Chapter Two
Past Grievances
Three days go by. X and Sabin become friends as each begins to explain about their worlds. X tells Sabin about his world of NEO and the continuous battle against the Maverick forces.
"On my world," X started "Sigma was once the leader of the Maverick Hunters... that is until he switched sides and became the leader of the mavericks himself. Ever since then, its been a never-ending fight between the two of us for dominance. His last attack was to destroy all life on the planet using a space bound super weapon on incredible destruction. Luckily, My partner and I, Zero, were able to stop him and scatter his body across the cosmos.
I've never really been afraid of anyone I face... except for Vile..."
While the two were sitting in Sabin's living room, the monk could see X give off a slight shiver at the mention of that name. A small bead of sweat trickled down his face as his robotic eyes glazed over, remember something frightening from the past.
"Who's this Vile guy? Was he another Maverick like Sigma?"
X looked back up into Sabin's face and gave him a cold stare.
"No... Vile was nothing like Sigma... He was much worse... He tormented his prisoners using barbaric weapons, and gave them the cruelest of deaths. Many of the scholars and scientists on my world believe, that even though he was the right-hand man of Sigma's army, he was far much stronger than Sigma was. I was lucky to beat him when I finally did twenty years ago...
He had lured me into an abandoned factory, forcing me to fight him to the end. He had every advantage in the fight, but I got lucky and was able to cause his own attack to backfire on him, critically wounding him. Even as he lay there, body case exposed and "bleeding" fluid, he swore that he wound get revenge on me for humiliating him... Then, with his "death" sealed, a self-destruct sequence was activated in the factory. I had only five minuets to escape from the lower levels of the building before the main power core exploded and demolished the whole place.
Luckily, I made it out with a few seconds to spare... but I still see him in my dreams, taunting me... Mocking me..."
After hearing this, X put down the drink Sabin had made for him and walked over to the window and looked out onto the forest surrounding the small house. He crossed his arms and continued to stare out into the great wood.
Sabin was now a little intimidated by this guy...
(How powerful was he that he was able to give X a hard time? He must have been a true monster to give X the chills like this... I couldn't even scratch him when I fought him... I wonder what he was like...)
"So what happened to him after the building erupted in flames?"
X dropped his arms back down, and Sabin could have sworn he saw the layer of "skin" on X's hand slightly ripple from the amount of force he was using to make a fist.
"They never found the body. A few parts were found, but nothing concrete. He could still be out there on my world, killing people in the shadows, and I'm stuck here on this world. Some of the scientists believe that he was an Omega model Reploid: one of the few that have an altered spark which allows them to come back to life if given a strong enough jolt. I was one of them, and so was Zero..."
Zero? This had been the first time Sabin had heard of this new guy. From the way X mentioned his name, he must have been a close friend that had something to do with Vile. As Sabin was thinking this over, he saw X begin to clench his teeth and his muscles tense on his right arm.
With surprising speed and power, X punched through the glass window with such tremendous force and precision, that the glass didn't shatter from his blow, it just broke to the shape of his now torn apart hand. Sabin of course was annoyed about the window, but he could tell that this was a serious problem to X, and didn't stop him from venting his own anger.
"IF ONLY I COULD REMEMBER HOW I GOT HERE! IT'S SO FRUSTRATING! WHY AM I HERE!"
Sabin rose up out of his seat and walked over to X. He placed his hand on the young soldier's arm, and saw the frustration slowly leave his face. Sabin knew what it was like to be powerless.
(It was just like when I thought Vargas had slain Master Duncan. I was so filled up with rage, that I stopped thinking clearly and went out to go and get the mad man, and ended up leading him straight to Edgar, Terra, and Locke...)
X turned around and looked back at Sabin. Even thought he had synthetic eyes, Sabin could swear that he saw that X was fighting something in his mind. What it was, he wasn't sure, but there was definitely something there.
"Oh yeah, I wanted ask another thing. What's a Maverick?"
X's eyes suddenly focused up, and he turned away to look back out the broken window. He crossed his arms around his chest, but stood in a different posture, like there was something that he didn't want to reveal.
"A Maverick by your planet's definition is a wild, unpredictable monster. Its sole purpose is to wreck, destroy, and kill anything in the way of its mission. Mavericks have increased strength and speed, but also have this crazed look in their eyes, like someone one opened a dam to pure evil and madness. Yet they're much harder to recognize and defeat due to one small thing about them..."
X turned around to look back at Sabin, his eyes slightly glazed again in deep thought.
"Maverick's are normal Reploids that have been tainted by the effects of the CHAOS Virus. All reploids have the binary sequence for the virus within them, but it takes something to draw it out of them and activate it. The scientists on my world are still trying to figure out what created the virus and what causes it to occur. Sometimes I even wonder if the virus is in me..."
X looked down at his torn hand, and a small shudder ran up his spine. What if all the reports were true? What would happen if the virus did appear in me, would anyone be able to stop me from destroying this entire world? Even this "famed" fighter could barely stand up to my level one armor... If I ever used the Dark Enforcer Power, no one would stand a chance against me...
"That's enough out of me. Come on, tell me about your world, it seems like a nice place compared to mine."
Sabin allowed X to sit and he rose out of his seat and walked over to his cabinet. Unlocking the twin doors using a key around his neck, he reached inside and pulled out a small glass case and set it on the coffee table. Then pulled out an old gauntlet and knight shield that he had held onto for ten years. Walking back over to X, he placed them on the coffee table in front of him and sat in the chair opposite X.
"What do you see in front of you X?"
"I see a glass case with an emerald jewel in it, an old bluish battle gauntlet, and a white shield with strange markings on it. Why?"
"Because these items before you have enough combined power to destroy the entire world. They're RELICS, ancient artifacts from a time long ago, over a thousand years. "
Sabin placed both hands on the glass case and slowly lifted the lid off of the display. A flow of air rushed into the container, and the gem inside began to emit a faint red glow from within its crystal shape. X was amazed! Never, in all his time, had he seen a rock do that before.
"What is it?"
"This X is the most dangerous material on the planet. Its called Magicite, and it used to contain enough power inside of it to rip this continent to pieces. This specific piece is called "BAHAMUT", or King of the Dragons. When Mana, or magical power, still flowed freely across this planet, this gem alone could summon a colossal dragon that could destroy the entire city if desired. Plus, it could bestow the owner with the ability to create vast amounts of heat so immense, that it could melt straight through steel! But after the Cleansing occurred ten years ago, there isn't enough Mana power left to summon the King of Dragons to our plane of existence anymore. Here, hold this and you'll see what I mean..."
Sabin lifted the gem off of its stand in the case and placed it in X's outstretched hand. X made a small fist around the gem, and watched in sheer amazement as it began to glow a little brighter as it lay in his hand.
"Say the words "Esporium Bahamatos" in your mind, and you'll understand what I mean about its power."
X looked away from Sabin and back at the gem. It pulsed with a steady flow of power and life as it lay in his hands. X closed his eyes and emptied his thoughts of everything around him.
"Esporium Bahamatos... Esporium Bahamatos... Esporium Bahamatos..."
Sabin watched as the gem began to glow brighter and brighter, until finally X's eyes snapped open and a pair of green rays shot out of the gem and into his eyes.
Inside X's head, his mind began to swirl different colors and he could see himself standing in the center of it all. Then, the swirling winds of his mind stopped, and there, before him, stood the king of all the Dragons. It was a majestic beast of supreme power and dignity. His head was adorned with a ridge of spiked horns in the shape of a crown, and a long mane of fins rippled down his neck onto his back. The twin wings, massive in length, were leathery and strong, stretching for over a hundred feet away from his body. The chest was adorned with a glowing green jewel in the center of it, pulsing with a vibrant power all its own. The underbelly of the king, weak by no measure, continued until it ended where the mighty beast's tail began. Snaking around the area where X stood, the tip was made up of a set of jagged spikes, easily capable of piercing even his tough metal armor.
The great beast looked down to X with its intelligent eyes, and pierced straight into his soul. X could feel nothing but helplessness and fear before this great King of Dragons.
"Who are you that dares to summon me..."
"I am Mega Man X, defender of humanity and Reploid kind."
"Yes... I know of you Mega Man X. I have been watching you from high atop my throne in the Esper world. You have done much good young one, but I fear your greatest task is yet to come. I see great danger in your future... Will you run from it, or stand and fight it?"
"I run from nothing! Let it come!"
"So brash are you young knight... Not everything can be beaten with strength and power. Now, leave me be, we shall meet again young X... And tell that damn monk one thing for me..."
The great king spread his wings out once more and flapped them in the air with such force, that X was lifted off the ground in a maelstrom of wind and dirt. He was lifted away from the area by the force of the great being and into the swirling mists of his mind.
Relaxing in his chair, Sabin continued to watch as X's eyes remained locked in position, staring down into the glowing green gem; when suddenly, his head snapped back and he threw himself into the back of the chair. The gem dimmed a little and then returned to a normal glow. Sabin just smiled a quick grin, and looked at the dumb founded look on X's face.
"His majesty is quite the guy to meet for the first time, isn't he."
"Yeah... he sure is. Man... that guy was for real?"
The gem in X's hand gave off a bright glow for a second then dimmed back to its original glow.
"It's best X if you don't insult him. He can get to be quite annoyed about things when he doesn't get to be let out into our plane of existence. What did he tell you?"
A small smile crossed X's lips as he sat back up. "He said for me to tell you to put him out on the window sill in the sun, it feels better on his wings."
Three more days go by in the small house, and X learns to relax on this new world. After scaring a couple with his bloodied armor, X decided to make a cape wear over his armor and take his helmet off and let the untainted sun shine on his spiky brown hair.
The young warrior was also spending more time visiting Bahamut in his crystal cell, and learning more and more about the past of this planet and the wars of Magi. According to the King, Espers, or Magically Infused Beings as X called them, never disappeared from this world ten years ago. When the Dancing Prince Kefka was killed and the Goddess Statues destroyed, the Mana power in the world that was coming into the world by using the Goddess Statues as a focal point, stopped, and the Mana levels were reset. Yet, there were still loopholes from the Esper Dimension into the Human Dimension everywhere, but they only allowed a small amount of Mana power to seep into this dimension at a time. So after two years of the Mana levels on the planet continually building up, Magicite crystals began to reappear. Sabin had found out the hard way when he went to lie down on his couch and listen to some music when a sharp "rock" jabbed him in side. Some of the Espers here (in Bahamut's world) believe that if a large enough loophole was created a GATE would be invoked. This GATE would allow monumental amounts of Mana to enter the world, so much in fact, that full Magic would be revived, and with that, Espers could return as well...
As X was lying down on the couch, "melding" as he called it, with Bahamut's magicite, Sabin was reading the morning paper when a knock sounded at his front door. Seeing that X couldn't hear it while in the Melding trance, he got out of his chair and opened the front door.
There to meet him was a mini-dragon hovering in the air with a note clamped its mouth sealed with the Imperial Crest of Figaro on it. (Bahamut's views on using smaller dragons to carry human mail around the planet was insulting and degrading to the prestige and honor of being a dragon!) Removing the note from the little dragon's mouth and giving it a piece of food, Sabin walked inside with the small animal flying after it. (Yet, Bahamut did not object to the notion of feeding a dragon and letting it rest after its trip was wrong in any way.) Making a small bed out of an old shirt and putting a scrap of food in it, the mini-dragon nestled down to rest and eat a snack while Sabin unraveled the note and read it to himself.
"I wonder what that crazy king wants now..."
To all the old Returners,
I, King Edgar Roni Figaro, am inviting everyone that helped in the destruction of Kefka to attend a party on the 32nd of Helios in the courtroom of Figaro Castle. Saying no will not be tolerated and cannot be done. I am personally sending the Air Marshall himself to pick up everyone in the Platinum Falcon. Also, saying that just because you're related to me or some other load and don't have to ride in the Falcon (SABIN!) will result in orders from me allowing the Air Marshal to bring you here in chains if need be!
Hope everyone WILL make it!
Edgar Roni Figaro III
PS
I've arranged for a coliseum to built and ready by the time everyone arrives so we can all see if we've changed at all since 10 years ago. Bring along anyone else you want! REMEMBER SABIN, NO DITCHING THE PARTY!
"Even if he is my brother, I still say I should be allowed to kill him..."
Reaching over and taking a quill out of the ink jar, Sabin decided to attach an extra part of noting onto the letter from Edgar to read when he gets it back.
Alright fine! I'll attend the party, besides, someone has to keep you inline when all the women arrive, or will Sheila be doing that for me? Heh heh heh.
I'm bringing along a new friend of mine, his name is...
Sabin stopped writing for a sec and looked off into nothing. "I can't just write X, it sounds to suspicious and corny. Hmm. Oh wait!"
His name is Xain Crosslight, and is a traveling swordsman from up north in the uncharted territories. See you in three days.
Best wishes for you and Sheila,
Sabin Rene Figaro
Rolling the letter back up, he used a small amount of Magis (lower level magic) to seal it and mark the letter with the seal of a Light FIST (Martial Arts Master of the HOLY alignment). Deciding that he would let the small animal rest a bit before traveling back to Figaro Castle, Sabin walked over to X on the couch and tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. X stirred a bit, but then his eyes cleared themselves and he disconnected himself from the link with Bahamut.
"Man... that guy sure can talk. What's up Sabin?"
"I just got a letter from the King of Figaro requesting that all the old Returners meet at Figaro Castle for a 10 year anniversary of the fall of Kefka. I wrote that I was bringing a friend named Xain Crosslight and that he is a traveling swordsman. Wonder where I can find someone by that name in 3 days?"
"Yeah... I wonder..."
With a flick of his wrist, the silver hilt of the X-Blade sprung out of a hidden compartment in his arm. X caught it and ignited the weapon, making the sea blue energy blade hiss and sizzle in the morning air. Sabin just shook his head at his companion and then stopped to think something over.
"I was wondering something. If were going to a formal dinner and party, you might want to make yourself more... defined. Instead of wearing a cape over your armor."
X gave off another one of his smiles, and then backed away from Sabin to give himself enough room. Spreading his arms apart from his chest, X's body began to emit a faint white glow. Suddenly, his helmet reappeared on his head out of thin air, and then the crystal in the front of it began to glow brighter than his body.
"Armor-Up Tech! Power down mode: CAMO GEAR"
The rags covering X's armor incinerated themselves in the light emitted from his body. Then, the bluish armor began to glow so bright, that it became hard for Sabin to tell where X was within the light. After a few seconds, it finally stopped.
Sabin removed his arm from covering his face, and standing before him was a man in dark blue clothes with a silver sword hilt hanging from his side. A blue tunic covered his chest with a jacket of dark blue/black cloth going down his arms. The right hand was encased in a silver gauntlet of sorts with a set of ruby jewels encrusted on the knuckles and a large fiery orange/red gem along the backside of his hand. A scarf of the purest blue was wrapped around his neck, and his hair was spiked in all different directions.
"X?"
"Do you really need to ask that? I mean come on, who else could be standing here?"
"You've never seen a WARP spell performed before have you?"
"Uh..."
"Thought not, anyway, nice look. Since you're ready, I say we get together the last of our things and head over to Sough Figaro today and wait there till the Air Marshall comes to pick us up."
"How are we being picked up? Caravan? Boat?" A small grin showed on Sabin's face as he put his coat on and opened the front door.
"Air Ship actually." X just put his hand over his face and slipped the green magicite gem into one of his pockets as he followed Sabin out the door.
"Great, a damn blimp..."
Past Grievances
Three days go by. X and Sabin become friends as each begins to explain about their worlds. X tells Sabin about his world of NEO and the continuous battle against the Maverick forces.
"On my world," X started "Sigma was once the leader of the Maverick Hunters... that is until he switched sides and became the leader of the mavericks himself. Ever since then, its been a never-ending fight between the two of us for dominance. His last attack was to destroy all life on the planet using a space bound super weapon on incredible destruction. Luckily, My partner and I, Zero, were able to stop him and scatter his body across the cosmos.
I've never really been afraid of anyone I face... except for Vile..."
While the two were sitting in Sabin's living room, the monk could see X give off a slight shiver at the mention of that name. A small bead of sweat trickled down his face as his robotic eyes glazed over, remember something frightening from the past.
"Who's this Vile guy? Was he another Maverick like Sigma?"
X looked back up into Sabin's face and gave him a cold stare.
"No... Vile was nothing like Sigma... He was much worse... He tormented his prisoners using barbaric weapons, and gave them the cruelest of deaths. Many of the scholars and scientists on my world believe, that even though he was the right-hand man of Sigma's army, he was far much stronger than Sigma was. I was lucky to beat him when I finally did twenty years ago...
He had lured me into an abandoned factory, forcing me to fight him to the end. He had every advantage in the fight, but I got lucky and was able to cause his own attack to backfire on him, critically wounding him. Even as he lay there, body case exposed and "bleeding" fluid, he swore that he wound get revenge on me for humiliating him... Then, with his "death" sealed, a self-destruct sequence was activated in the factory. I had only five minuets to escape from the lower levels of the building before the main power core exploded and demolished the whole place.
Luckily, I made it out with a few seconds to spare... but I still see him in my dreams, taunting me... Mocking me..."
After hearing this, X put down the drink Sabin had made for him and walked over to the window and looked out onto the forest surrounding the small house. He crossed his arms and continued to stare out into the great wood.
Sabin was now a little intimidated by this guy...
(How powerful was he that he was able to give X a hard time? He must have been a true monster to give X the chills like this... I couldn't even scratch him when I fought him... I wonder what he was like...)
"So what happened to him after the building erupted in flames?"
X dropped his arms back down, and Sabin could have sworn he saw the layer of "skin" on X's hand slightly ripple from the amount of force he was using to make a fist.
"They never found the body. A few parts were found, but nothing concrete. He could still be out there on my world, killing people in the shadows, and I'm stuck here on this world. Some of the scientists believe that he was an Omega model Reploid: one of the few that have an altered spark which allows them to come back to life if given a strong enough jolt. I was one of them, and so was Zero..."
Zero? This had been the first time Sabin had heard of this new guy. From the way X mentioned his name, he must have been a close friend that had something to do with Vile. As Sabin was thinking this over, he saw X begin to clench his teeth and his muscles tense on his right arm.
With surprising speed and power, X punched through the glass window with such tremendous force and precision, that the glass didn't shatter from his blow, it just broke to the shape of his now torn apart hand. Sabin of course was annoyed about the window, but he could tell that this was a serious problem to X, and didn't stop him from venting his own anger.
"IF ONLY I COULD REMEMBER HOW I GOT HERE! IT'S SO FRUSTRATING! WHY AM I HERE!"
Sabin rose up out of his seat and walked over to X. He placed his hand on the young soldier's arm, and saw the frustration slowly leave his face. Sabin knew what it was like to be powerless.
(It was just like when I thought Vargas had slain Master Duncan. I was so filled up with rage, that I stopped thinking clearly and went out to go and get the mad man, and ended up leading him straight to Edgar, Terra, and Locke...)
X turned around and looked back at Sabin. Even thought he had synthetic eyes, Sabin could swear that he saw that X was fighting something in his mind. What it was, he wasn't sure, but there was definitely something there.
"Oh yeah, I wanted ask another thing. What's a Maverick?"
X's eyes suddenly focused up, and he turned away to look back out the broken window. He crossed his arms around his chest, but stood in a different posture, like there was something that he didn't want to reveal.
"A Maverick by your planet's definition is a wild, unpredictable monster. Its sole purpose is to wreck, destroy, and kill anything in the way of its mission. Mavericks have increased strength and speed, but also have this crazed look in their eyes, like someone one opened a dam to pure evil and madness. Yet they're much harder to recognize and defeat due to one small thing about them..."
X turned around to look back at Sabin, his eyes slightly glazed again in deep thought.
"Maverick's are normal Reploids that have been tainted by the effects of the CHAOS Virus. All reploids have the binary sequence for the virus within them, but it takes something to draw it out of them and activate it. The scientists on my world are still trying to figure out what created the virus and what causes it to occur. Sometimes I even wonder if the virus is in me..."
X looked down at his torn hand, and a small shudder ran up his spine. What if all the reports were true? What would happen if the virus did appear in me, would anyone be able to stop me from destroying this entire world? Even this "famed" fighter could barely stand up to my level one armor... If I ever used the Dark Enforcer Power, no one would stand a chance against me...
"That's enough out of me. Come on, tell me about your world, it seems like a nice place compared to mine."
Sabin allowed X to sit and he rose out of his seat and walked over to his cabinet. Unlocking the twin doors using a key around his neck, he reached inside and pulled out a small glass case and set it on the coffee table. Then pulled out an old gauntlet and knight shield that he had held onto for ten years. Walking back over to X, he placed them on the coffee table in front of him and sat in the chair opposite X.
"What do you see in front of you X?"
"I see a glass case with an emerald jewel in it, an old bluish battle gauntlet, and a white shield with strange markings on it. Why?"
"Because these items before you have enough combined power to destroy the entire world. They're RELICS, ancient artifacts from a time long ago, over a thousand years. "
Sabin placed both hands on the glass case and slowly lifted the lid off of the display. A flow of air rushed into the container, and the gem inside began to emit a faint red glow from within its crystal shape. X was amazed! Never, in all his time, had he seen a rock do that before.
"What is it?"
"This X is the most dangerous material on the planet. Its called Magicite, and it used to contain enough power inside of it to rip this continent to pieces. This specific piece is called "BAHAMUT", or King of the Dragons. When Mana, or magical power, still flowed freely across this planet, this gem alone could summon a colossal dragon that could destroy the entire city if desired. Plus, it could bestow the owner with the ability to create vast amounts of heat so immense, that it could melt straight through steel! But after the Cleansing occurred ten years ago, there isn't enough Mana power left to summon the King of Dragons to our plane of existence anymore. Here, hold this and you'll see what I mean..."
Sabin lifted the gem off of its stand in the case and placed it in X's outstretched hand. X made a small fist around the gem, and watched in sheer amazement as it began to glow a little brighter as it lay in his hand.
"Say the words "Esporium Bahamatos" in your mind, and you'll understand what I mean about its power."
X looked away from Sabin and back at the gem. It pulsed with a steady flow of power and life as it lay in his hands. X closed his eyes and emptied his thoughts of everything around him.
"Esporium Bahamatos... Esporium Bahamatos... Esporium Bahamatos..."
Sabin watched as the gem began to glow brighter and brighter, until finally X's eyes snapped open and a pair of green rays shot out of the gem and into his eyes.
Inside X's head, his mind began to swirl different colors and he could see himself standing in the center of it all. Then, the swirling winds of his mind stopped, and there, before him, stood the king of all the Dragons. It was a majestic beast of supreme power and dignity. His head was adorned with a ridge of spiked horns in the shape of a crown, and a long mane of fins rippled down his neck onto his back. The twin wings, massive in length, were leathery and strong, stretching for over a hundred feet away from his body. The chest was adorned with a glowing green jewel in the center of it, pulsing with a vibrant power all its own. The underbelly of the king, weak by no measure, continued until it ended where the mighty beast's tail began. Snaking around the area where X stood, the tip was made up of a set of jagged spikes, easily capable of piercing even his tough metal armor.
The great beast looked down to X with its intelligent eyes, and pierced straight into his soul. X could feel nothing but helplessness and fear before this great King of Dragons.
"Who are you that dares to summon me..."
"I am Mega Man X, defender of humanity and Reploid kind."
"Yes... I know of you Mega Man X. I have been watching you from high atop my throne in the Esper world. You have done much good young one, but I fear your greatest task is yet to come. I see great danger in your future... Will you run from it, or stand and fight it?"
"I run from nothing! Let it come!"
"So brash are you young knight... Not everything can be beaten with strength and power. Now, leave me be, we shall meet again young X... And tell that damn monk one thing for me..."
The great king spread his wings out once more and flapped them in the air with such force, that X was lifted off the ground in a maelstrom of wind and dirt. He was lifted away from the area by the force of the great being and into the swirling mists of his mind.
Relaxing in his chair, Sabin continued to watch as X's eyes remained locked in position, staring down into the glowing green gem; when suddenly, his head snapped back and he threw himself into the back of the chair. The gem dimmed a little and then returned to a normal glow. Sabin just smiled a quick grin, and looked at the dumb founded look on X's face.
"His majesty is quite the guy to meet for the first time, isn't he."
"Yeah... he sure is. Man... that guy was for real?"
The gem in X's hand gave off a bright glow for a second then dimmed back to its original glow.
"It's best X if you don't insult him. He can get to be quite annoyed about things when he doesn't get to be let out into our plane of existence. What did he tell you?"
A small smile crossed X's lips as he sat back up. "He said for me to tell you to put him out on the window sill in the sun, it feels better on his wings."
Three more days go by in the small house, and X learns to relax on this new world. After scaring a couple with his bloodied armor, X decided to make a cape wear over his armor and take his helmet off and let the untainted sun shine on his spiky brown hair.
The young warrior was also spending more time visiting Bahamut in his crystal cell, and learning more and more about the past of this planet and the wars of Magi. According to the King, Espers, or Magically Infused Beings as X called them, never disappeared from this world ten years ago. When the Dancing Prince Kefka was killed and the Goddess Statues destroyed, the Mana power in the world that was coming into the world by using the Goddess Statues as a focal point, stopped, and the Mana levels were reset. Yet, there were still loopholes from the Esper Dimension into the Human Dimension everywhere, but they only allowed a small amount of Mana power to seep into this dimension at a time. So after two years of the Mana levels on the planet continually building up, Magicite crystals began to reappear. Sabin had found out the hard way when he went to lie down on his couch and listen to some music when a sharp "rock" jabbed him in side. Some of the Espers here (in Bahamut's world) believe that if a large enough loophole was created a GATE would be invoked. This GATE would allow monumental amounts of Mana to enter the world, so much in fact, that full Magic would be revived, and with that, Espers could return as well...
As X was lying down on the couch, "melding" as he called it, with Bahamut's magicite, Sabin was reading the morning paper when a knock sounded at his front door. Seeing that X couldn't hear it while in the Melding trance, he got out of his chair and opened the front door.
There to meet him was a mini-dragon hovering in the air with a note clamped its mouth sealed with the Imperial Crest of Figaro on it. (Bahamut's views on using smaller dragons to carry human mail around the planet was insulting and degrading to the prestige and honor of being a dragon!) Removing the note from the little dragon's mouth and giving it a piece of food, Sabin walked inside with the small animal flying after it. (Yet, Bahamut did not object to the notion of feeding a dragon and letting it rest after its trip was wrong in any way.) Making a small bed out of an old shirt and putting a scrap of food in it, the mini-dragon nestled down to rest and eat a snack while Sabin unraveled the note and read it to himself.
"I wonder what that crazy king wants now..."
To all the old Returners,
I, King Edgar Roni Figaro, am inviting everyone that helped in the destruction of Kefka to attend a party on the 32nd of Helios in the courtroom of Figaro Castle. Saying no will not be tolerated and cannot be done. I am personally sending the Air Marshall himself to pick up everyone in the Platinum Falcon. Also, saying that just because you're related to me or some other load and don't have to ride in the Falcon (SABIN!) will result in orders from me allowing the Air Marshal to bring you here in chains if need be!
Hope everyone WILL make it!
Edgar Roni Figaro III
PS
I've arranged for a coliseum to built and ready by the time everyone arrives so we can all see if we've changed at all since 10 years ago. Bring along anyone else you want! REMEMBER SABIN, NO DITCHING THE PARTY!
"Even if he is my brother, I still say I should be allowed to kill him..."
Reaching over and taking a quill out of the ink jar, Sabin decided to attach an extra part of noting onto the letter from Edgar to read when he gets it back.
Alright fine! I'll attend the party, besides, someone has to keep you inline when all the women arrive, or will Sheila be doing that for me? Heh heh heh.
I'm bringing along a new friend of mine, his name is...
Sabin stopped writing for a sec and looked off into nothing. "I can't just write X, it sounds to suspicious and corny. Hmm. Oh wait!"
His name is Xain Crosslight, and is a traveling swordsman from up north in the uncharted territories. See you in three days.
Best wishes for you and Sheila,
Sabin Rene Figaro
Rolling the letter back up, he used a small amount of Magis (lower level magic) to seal it and mark the letter with the seal of a Light FIST (Martial Arts Master of the HOLY alignment). Deciding that he would let the small animal rest a bit before traveling back to Figaro Castle, Sabin walked over to X on the couch and tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. X stirred a bit, but then his eyes cleared themselves and he disconnected himself from the link with Bahamut.
"Man... that guy sure can talk. What's up Sabin?"
"I just got a letter from the King of Figaro requesting that all the old Returners meet at Figaro Castle for a 10 year anniversary of the fall of Kefka. I wrote that I was bringing a friend named Xain Crosslight and that he is a traveling swordsman. Wonder where I can find someone by that name in 3 days?"
"Yeah... I wonder..."
With a flick of his wrist, the silver hilt of the X-Blade sprung out of a hidden compartment in his arm. X caught it and ignited the weapon, making the sea blue energy blade hiss and sizzle in the morning air. Sabin just shook his head at his companion and then stopped to think something over.
"I was wondering something. If were going to a formal dinner and party, you might want to make yourself more... defined. Instead of wearing a cape over your armor."
X gave off another one of his smiles, and then backed away from Sabin to give himself enough room. Spreading his arms apart from his chest, X's body began to emit a faint white glow. Suddenly, his helmet reappeared on his head out of thin air, and then the crystal in the front of it began to glow brighter than his body.
"Armor-Up Tech! Power down mode: CAMO GEAR"
The rags covering X's armor incinerated themselves in the light emitted from his body. Then, the bluish armor began to glow so bright, that it became hard for Sabin to tell where X was within the light. After a few seconds, it finally stopped.
Sabin removed his arm from covering his face, and standing before him was a man in dark blue clothes with a silver sword hilt hanging from his side. A blue tunic covered his chest with a jacket of dark blue/black cloth going down his arms. The right hand was encased in a silver gauntlet of sorts with a set of ruby jewels encrusted on the knuckles and a large fiery orange/red gem along the backside of his hand. A scarf of the purest blue was wrapped around his neck, and his hair was spiked in all different directions.
"X?"
"Do you really need to ask that? I mean come on, who else could be standing here?"
"You've never seen a WARP spell performed before have you?"
"Uh..."
"Thought not, anyway, nice look. Since you're ready, I say we get together the last of our things and head over to Sough Figaro today and wait there till the Air Marshall comes to pick us up."
"How are we being picked up? Caravan? Boat?" A small grin showed on Sabin's face as he put his coat on and opened the front door.
"Air Ship actually." X just put his hand over his face and slipped the green magicite gem into one of his pockets as he followed Sabin out the door.
"Great, a damn blimp..."