Hey, guys. I wasn't shocked by most of your reviews. I'm not sure if we'll be in Gaia for two more chapters or three, but be assured you won't be able to say anything about Griffin not having screen time. Shout outs:
Shadowdragon1317: Well, we'll see. That's all I'm saying about it. Thanks!
TWI1IGHTMAST3R: He can't hear you, you know that, right? Haha the only people I can speak for are those I own. Thanks!
AngelicWinds: Ha, well both girls have strengths and faults.
Lucenthia: Oh gee, thanks! Haha, thanks! Things are pretty bad in Gaia, but Spira is even worse off. There's no Cloud or Zack in Spira to make a resistance. There's only Tidus, and he's a prisoner of the Council.
Celeron96: Good to be back, ya? Herald, not a word if you caught that! He's supposed to become more detached, yes. That's all that's gonna be explained. Pretty much! Yeah, that's the exact same thing with Jack.
Gohan Roxas: Yep. Why, do you like him?
The Unknowing Herald: Yeah I get what you're saying. How did Yevon hide Vegnagun? You're not rude at all, you're exactly right. At least now he's gonna have a memorable part of the story. Thanks.
13TheAce: Well, the main party's in Gaia, but yes we'll see Spira a little bit this chapter. Marek will get a scene or two, as well.
Alright, well you know what everyone owns…I hope. Enjoy!
Chapter 34: Gaia's Resistance
The cloaked man called Reeve led the five of them through the sewer tunnels. They were completely dry and had flaming torches hanging on the walls every couple dozen feet. "How long has the resistance been fighting?" Pierce asked their guide. Reeve spoke raspily without turning around.
"Four months now. It has not quite been six months since the Purge Massacre took place. Cloud has been doing his best to lead the rebels, but he's lost so many friends by this point that he's ready to give up." Reeve told them.
"What happened?" Terra asked him. He sighed.
"Cloud led the WRO rebels and the freedom fighters alongside all of the heroes of Gaia, Barret, Nanaki, Tifa, Zack, Aerith, Angeal, Genesis, and the rest. We began the war winning every battle. For a while, we kept even Xehanort's elite pushed back to the palace. But the victories did not last long." he began.
"Lorans." Pierce said. Reeve nodded.
"The supreme Councilor led a massive battle against us that crippled our army. In an effort to have what remained of our troops flee to safety, the heroes took him on. Lorans killed Barret and Yuffie immediately. Nanaki after that, followed by Tifa and Angeal. We lost sight of Genesis and Vincent in the fight. Genesis is still MIA, but Vincent returned. Those were our losses that single day." Reeve told them.
"So who's left?" Rayne asked quietly, trying not to choke on her tears. Reeve shook his head as he continued leading them through the tunnels.
"Over the course of the last month, Xehanort's been tracking us. He caught Aerith by baiting her out to help a child. We had to sneak to the top of his palace in the dead of night to cut her body down and bury it. Cid's airship was shot out of the sky last week, and we haven't heard anything since. Yesterday, Braig shot Cloud in the spine." he finished. The group looked up immediately.
"Is he okay?" Ven asked in worry. Reeve stepped aside and gestured them forward. They looked forward and gasped as they walked into the massive cavern before them. Lights were set up all over to illuminate everything within. The five travelers looked around in shock at the lack of people.
There was a set up that could easily have held 500 men, but less than a hundred people were in there. "You'll need to go up to Command. Cloud's waiting for you." Reeve told them, pointing them to a small building built into the rock off to their right.
GAIA CAVERNS, COMMAND CENTER…..
"I can't believe they're all gone." Rayne whispered. They were sitting around a long table that held enough chairs for almost two dozen people. None were filled but the ones the five were sitting in. Shin looked at Terra and smiled slightly.
"It's not too late to help these people." he told her, knowing her thoughts. She sighed.
"I'm not so sure, Shin." she told him. Ven looked around at all the empty chairs. This hit him the hardest because he had known most of the people that should have been sitting in this room. After a few minutes, Reeve walked in and sat down by the other end of the table. A door buzzed open close to where he had sat down, and a wheelchair rolled into the room. Cloud looked out at them as he pushed the chair aside and wheeled up to the table.
"Cloud!" Ven gasped in shock at seeing the man in a wheelchair. The blonde haired man held up his hand to stop him.
"I'll be fine in a couple days. We need to get to the issue at hand. Xehanort is here, so we have to use this opportunity to destroy his foothold here. If we can make him lose ground, and if we can take the palace, the people will rally behind us. The world will be ours again." he began, leaning forward to put his elbows down on the table.
"So where's Braig?" Pierce asked him. Reeve cleared his throat.
"He was at the palace this morning, but he hasn't been seen since. He's off scheming or whatever he does when his master isn't tugging his leash." he told them. No one felt any difference, but obviously Cloud knew something as he leaned back and sighed.
"Vincent, what happened?" he asked, not looking anywhere in particular. The red-cloaked man appeared out of virtually nowhere, stepping out of the shadows with a slightly melancholy stride.
"Cloud, they know where we are. Someone's leading them here. Somehow, they're tracking them." he said, gesturing to the five travelers.
"Who's here?" Pierce asked him, standing up. Vincent looked at him and blinked, not saying a word.
EARLIER….
The boy's screams could be heard echoing through the basement of Xehanort's palace. Braig leaned against the wall casually as he listened to the sounds of agony. "No, no please!" he heard Griffin scream. A second later, he heard a sizzling sound, followed by the loudest scream thus far.
"That guy must know how to make an impression." he muttered, thinking about the guard he left with the boy.
Griffin screamed as the red hot piece of metal pressed against his bare stomach. His shirt had been torn from his back, and he was hanging by his wrists held up by a chain in the ceiling. The guard smirked evilly as he took the metal off of his stomach and put it back onto the fire. He growled happily as he picked up a wooden club with metal studs on all sides of it. Griffin stared at him and swallowed hard. He braced himself just before the club struck his right leg. He screamed as he felt something snap in his leg.
The man then went to swing at the other leg, but gasped as a red arrow suddenly protruded through his chest. Griffin stared at him as the man fell to the ground in surprise. The man stopped moving as he sunk onto his knees. Braig sighed as he walked up and kicked the body onto its side. "Served me well, but no one can hear about this." he told the dead man, before looking over at Griffin. "Now, about that deal….." he said, crossing his arms. Griffin tried to control his moans of agony, and slowly nodded.
"I'm yours." he whispered, his face flexing in pain. Braig smirked and nodded, pulling out a potion.
"You know, under Lorans, these things have become rarer than a Keyblader now. I wonder why he forced these to stop being made. I'm using the only one in my entire stock on you, so you better not disappoint." he told the boy, uncorking the healing draught. Griffin nodded, and Braig gently poured the liquid into his mouth. Griffin swallowed greedily, and instantly felt his wounds begin to mend. Braig cut his chains, and by that time, Griffin could stand again.
"What do you need from me?" Griffin asked him. Braig smiled evilly.
"You're my servant now. I want to know everything about your former friends, and you're gonna help me kill them. Got any problems with that?" Braig said, staring at the boy's eyes to try and find some hesitation. He sighed happily when he did not see one flicker of reluctance in the boy's eyes.
"I am yours to command." he said simply.
AN HOUR LATER…..
Griffin stepped out of his new room in the palace, fully dressed in a completely new outfit. He wore a sleeveless black shirt, gray pants with the Council's insignia, and wore spiked brown boots. "I'm ready." he told his new master. Braig shook his head.
"No, you're not. There's still one more thing." he said, raising his eyebrows. Griffin slowly nodded and closed his eyes. He focused hard, and felt himself leaving his body.
STATION OF AWAKENING…
Griffin floated down through the abyss until his feet touched the glass floor that was the top of the pillar. He calmly summoned his Keyblade and looked around. A figure rose behind him, bearing a close resemblance to him but wearing his original costume. "This isn't what father would have wanted." the phantom Griffin said. Griffin shook his head and raised his Keyblade. (The Threat, Dissidia 012)
"Father is dead. I intend to be on the winning side of this war, and if I have to kill a few of my old friends who stand in my way, so be it." he said simply. The phantom Griffin summoned a Keyblade of his own and held it ready.
"I won't let you do this." he told the real Griffin firmly. Griffin smirked, a newfound evil rising within him.
"Then you'll just have to die, won't you." he said simply. Even the phantom Griffin was shocked by his other's words, but held up his blade anyway.
"Don't do this." he pleaded. Griffin closed his eyes slowly, and when he opened them again, his eyes glowed yellow. At the same time, an aura of darkness appeared around him. Griffin laughed maniacally, his new darkness uncontrollable. He charged for his other and swung his blade hard.
The darkness surrounded his Keyblade and changed it entirely. His blade that was once peaceful looking and resembling the calm wildness of nature, in its place was a blackened thing resembling dying forests and sharp thorns. The phantom Griffin screamed as the black blade cut right through his own and severed him in half. The phantom fell to the ground in two pieces before slowly fading away. Griffin smirked evilly as he held up his new blade and looked at it fondly, his yellow eyes beholding his newfound power. He was completely shocked when white clouds began to gather in front of him and form another ghost. (end The Threat)
This phantom was a tall man with longer spiky red hair than his son had. He was still wearing a black coat, but his normal carefree charisma was completely gone. Griffin stared up at his father, who looked back at him with nothing but regret and disappointment. "There's no coming from this, kid. You won't live long in the darkness. You will enjoy powers you never had before, but they will be short lived. In the Garden, you will meet your demise, and on that day, none will be able to protect you from the rage of the Rikkisons." Lea told his son completely sincerely. Griffin stared back at his father indifferently.
"You're not real. You're just another phantom trying to stand in my way. I'm not my father, and I'm not a hero. I'm sick of sitting on the sidelines, or in the back row. This is my moment, and I will be remembered as one of the Immortals alongside Lorans." he said calmly, turning his back on his father and walking into a dark portal.
Lea sighed. "Well, he'll see the truth when that day comes." he muttered right before fading again.
XEHANORT'S PALACE….
Griffin opened his eyes, and Braig stared at the new yellow in satisfaction. He cleared his throat, and Griffin stretched out his hand and summoned his new Keyblade. The captain smirked and nodded.
"Alright, take me to your friends." he told him. Griffin nodded.
"Just before your men took me, I saw them head into the sewers with this man in a cloak. I'll take you to them." he said. Braig nodded as they began walking down the hallway.
"We kill 'em all except the Rikkisons. Lorans wants them for himself. We spare the child, too. For some reason, the big man wants him, too." he told his new servant. Griffin nodded as they walked outside to where Braig's men were waiting.
BACK TO PRESENT TIME WITH PIERCE'S GROUP…..
"Griffin's leading them here." Vincent told them quietly. Pierce exhaled sharply as his group stood up. They suddenly heard explosions outside the building, and Shin ran over to the window.
"They're here." he said, drawing his sword out of the sheath on his back. Rayne handed Soriah to Terra and summoned her Keyblade. Ven and Pierce both summoned theirs, as well. Pierce stepped toward the door glaring death, but Rayne grabbed his wrist.
"Pierce, don't….." she told him. They looked out the window to see Griffin leading the charge into the chamber. Pierce sighed.
"He has to be stopped before he does any more damage." he told her. She stared at him in a sad way, and he shook his head, turning to the others. "Ven, Shin, and I will hold off Griffin and Braig's men. Rayne, Terra, get Reeve and Cloud to safety. Vincent, I'm not even gonna try to tell you what to do." he told the people in the room. His group nodded, and Vincent drew his gun.
"I'll hold the escape route open for you and stop any from going after them." he said, gesturing to Cloud, Reeve, and the girls, who were heading through the back door, Terra holding Soriah tightly against her chest, who was indifferent to what was going on around him. Pierce sighed and smiled slightly.
"Oh to be a baby in this crisis…." he murmured as he turned to the other two. Ven and Shin smiled, but quickly turned back to the door as a fresh explosion shook the cavern. Ven got behind the door and put his hand on the doorknob, ready. Shin positioned himself on the other side of the door while Pierce stood back and in front of where it would open, holding his blade up ready to block any kind of attack.
"Ready?" Ven asked them. Shin nodded, and Pierce darted forward. Ven slammed open the door right as Pierce reached it, and the black haired teen led the charge out into the battle.
Vincent stood by the door ready to shoot anyone running in. He stopped Cloud as the other man came rolling by, though. He looked down at him. "Cloud, something happened on the patrol…." he began. Cloud nodded.
"I figured when you came back alone. Is he alive?" he asked. Vincent sighed.
"I don't know, but all we know right now is that Zack is MIA." he said emotionlessly.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, LOCKSLEY VILLAGE…..
Marek stepped out of his dark portal, having already visited the castle and Robin's camp, but found no evidence of any of Robin's gang in either place. He walked into the village to find it deserted. Well, not deserted. A frantic Much came running past him, and he put out a hand to stop him with such force that the worried man fell onto his back.
"Much, get up! We've gotta find Robin!" Allan told him as the rest of the gang came running up.
"Marek….?" Djaq asked, as if unsure if that was his name. Marek nodded and helped Much back onto his feet.
"Where's Robin?" he asked them. Will answered.
"Well that's the tricky bit. He's not really himself right now. As soon as we got home, he went crazy and ran away, telling us to stop holding him back." the young man said. Marek sighed and shook his head.
"Because of Marian?" he asked.
"Well, of course!" Much exclaimed, still frantic.
"He's going to try to kill Gisborne." Little John said suddenly. The gang's eyes went wide as they looked at Marek.
"Find the villagers! That's where those two will be!" he told them, summoning a portal.
Well, it was longer than the last one. Another filler, I apologize. Next one will be action packed, though, I promise! Alright, don't forget to review, plenty to comment about! Griffin's transformation, everything in Gaia, and Robin's recklessness!