he said to her, trying to start off this new relationship with Gabrielle well.

Gabrielle was cute, with dark brown hair down to the middle of her back. Her skin was slightly tanned, which suggested that she spent a lot of time in the sun. Her face was roundish, with two almond shaped brown eyes. She smiled, revealing milk white teeth. Her smile was gorgeous. Jason liked her immediately.

"I'm Gabrielle Borealis. Nice to meet you, Jason," Gabrielle said, holding out her hand. He smiled back and shook it. Her skin was soft and pleasantly cool.

"Likewise," he replied. "What happened next?"

"It was really weird! I tried to fight, but it overpowered me and then squeezed me." Gabrielle continued.

"Squeezed you?" Jason asked, confused.

"I don't know either. It put both of its bony hands on either side of me and squeezed. My vision sort of contracted, and then I felt myself hurtling very fast through a tunnel of darkness," she explained.

"Wow, how poetic," Jason joked, referring to the whole "tunnel of darkness" thing.

"Shut up," Gabrielle replied, smacking him playfully. "Then there was a loud sound, somewhat like thunder, and there was a lot of steam. Then I appeared above a river and fell in. Then Aelita rescued me."

"That's exactly how Aelita got here! There was a sonic boom in the middle of forest and she appeared," Jason exclaimed.

"A sonic boom? That doesn't make sense," Gabrielle contended.

"I know. I don't get it either. I've been in Physics for about half a year now, and I know that it's just not physically possible for a sonic boom to occur in the middle of a forest!" Jason disclosed.

"Maybe we should ask someone who specializes in physical phenomena," Aelita rejoined.

"Like who? The only one I know who could help would be my dad, and he's in China," Jason countered.

"Check the internet," Gabrielle suggested.

"Good idea. I'll do that," Jason said, booting up his computer.

"Do you have any food?" Gabrielle implored, her stomach growling loudly. Aelita and Jason heard it and laughed.

"Well, there are tortilla chips in the pantry…" Jason started, but he was cut off.

"TORTILLA CHIPS!" Gabrielle exclaimed, running out the door and down the stairs. Silence filled the room for a few seconds as Aelita and Jason looked at one another.

"I think she likes tortilla chips," Aelita commented.

"No kidding," Jason added, and the two laughed.

A few minutes later, Gabrielle returned with a large bowl filled with tortilla chips. Jason gaped as he looked at the sheer amount that was in there.

"That's like half the bag! You're sharing!" Jason cried, reaching for some. Gabrielle hissed at him like a cat and pretended to claw his arm.

"Mine!" she affirmed.

"Tough," Jason replied, smiling. "I like them too."

"Um, shouldn't you be focusing on finding an expert on physical phenomena?" Aelita interrupted.

"Oh yeah, just got distracted, that's all," Jason said, turning back to the computer screen. Gabrielle whistled innocently. Jason and Aelita chuckled at this.

As he searched the internet, he thought about Gabrielle. She was fun and carefree, able to respond to jokes well, and pretty. She would be a good addition to Aelita and him.

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An hour passed, with little to no luck finding anyone worthwhile. Gabrielle and Aelita spent the down time playing a game of checkers that Jason had pulled out of the closet.

"Geez! How are you so good at this?!" Gabrielle cried as Aelita took out yet another of her hard earned kings.

"I played a lot with my friend Jeremy back in my world. I always beat him though," Aelita explained, smugly placing the king atop her growing stack of Gabrielle's checkers.

"Aha!" Gabrielle exclaimed. "I found a double jump! Take that!" A pause followed this as Aelita surveyed the board. Then she took her king and quadruple jumped the rest of Gabrielle's pieces.

"WHAT?!" she yelled.

"I planned that," was Aelita's only response. Gabrielle was about to say something else, when Jason cried out.

"I think I found something!" he yelled, catching their attention. The two girls rose quickly and looked at his screen.

"Dr. Rathal Tang, expert on enigmas of any kind. If I can't solve them, then your money back," Jason read off of the flashing advertisement.

"That sounds like a good place to start," Gabrielle decided. "Give him a call."

Jason took out his iPhone and dialed the number on the screen. He hoped it wasn't some idiot trying to make a living by cheating others.

"Hello, hello? This is Dr. Rathal Taaaang! No one is better at solving enigmas than me! Except for those that are….but never mind them. Can I help you?" was the greeting from the other end. Jason bit his lip hard to stop himself from laughing. This guy's voice and manner were ridiculous!

"My name is Jason Suess and I…" Jason started, only to be cut off.

"Suess? Son of the programmer Jonathan? Ah, yes! This is good, good! It is very nice to be meeting you! Hm? Oh go on," Rathal interrupted.

"Do you know anything about teleportation?" Jason asked. He knew he sounded crazy, but then again, so did Rathal.

"Teleportation? Oh! I simply must come see you in person! Metral Forest is it? I'm on my way," Rathal answered enthusiastically, hanging up. Jason, at a loss for words, turned back to the girls to see them giggling hard. The phone was on speaker phone, so they could hear it as well.

"It looks like we're going to get a visitor," Jason stammered, wondering what he got himself into.

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It wasn't long before the doorbell to the house rang loudly. Jason got up from his bed and headed to the door. Behind him were Gabrielle and Aelita.

He opened the door to see a short, stout man of about 25 wearing a long white lab coat and horn rimmed glasses. His brown hair was spiked up in such a way that to Jason, it made him look like one of those researchers in Crisis Core.

"Hello, Jason! May I step in?" Rathal asked. Jason nodded and let him walk in. Rathal noticed the two girls and bowed slightly.

"Now, on to business. What is this about teleportation?" he implored, wiping his glasses on his shirt.

"Is it possible for an individual to be transported from one realm to another?" Jason demanded.

"Hmm, now I can't help you if you keep skirting the issue. I need to know what realm, what individual, and the style of transportation!" Rathal declared.

"Oh, well, I don't want to sound crazy," Jason admitted.

"I'm crazy! You don't have to worry about a thing!" Rathal assured him. Jason chuckled at this, for the scientist had stated the obvious.

"Okay, well, my favorite TV show has, for some reason, started teleporting its characters into this world," Jason reported.

"Aha! Now that's not so unusual! We scientists have known about such a phenomenon for many years now, when the creature Terraform—" Rathal started.

"Terraform?" Jason interrupted. When the three others in the room stared at him, he quailed.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"Anyway, the creature Terraform was teleported from the video game Fire emblem. However, when he came to us, he was minus a physical body. He was invisible, so to speak. He could only manifest himself as random lights, breezes, and the moving of everyday objects. Therefore, a typical ghost," Rathal continued to explain. "Since then, many scientists and programmers have been attempting to find a way to transport him back."

"Hang on, where is Terraform now?" Jason interjected, suddenly suspicious.

"That's not important. Who were the ones transported?" Rathal implored.

"Gabrielle and I were," Aelita answered, speaking up for the first time. "We were teleported into the forest."

"Really? Intriguing. Take me there at once!" Rathal demanded.

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On the way to the exact spot in the forest, Rathal constantly ranted about the "nonsensity" as he called it, of spontaneous combustion. Jason had no idea how the insane scientist had settled on the subject. Instead, he and the girls chuckled madly behind the oblivious scientist, wondering how they heck they got stuck with this guy.

The forest was dense and humid as usual, and Rathal changed the subject to protection of the rainforests. Although Jason agreed with the subject, the way Rathal went about expressing his beliefs was simply ridiculous.

Gabrielle reached the spot first, as she had sped up to avoid the constant rant. She was dumbstruck by the sight she saw. She pointed a shaking finger at the spectacle.

"G-guys? L-look!" she stammered, backing away. Jason and Aelita dashed up to her, with Jason standing protectively in front of Gabrielle when he a saw the strange sight.

"Like I said, chopping down the trees is equivalent to placing a common lab rat into a maze and then saying 'hey, let's make it explode!' But my point still—eh?" Rathal stopped dead, as he beheld the scene before him.

There was a small, blue, glowing orb hanging in midair. Binary code scrolled its glossy surface, the numbers projecting on the trees around them. Before Rathal could identify it, the light emanating from the object grew immensely.

"Get down! I think it's going to—"Jason yelled before he was cut off by a colossal explosion reminiscent of thunder. The four were hurled to the ground as the explosion shook the earth around them. Steam erupted from the orb and it shattered, its shards melting even as they flew through the air.

"It's a sonic boom! Something's coming through!" Jason shouted to the others. The shaking soon stopped to reveal…nothing. They couldn't see what came out due to the thick steam. This was soon remedied as Rathal pulled out a small, high powered fan from his lab coat pocket. With it, he cleared the steam around them enough to reveal a small pile of bones.

"Did…did Xana kill someone?" Aelita whispered. Gabrielle shuddered in terror, and Jason simply got angry.

"Stay away from it! It might eat you," Rathal added. Jason smiled slightly. Though the scientist was right, his way of expressing it was comical.

Jason's attention was attracted to the pile of bones as they began to clatter and shake. They rose into the air and connected to one another, forming a skeleton far taller and broader than any normal human skeleton. The skeleton sank to the ground and stared at them, red points of flame appearing in its eye sockets. Next, it raised its arms and abruptly ignited. Silver fire erupted all along the thing's bones, charring them and eventually turning them ebony.

"It's the Black Skull! Xana is here!" Aelita cried, even as Gabrielle shouted about how it was the same creature that she saw. Rathal stepped in front of the teens and drew a metal rod from his lab coat.

"Return is forbidden," the Skull hissed, the very sound of its rasping voice turning their blood to ice. However, Rathal took a step forward.

"I simply cannot let you get in the way of science, you gothic piece of COMPOST! You must get through me to reach the kids," Rathal declared bravely, brandishing the rod. The Skull's response was even more chilling.

"As you wish," it snarled. It strode forward, covering an insane distance in a short amount of time. Jason motioned for Gabrielle and Aelita to flank the creature, while he followed Rathal.

Rathal lashed out with the rod, attempting to catch the Skull off-guard. However, anticipating such a move, the Skull grabbed the rod and held it fast. Jason saw this and grimaced. Rathal should have known that would happen. Rathal grinned and pressed a small button on the side of the rod. Electricity emanated from the rod and coursed through the Skull.

"No, you idiot, one of Xana's chief elements is electricity!" Jason shouted as the silver fire licking up and down the Skull's frame intensified. It retaliated to the poorly executed assault by forming its free hand into a fist and punching forward.

Jason lunged forward and grabbed the punch before it could land. Rathal made use of the distraction by extricating his rod from the Skull and retreating. In one swift move, Jason brought the arm in his hand and smashed it in the elbow with a powerful kick. The forearm came right off in Jason's hand.

"Ha! Take that!" Jason gloated. At the same time, Aelita and Gabrielle leaped onto the Skull's back, kicking at the back of its knees, attempting to unbalance it.

The forearm in Jason's hand suddenly burned him with high intensity, forcing him to drop it. The arm flew straight back to the Skull, where it reattached back into its proper place. Then, the Skull dislodged the girls by flipping backwards. In the same movement, it came out of the flip with a scissor kick, hitting both girls and knocking Aelita into a tree and Gabrielle on the ground.

Jason saw that Aelita was out cold, but Gabrielle wasn't. Blood trickled from her nose as she rose up again, forming her fists into a familiar martial arts form of defense. Jason was surprised by this, but he didn't have much time to think it over. Gabrielle leaped forward and repeatedly kicked the Skull, using the ground, the trees, and other items for leverage so she could do that much more damage. To top off the combo, she ended with a powerful roundhouse kick to its jaw. Jason didn't give it time to recover. He joined the fight with a yell, smashing the Skull's legs with kicks and punches.

If the Skull was hurt, it didn't show it. It tripped Rathal, who was coming in for another assault, and then grabbed him and hit both Jason and Gabrielle with him.

Jason felt the air whoosh out of his lungs as the 140 pound scientist struck him in the side. He flew into a tree, the pain jolting his spine and making him see stars. He attempted to rise again, but his knees gave out and he fell against the tree again. However, to his surprise, Gabrielle staggered back to her feet, blood flowing freely from her nose. Her skin and clothing were scuffed and bruised, and her hair was all messed up. A look of grisly determination was stamped upon her visage.

The Skull seemed to grin, and it advanced towards the half-dead, but brave girl.

"Ga...Gabri…ell...e…" Jason croaked. He stretched his hand towards her, but could only watch as the Skull approached her. As the Skull attacked, Gabrielle lifted her arms in a standard block. However, the punch never got that far.

There was a clang as the oncoming fist was blocked by a long, sharp katana. It was carved in a way that maximized pain and bloodshed, even to the barbs near the end of the blade. It was held by a man hooded and cloaked in a thick, black cloak. None of his skin was visible, and he made no sound save for the eerie, hissing breathing emanating from the hood. For the first time, Jason thought he saw the Skull angry.

"Astaroth!" it hissed, taking a step back. Jason assumed that the man was Astaroth. Gabrielle gasped at this. Jason wondered why. Perhaps she knew Astaroth?

Astaroth twirled his katana expertly, showing everyone in the field just how well he could use it. The Skull formed a large ball of black fire and sent it straight at him. Astaroth held up his katana and blocked the blast. In response, Astaroth charged forward and clashed with the Skull in a battle that Jason would never get to see. This was because Jason had finally succumbed and knew no more.

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Jason came to with a throbbing pain in his head. Standing nearby was Astaroth, his katana still held loosely at his side.

"Are you unhurt?" Astaroth asked. Jason groaned and turned to look at him.

"Who are you?" Jason asked him in a weak voice.

"I am Astaroth. Xana is my enemy. You were in pain. I helped," he answered.

"That's the understatement of the century," Jason commented wryly, sitting up. "So which world are you from?"

"Magvel," Astaroth replied. Jason recognized the name instantly.

Next to him, Aelita and Gabrielle were waking. They went through introductions again, and then Gabrielle interrupted.

"Wait a second!" she said abruptly. "You are Astaroth, the wraith?"

"Huh?" Aelita and Jaosn said together, confused.

"Indeed," Astaroth affirmed. "You have heard of me."

"Not by my choice. I had a friend who loved Fire Emblem and ranted about you being awesome all the time," Gabrielle added.

"I do not need the admirations of a petty schoolboy," Astaroth hissed. Jason winced slightly. If that boy was here, he would have been rejected!

"How did you get here?" Jason inserted.

"Demon King," Astaroth growled.

"Do you know how to get back?" Jason pressed, hoping to get a result. However, his hopes were crushed as Astaroth shook his head.

"No! I am not finished! I will fight to the end! Run before the wrath of MY STICK!" came a crazy sounding voice form nearby.

"Uh oh, I think Rathal is waking up," Aelita commented, giggling slightly.

"Wait, huh? Where am I? How the…uh…hello…" Rathal trailed off as he caught sight of Astaroth. The imposing man turned to face Rathal.

"Silence," Astaroth commanded. Rathal turned pale and gulped slightly. Nearby, the three struggled to contain their laughter.

"We should get going. We do have to study this occurrence," Jason said, walking off with Aelita and Gabrielle. "Thanks for helping, Astaroth,"

"This is not the last you will see of me," Astaroth hissed under his breath, just out of the hearing of the three.

"NO! DON'T LEAVE ME HERE WITH HIM!" Rathal screamed as he ran after the three.

OUTTAKES:

Astaroth's Entrance: Take one.

Terran34: Alright guys! ACTION!

Astaroth put out his katana to block the fist. Unexpectedly, he felt some resistance on his blade. Then he heard the scream.

"F**K! THAT WAS MY THIGH!" Gabrielle hollered. Astaroth took one look at her face and fled the other direction in terror, screaming like a little girl. Gabrielle removed the katana from her thigh and picked it up, taking off in hot pursuit.

"I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU!!"

Terran34: Huh? Guys? GUYS!? CUT! Get your a**es back here!

Astaroth's Entrance: Take two.

Terran34: Let's try this again. ACTION!

"ASTAROTH! I WILL EAT YOUR SOUL!" Hollered the Skull.

"you can't. I have no soul for you to eat!" Astaroth countered.

"THEN I WILL EAT YOUR BRAINS!" The Skull shot back.

"I don't have any...CRAP!" Astaroth started before he realized his mistake.

"MWAHAHAHAHA I GOT YOU!!"

Terran34: CUT! NO NO NO! STICK TO THE SCRIPT!

Astaroth's Entrance Take three:

Terran34: If you guys screw this up, you are FIRED! ACTION!

"Astaroth!" The Skull hissed.

"Astaroth!" Gabrielle whispered. Suddenely, everyone heard Reno's voice from offstage.

"Wow! That is one nice looking a** Gabby!" he yelled.

Terran34: What the...RENO! What the hell are you doing in this fic?! This isn't even your world! Go back to Final Fantasy!

"DON'T EVER CALL ME GABBY!" Gabrielle screamed, runnng offstage to do something horrible to the hapless Reno.