Kai and the Divine Medallion
Chapter 21: The Leader Revealed
Puppet Master launched the wave of soldiers straight for Kai and Tsubasa. Kai then activated the second Avian stage and grew the pure-white wings. He and Tsubasa then began to fight off the enemies. Kai sliced his enemies upwards to slice away a group of enemies. After slicing away several groups, the enemies surrounded him. Kai then performed a spin slash to blow them all away.
Tsubasa blew away enemies with his magic power. He then spun around, creating a twister of fire that charred enemies into ashes. The more that Kai and Tsubasa destroyed, however, the more that Puppet Master created.
"We have to focus all of our attacks on the main guy," Kai said.
"Right," Tsubasa agreed. "I'll give you covering attacks."
Kai then charged straight for Puppet Master. Tsubasa blew away any enemies that charged at Kai. When Kai reached the Puppet Master, he quickly slashed before his target could react. When he attacked, the soldiers shook a bit.
"Attacking the puppeteer weakens the puppets," Tsubasa thought. "Nice."
Puppet Master got to his feet, but Kai was right on his tail.
"Damn it!" Puppet Master thought. "I can't block his attacks while focusing on my puppets! I'll have to release the spell."
The Puppet Master released the spell just in time to block Kai's next attack with his staff. He then saw that Tsubasa was charging right for him.
"Did you forget that there are two of us?!" Tsubasa shouted. "Dragon Wave!!!"
Tsubasa began to spin around as he flew like a missile towards Puppet Master. A wave of heat surrounded him. He was now a flaming projectile heading straight for Puppet Master. He hit and blew Puppet Master away.
"That's what I call teamwork!" Kai exclaimed.
Puppet Master got to his feet and grinned. He then began to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Kai asked.
"Did you fools really think that I was using my full power?" Puppet Master asked. "I was merely testing you."
"What do you…" Tsubasa asked.
Before he could finish, he felt something shoot straight through his stomach like a spear. He coughed up blood and managed to look down. One of the strings of energy had pierced right through him.
"What?!" Kai exclaimed.
"Did you think that my strings were only for controlling things?" Puppet Master asked. "They can be used for weapons that can pierce through anything. Now let's play a game of tag!"
The Puppet Master continued to launch strings of energy towards Kai and Tsubasa. Dodging attacks was the only thing they could do at this point.
"That's right," Puppet Master gloated. "Dance, my puppets! Dance!"
Kai knew that dodging was getting them nowhere. So he withdrew his sword and stood still.
"You idiot!" Tsubasa shouted. "You're gonna get killed!"
Puppet Master combined his strings into one and shot it straight towards Kai. When the strings stopped, only a little blood splattered. Kai had grabbed the string with his left hand, which was now covered in blood.
"That thing is sharper than a sword!" Puppet Master exclaimed. "How did you catch that in your hand?!"
Kai then focused his magical energy into his left hand. He launched a Din's Fire straight across the string.
"Damn it!" Puppet Master shouted. "I can't release the spell while he's holding it!"
Puppet Master was engulfed in the flames. Kai kept a hold on the strings.
"Now, Tsubasa!" Kai shouted.
"Gotcha," Tsubasa understood.
Tsubasa then charged his energy.
"DRAGON SOUL!!!" Tsubasa shouted as he charged straight towards Puppet Master.
His energy surrounded him in the shape of a dragon. The dragon's mouth surrounded the Puppet Master. The mouth then closed and the dragon exploded.
When the explosion faded, Puppet Master was on his knees. His power had been drained. Kai and Tsubasa walked up to him.
"Is your hand alright?" Tsubasa asked.
"I'll be fine," Kai said.
Kai had already begun to cast a Cure spell on his left hand. The wound was slowly healing.
"Do you think you've won?" Puppet Master weakly said.
"Seeing how you're on your knees and you're in pain…" Kai began.
"This battle was merely a test," Puppet Master said. "I have to say, you're not what I expected."
"What are you talking about?!" Kai shouted. "You're knocking on death's door and you're telling me that I'm weak?!"
"I don't see what Master Sephiroth sees in you," Puppet Master said. "But it doesn't matter. My mission is done."
"Who's Sephiroth?!" Kai shouted.
Puppet Master took his staff and knocked Kai away. He then shoved the staff straight through his own heart and killed himself.
"What the?!" Tsubasa shouted. "The idiot killed himself?!"
Kai didn't say anything. The bars in front of the exit disappeared. Hazel and the rest of the group rushed into the room.
"Kai, we're here to…" Toad began.
He then saw the dead body.
"Nevermind," Toad said.
"You took his staff and killed him with it," Erika asked. "Crude, but effective."
"We didn't do it," Tsubasa said. "He killed himself."
"He first said something about a guy named Sephiroth," Kai said. "That's all we got out of him."
Toad had a look of total despair on his face. His whole body was trembling like crazy.
"Impossible," Toad said fearfully. "He's dead."
Everyone looked at him.
"Toad, what are you talking about?" Hazel asked.
"I'll…I'll explain on the ship," Toad said. "I…I can't say anything right now."
Serena examined the body. She found the Divine Shard, but she felt something strange about it.
"What's wrong?" Zero asked.
"There's something different about this piece," Serena said.
She handed it to Zero, who immediately examined it. He then examined the real medallion shards that they had.
"It's fake," Zero said. "The energy signal is nearly the same, but the shard is definitely fake. Someone definitely copied the real shard and lured us here with it."
"So we went on a wild goose chase?!" Serena shouted. "That sucks!"
"Well, we can do nothing for now," Hazel said. "Let's all head back to the ship."
The seven of them then left the room. Meanwhile, the three dark ones were watching them from their lair.
"It seems that the secrets are out," one of them said. "Master Sephiroth, they know who you are."
Suddenly, the man from Kai's nightmare came out of the shadows.
"Perfect," he said. "It's just as I planned."
Later that evening, they were all on the ship, discussing what had happened at the mansion.
"So our client was really dead?" Kai asked. "No way!"
"Yeah," Hazel said. "Serena's the one who found out."
"My guess is that Puppet Master came in and killed everyone before we even got here," Erika said. "Then he used their souls to create soul puppets. He then made up that story that dragged us here, using the dead girl as a pawn."
"That's it in a nutshell," Zero said. "Now one mystery remains unsolved: Who is Sephiroth?"
They all looked towards Toad.
"Do you mind telling us?" Hazel asked.
"No," Toad said. "I'm ready. I was hoping that he was truly dead, but I've been fearing this ever since Kai mentioned his nightmare."
"Just tell us who Sephiroth is," Zero said.
"Fine," Toad said. "It all happened ten years ago. I was a little mushroom at the time, but I knew what was going on…"
A flashback began. The skies were blackened by storm clouds.
"Sephiroth is a dark swordsman who appeared out of nowhere," Toad narrated. "He massacred person after person. It didn't matter who it was: man, woman, or child. He just killed anyone. He was a bloodthirsty murderer.
"One day, a group of heroes was formed to stop him. This team was formed from the greatest warriors of the time. The team consisted of Mario, who's magical might was stronger than anyone's; Luigi, who had sword skills like no other; Sonic, who was a speed demon; a mysterious swordsman named Cloud; and their leader, a younger Toadsworth."
"Toadsworth was seriously a strong warrior?!" Kai exclaimed. "I just thought he was a normal old guy."
"He was the strongest warrior in his time," Toad said. "Well, as I was saying…"
The flashback continued.
"The five warriors came face-to-face with Sephiroth," Toad continued. "No matter what they threw at him, however, Sephiroth fought them off with the skill of a god. Only Toadsworth and the mysterious Cloud really stood a chance.
"Toadsworth mastered a technique known as the Multi-Strength."
In the flashback, it showed the younger Toadsworth focusing his power. Suddenly, a golden energy surrounded him.
"He didn't wield a weapon," Toad said. "He didn't need one. His fists were the only weapons he needed."
Toadsworth began punching and kicking towards Sephiroth. Sephiroth blocked the attacks as well as he could. Cloud appeared behind him and attacked.
"Cloud was an expert swordsman," Toad continued. "His skills were probably as good, if not better, than yours, Kai. Together, the five warriors managed to defeat Sephiroth."
The flashback now showed Sephiroth on his knees with the five warriors surrounding him.
"Toadsworth finished with a powerful attack," Toad said. "He believed that the move finished him."
Toadsworth then charged all of his golden power into his right palm. He then launched a beam of golden energy that engulfed Sephiroth.
"Using all of the energy that remained in his body, he seemingly destroyed Sephiroth," Toad said. "He lost his powers, but his team was victorious."
"Whoa," Kai said.
The flashback had ended.
"I've been told that story more times than I can remember," Toad said. "I remember that time because I always worried about him when he was gone."
"I remember now," Hazel said. "Ten years ago, my brother made sure that my sisters and I were all inside the house at all times. I wondered why."
"Yeah," Zero said. "Master Neo made sure I did no outdoor training at that time as well. I guess he didn't feel that even our hidden village was safe."
"I truly believed he was dead," Toad said. "Now that we know he's alive, I'm afraid we're screwed."
"Why?" Kai asked. "He can't possibly be that strong, can he?"
"Kai, let me put it this way," Toad said. "With Toadsworth at his full strength, he could blow away the Lord of Darkness like he was nothing. The same thing goes with Ganondorf! Imagine those two bad-guys, the ones we could barely beat, only combined an multiplied by the hundreds. That's how strong Sephiroth is."
"What?!" everyone exclaimed.
"Why do you think everyone feared Sephiroth?" Toad asked. "He could slay armies with a single swing of his sword! Nobody stood in his way. It was said that his power was only dwarfed by the King of all Evil and the great God. It took a sacrifice of all of Toadsworth's just to get rid of him temporarily! This won't be a walk in the park!"
Everyone else felt a pulse of total fear in the air.
"Do you see why we can't take risks with this guy?" Toad asked.
"I can't believe it," Kai thought. "Someone that strong actually exists?"
"Hold on," Tsubasa said. "If this Sephiroth guy truly is that strong, then how come he hasn't attacked already? Why is he waiting and sending his goons after us?"
"Who knows," Toad said. "But one thing's for sure. If he's targeting us…"
"Then he's after the Divine Medallion," Hazel said. "He must want its power for himself."
"Then we know what to do," Kai said. "Stopping that guy is our only chance. We have to make sure he doesn't get his hands on the rest of the shards. If that means we have to fight him ourselves, then so be it."
Kai held out his hand in the center of the group.
"Is everyone with me?" Kai asked.
"If you have a death wish, so do I," Zero said.
He put his hand on top of Kai's.
"I'll follow you to the end," Hazel said.
Her hand was the next one in.
"You guys are crazy bastards," Serena said. "Why not? It's not like I have anything better to do."
Her hand was after Hazel's.
"Kai, I've followed you to hell and back," Toad said. "I'm in."
Toad put his hand on top.
"You guys in?" Kai asked.
"We'll pass," Erika said. "We'll work on the sidelines, but you five are the true heroes. We'll be here, though, if you need us."
"Yeah," Tsubasa said. "Just make sure that you kill this Sephiroth guy. If you don't, I'll take him myself."
"Then it's settled," Kai said. "Sephiroth, I hope you're ready. The dream-team is after you!"
They all rose their hands in the air. The ship sailed into the sunset as renewed hope filled the air.