Disclaimer: I do not own Zelda, as I'm sure alot of us wish we did. I do, although own all of my orignal characters unless they tell me different. Talk to me to get their actual emails, they are real people. :P~~~~~~
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The Mystery of the Warrior
FierceDeityWarrior was looking for his lost golden ocarina when a storm started up. He said to himself, "Hmmm, I guess the girls are fighting again, Din must have brought another mortal man there. She can be so crazy sometimes…"
He decided to rest under a fallen tree that was propped up against another. He didn't feel like using powers that day, so he just lies on the ground and relaxed.
A few hours later, the storm subsided. The fallen tree was waterlogged, but the ground underneath it was dry. FierceDeityWarrior was nowhere in sight.
A few weeks later, his friend xenSity was flying around, and looking for him. Xen had urgent news for him, but FierceDeityWarrior had been missing since that last storm.
His news was that a strange warrior was hunting FierceDeities and interrogating them mercilessly. Zero was last seen battered and sparks of electricity were being flung randomly from his mangled body. Angel was not harmed, but was questioned repeatedly as to where their leader was. Angelo hadn't heard of him yet, but xenSity knew Angelo was in trouble if he didn't disguise himself. XenSity himself was in a fight with the warrior, and barely got out alive.
Angel felt worried about FierceDeityWarrior, but not too worried. She knew he could handle himself. The mystery warrior almost hit her for denying him the FD's leader's name and location. Luckily, he seemed to have gotten distracted and left.
XenSity was very much worried, but had long ago found that FierceDeityWarrior was prone to strange disappearances and making enemies as well as friends wherever he went. He was more concerned for some of the newest members of the FD's than anything. They didn't know FierceDeityWarrior and didn't stand a chance against the mystery warrior. Zelutos could handle himself, so xenSity put him out of mind.
What he couldn't figure out was how that the warrior knew all of the FD's by name and even who he was. The warrior must have been somebody they knew, but he wasn't as good as Trygon, and even knew them now. He also must have been highly skilled. XenSity had known the warrior, but couldn't think of who he was.
The warrior now flew alone, hidden completely by a black cloak and hood. His hands were holding two swords by his side as he flew. He silently thought to himself:
I must find the leader of those strange warriors. I must find out who I am. I can't continue living without knowing… Why? Why must I fight? Why must I only be satisfied with fighting and competition? Somehow I know this man is the only way for me to know who… what… why I am whatever I am. I somehow know the FD's, maybe I was one of them… no, that can't be right, I'm nothing like them. I could not be a cowardly, disgusting creature of the shadows. I must continue searching, he MUST know who I am.
Suddenly, a woman appeared in front of him and he immediately stopped in midair. He took on a fighting stance, "Who are you? Some kind of red-haired Demon?"
The woman laughed and shook her head, "Forget about me, I came to tell you what to do."
"Nobody orders me around, lady! Out of my way before I show you the foolishness of angering me!" He shouted, and a dull red glow came from his eyes, which was all she could see of his face.
She grinned evilly and spun in place, "I am your master, and I am Din. You will destroy the FierceDeities and their home realm, that 'Shadow Realm'."
The glow faded from his eyes, "Wait, how do I know this isn't a tri-" The warrior suddenly clutched his head and began to scream in pain, "WHAT IS THIS? WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME? …Please… please stop it, it hurts so much… help me…"
She laughed as he reached out for her and began to descend. His pain made him lose all concentration and he began to fall, unable to hold himself up any longer. He slammed into the ground and muttered into the dirt, "I will destroy them… master…"
Again, she let out a disgustingly wicked laugh and was lit afire. The flame that enveloped her swirled and vanished with her. A puff of smoke was all that remained.
The warrior lay silent on the ground for a few hours, and then slowly stood. Then, he picked up one of his swords and pulled a string from it. The whole sword glowed and became a silver bow with the same crescent moon designs on it. He leaned down and picked up the other sword. Without even looking at it, he attached it to his back and it became a quiver full of black-tipped arrows.
XenSity was watching from a nearby tree, after seeing him fall out of nowhere. When the warrior did this with his weapons, it shocked him so much he almost fell out of the tree. Luckily, he was experienced with surprises and regained his balance quickly enough not to attract attention. He went to fly away, but was stopped suddenly by the warrior's deep voice, echoing eerily throughout the forest.
"Tell me how to enter the Shadow Realm, FierceDeity, and you will live longer than I would normally allow," The warrior said without looking up at him. XenSity was a bit frightened, and aware of his own abilities, so he told him, "I don't go there much anymore, but I'll tell you this: You need to receive the ability from a former shadow creature or the King of Fanelia, I recommend the former rather than the latter."
The warrior nodded and gave solemn thanks before vanishing completely. XenSity was angry at himself, but knew the it would be best if the warrior actually found FierceDeityWarrior, because then the FD's could live in peace rather than fear and because FierceDeityWarrior could handle himself.
Two days later, the warrior had terrorized Fanelia looking for the king or a shadow creature. A frightened and battered Fanelian had told him of a cave where he thought he once saw a shadow warrior practicing alone.
Later, the Warrior entered the cave and looked around. Finding nothing after a few minutes of searching. He became angry. He clenched a fist and the Fanelian that told him of the cave died at the same moment as he was sitting with his family to dinner.
The Warrior almost left the cave when he heard a footstep. He whirled around and blasted whatever it was.
The blast bounced off of outstretched palms and through the cave wall. The person who was fired at started blowing on his now blistered hands, trying to relieve the pain of his bubbling skin.
He glared at the warrior and appeared behind him. The warrior reached behind himself, grabbed the man's neck and lifted him over him. The hand that held him wore a black gauntlet with a crescent moon insignia on it. The warrior held the man upside-down by his neck, but high enough to be face-to-face.
"Who are you?" The man struggled to say as he tried to free himself from the warrior's steel grip.
The warrior laughed, "That makes the two of us who would like to know. Tell me your name, vile shadow creature."
The man spat at him and continued to struggle. Steam came from under the warrior's hood as the spit evaporated. The warrior angrily threw him back, effortlessly breaking every one of his ribs against the jagged wall. The man bled freely from his energy-burnt neck and the back of his head, but he was still conscious.
Slowly, the Warrior approached him, trying to decide how to deal with the situation. Finally, he said, "You will tell me how to enter the Shadow Realm."
The man coughed blood and didn't move, but said, "You need a shadow's spirit inside of you, and I'm guessing you don't have one. I was created from one and when I die I will become one again, and be reborn in the Shadow Realm. I am not afraid of you. Do your worst."
"Ah, but you should be very afraid. It is quite sad, death. I don't remember killing anyone in my life, but it is entirely possible that I did. I did, although; do away with a sentient robotic life form. You, my disgusting little friend, are going to die, and you will not be coming back. Goodnight." The warrior drew his bow and loosed an arrow as the final word was said.
A strange black, shapeless form rose from the body as the body itself vanished, but the warrior raised a hand into the air. The spirit stopped in midair and was drawn into the warrior's hand.
The Warrior felt a jolt of exhilaration and his vigor was renewed completely. He grinned and knew that his strength had increased significantly with the spirit that was bonded to his soul. Then, he began to wonder if he even had a soul and the spirit had not simply attached to him physically. He decided not to decide at all and faded into the shadows of the cave.
Zero was tuning his robotic body up and finishing his repairs when xenSity appeared almost out of nowhere. Zero paid no attention to him as he approached and Zero continued working.
XenSity asked him politely, "Do you know who he is? You know, that guy who's after the FierceDeities?"
Zero kept working, but said, "I did scan him before we fought and his cloak had some sort of mystical shroud around it and the shroud prevented me from identifying his energy signature. Even though, I suspect who he is, but you might not want to know."
XenSity thought for a moment and said, "I have my own suspicions, maybe we can figure it out."
"Sure, whatever, just don't get in my way, this is delicate work," Zero told him sternly, "And, if you can, help me out a bit."
XenSity agreed to this and passes him the requested socket wrench, "I think it may be a former FierceDeity. You know, from before that war. He might be under an Angel's control. You know how they hate us."
"Of course I know, and I had exactly the same thoughts on it. FD's are only weak because of the whole mask thing, lucky it doesn't apply to us," Zero responded with a nearly robotic tone that was ironically unlike him.
XenSity paced the room while Zero readjusted his power core, "I seem to have forgotten, but what mask thing and why doesn't it apply to us?"
"Well, FD's are naturally supposed to be a split version of what was once the Shadow God. I think when the man who created the mask wished for them to have life; the Shadow Lord was destroyed on a different plane, but in the same area. I believe his soul fragments possessed the mask and took on individual personalities over time," Zero patiently explained, "But when the FD separates from his or her mask, the mask has control over them and the bearer can use their power to their will. And, since Angels took control of nearly all the FD's, their power accumulated into one being, FierceDeityWarrior. Thus, he is becoming a Shadow God more completely than ever. This transformation is leaving him vulnerable.
"He was born with an army of a family and I think he was lonely when he made us, or simply in need of at least some company," He paused to tighten a screw, "And granted us pieces of himself, or his very essence, or even his immortal soul… Whatever the case, he is vulnerable, and there are still Shadow Knights, Dark servants of Angels, that were once FD's out there and under the control of fiends. The Angels must be against losing their servants or that there may be a new Shadow God. Whatever the case, we're in trouble if they do find and kill him. But hey, if worse comes to worse, he can hide in the Shadow Realm, since they can't go there anymore because they lost their Shadow Spirits."
XenSity coughed nervously and turned away. His fists were clenched so tight his knuckles turned white. Zero notices this human sign of guilt and told him so, "You… didn't tell that guy how to get into the Shadow Realm, did you?"
XenSity coughed again and avoided Zero's red eyes, "I thought FierceDeityWarrior could beat that guy, and that if he did, we wouldn't need fear him. I didn't know FDW was weakened or whatever. I thought I was helping!"
Zero sighed and tried to think. Even his advanced computerized brain had needed a moment to figure it out. And, even then, he couldn't come up with a solution except to find FierceDeityWarrior as quickly as possible.
"Xen, we have to go find FierceDeityWarrior right now, understand? He is in extreme danger… we have to go immediately!"
Xen nodded and they headed off towards where he was last seen, the Great Forest.
The Warrior had asked (or interrogated) a man how to get into the Shadow Realm, and the man told him that he had heard of a portal in Fanelia Castle, but also that he didn't understand why he would go there.
The Warrior replied, "I have to visit some friends of mine, thank you for your help and goodbye."
The man was shocked when the warrior took off into the air, but not as shocked as when the country of Sutherland (The man's own country) burst entirely into flames and explosions as the warrior departed.
The warrior swooped down on Zero and xenSity as they were scanning the Great Forest for any sign of any Deity at all. They were caught by surprise, but the warrior didn't attack.
"I come to warn you. After I find this 'Shadow Realm' I will destroy the castle of FierceDeities and effectively destroy him and take your shadow powers. You cannot stop me unless you tell me WHERE HE IS!" The mysterious warrior said in near rage. He was holding off the overwhelming desire to kill them that he had since he had met the Red-Haired woman Din.
Zero and xenSity showed no fear, and Zero calmly said, "We are as clueless as you as to where he is. Leave us in peace, we do not wish to fight."
XenSity formed a ball of protective energy around himself and Zero, but the warrior paid it no mind. The warrior seemed distracted, but said, "You all will die, and there is no doubt about that. Though we could have been friends, had the circumstances been different. We shall meet again in the Final Battle. Until then, I hope that you find a way out of your fate."
The warrior flew past them so fast there was a loud roar behind him and was flying northwest. Xen and Zero sighed and continued scanning the forest.
After a minute, a small metal orb came from where the warrior had and hovered in front of Zero. Xen was surprised, but Zero seemed to know what it was.
"What do you have to report?" Zero asked it in a calm manner. The orb itself seemed to be twitching a lot.
"ERRR… Major Disssturbance… Sutherland has been attacked… ERRR… No surrrvivors… *Beep*" The metallic orb told him. After it was done, Zero's chest opened and it flew in. Zero closed it and then turned to Xen.
He said, "We have to go to the Shadow Realm and to the castle, we might find some answers there!"
XenSity grinned and said, "Sounds like a plan! Let's go find out how to kick some cloaked butt!"
XenSity drew a long, black sword out of midair and sliced a circle into the air itself. The sword then vanished and the air inside the circle seemed to swirl around in front of it and become ten shades darker.
"Let's get goin', bro," xenSity said and they both flew into the portal and it closed behind them.
At Fanelia Castle, the princess was talking with her friends in the courtyard. She said to Zelutos, "Hey, aren't you a FD? Where's FierceDeityWarrior? Isn't he supposed to be my 'guardian'?"
"How should I know? I'm just the new guy and I'm not even sure if I want to be a FD anymore. It got really boring. I was only one because Caitlin was one, anyway. Now about this news, who is this guy?" Zelutos said, ignoring her angry glare.
She decided to ignore his impudence and said, "All I heard is that someone saw him flying over Sutherland, and the next thing you know, *BANG* it's all ashes and firewood. I heard he's hunting FD's… Better watch out, Zel! He'll get you good!"
Zelutos didn't look the least bit worried, "I'm not afraid of him. The FD's were weak, that guy couldn't take me on! And, it probably wasn't him that did that to Sutherland. You know how they can be, messing with magic and matter and calling it 'Science'. People like that won't last. It'll always be dragons and magic and unexplained mysteries. 'Science' won't last out this century. Especially if they keep blowing themselves up."
The princess nodded and pointed across the courtyard. She whispered to Zelutos, "Do you know who he is? He wasn't here a minute ago and I didn't see him come in."
The man she was pointing at was watching them silently. He looked remarkably like Link, but different somehow. The way he stood and the way he was dressed were so different as to make him look like an opposite.
Zelutos shook his head, "He looks kinda like Link, but Link is in Hyrule now, and he would never be caught in Jeans and a T-Shirt. Let's go back inside."
She agrees and they leave with three others. The blonde-haired man grins and his blue T-Shirt turns black. The blackness covers him and his face is shrouded in the shadow of his hood as it takes its true shape. He says to himself, "Now, to find this portal I've heard so much about."
He then became invisible and hovered a couple inches from the ground. The warrior floated toward the door and down the hallway. He found the staircase of the North Tower, where the portal was supposed to be kept.
He floated to the middle of the stairwell and flew straight up through the spiraling stairs. The warrior landed in front of a wooden door and tried to open it. He quickly found that the door was locked and secured by magic.
Mystery warrior put his finger to the keyhole on the padlock and it started to shake violently. After a moment, it released and the door swung open. Behind it was something MysteryWarrior did not expect.
He stood facing a bedroom that was obviously a girl's and most likely the princess'. It was littered carelessly with clothes and discarded hair accessories. The room was basically a horrible mess. The warrior didn't seem to mind and walked right in, looking for the portal.
After searching an unused closet and getting red-faced by looking through some drawers, he decided it wasn't in there. He would search for it elsewhere.
Still invisible, he left the room and locked it behind him. He scratched his chin, barely revealing it to the light the windows provided.
Where could it be? It was supposed to be in the North Tower, but I already searched it. I have to find it; I just have to!
He looked up, still lost in thought. Then, he noticed that the ceiling looked distorted and darker above the Princess' door. He figured it must be for her guardian FierceDeity to get to her if she were in trouble.
The Warrior jumped straight into it as the Princess ascended the stairs with a red-haired girl she had recently met.
"Nothing!" Zero shouted as he searched the Great Library for information about finding a FierceDeity or destroying a Shadow Knight. Xen had found a map of the Crystal Realm revealing the few portals that existed there. He knew his must have flickered on and off the scroll as he entered the Shadow Realm with Zero.
They also found that another realm existed that bound the two together. The Earth Realm consisted of good and evil combined and warring in every person, and that Science dominated all other sources of wisdom there. They also found that they had alter egos there that were matching in mind to their bodies and spirits.
They found many things, but not what they needed. The Earth Realm idea sparked an interest in Zero, but only for a moment, since it was so dull.
Eventually, they gave up their search and flew out towards the courtyard. XenSity had long ago found that the castle matched Fanelia's in perfect detail. They practiced fighting for a while to stretch their limbs and work off some stress.
"I have an Idea!" XenSity shouted after they were done with their break.
Zero raised an eyebrow, "Wow, I didn't think you could do that. How far you've come since Retard Camp."
"Shut up," Xen said angrily, "Anyway, let's check FDW's chamber. There has to be something there!"
Zero pointed out that it was a good idea for his bamaged drain. Then, they flew through the halls and up the staircase of the North Tower. When they reached the top, Zero detected a life form nearby.
"Stay on guard, he could be here by now," He said as xenSity began to look for the key in his satchel that would open the lock.
"Oh, don't worry about me, guys, I'm just going to look around in this dimension for a while before I tear this castle to pieces," said as he appeared above them.
They looked up, showing no fear, and said together, "GO AWAY!"
The warrior laughed at this, but didn't remark on it, "Since I'll kill you next time we meet, it might be good to have a name for me. I think it would be best for all of us if it were MysteryWarrior."
"We don't care, bogeyman wannabe! You're going down, and going down alone!" XenSity shouted in anger.
MysteryWarrior showed no reaction, except a sneer, "You wish. Farewell, Vile Ones, until we meet in hell!" And he was gone.
He soon found that the Shadow Realm lived up to its name. It was simply billions upon billions of twisting shadows as far as the eye could see. He continued to look for something, anything, and found nothing.
MysteryWarrior decided to rest, and landed on a solid surface that couldn't be seen, only the dark things underneath it. He unconsciously wished for a place to sit and he was seated on a log before the thought even registered in his mind.
He now realized why you needed a Shadow Spirit to enter this realm. It was never completed. The pure chaos of it was eager to please even an idle mind with anything it wished for.
This place sounded promising to one with no identity or known face. He had to temporarily adopt a fake one to enter the castle. This realm enticed him and made him want never to leave.
Zero and xenSity had found nothing in FDW's surprisingly small and poor room.
Zero was scanning the walls for any hollow areas when Xen spoke up, "What exactly are looking for, anyway?"
Zero shrugged, "Anything, really. We just need to find something that can either bring him down, or FDW to us."
Xen stood up, and then sat down again, "All this searching is putting a cramp in my limbs, mind if I go out to stretch?"
"Not at all, but check around the doorframe on your way out, he may have hidden something there," Zero told him as he tapped on a potential hollow point.
XenSity nodded and went out the door, quickly running his fingers around the doorframe before leaving.
When xenSity reached the bottom of the stairs, he quickly flew off. Zero stood up as soon as xenSity was out of human hearing range.
"What a fool… he doesn't even suspect my false loyalties one bit. Way too trusting, those humans." Zero punched the floor and a loose plank of wood shattered under his metal fist.
He then reached into the floor and pulled out the legendary Darkness Flute. A menacing expression rose onto his face. He said silently, "Mistress Din, I have found it. Your servant awaits the time you come to collect it."
MysteryWarrior floated through the dark abyss of the Shadow Realm, occasionally picking various fruits out of midair and eating them. As he did so, he thought to himself:
There is no need to know any more about myself as long as I remain in this beautiful place. I do regret hurting those people, but that's over and I am content to live here for my remaining years.
He stopped and sat on nothing. He sighed to himself, "But I do wonder what I would have found had I kept looking."
For a while he floated upside-down, talking to himself. Eventually, boredom set in and he got an idea to bring excitement.
He reached into his cloak and drew one of his swords from it. It was curved back, so it could be easily drawn without cutting himself. He then made a few motions with it in midair and a hole was torn into the Crystal Realm.
MysteryWarrior poked his hand through to check out where it came out in the Crystal Realm. As soon as he had done this, he pulled it back. He realized he had touched hair on the other side, but did not know whether it was animal or person hair.
A gasp came from the other side, "What was that? Who's there?" Came a female voice.
He knew that unless she looked, she wouldn't see the small portal, so he relaxed.
"Show yourself, or I'll have to make you do so!" She demanded. He didn't want to argue with a girl like that, so he remained silent.
Since he did not know how to close it, he decided to wait until she left to investigate the other side.
She, on the other hand, had other ideas. She could tell that whatever it was, it was invisible, and probably nearby. She drew a spear and thrust it in the direction of what had touched the back of her head, coming just short of his eye.
Now, you can imagine how he felt when a spear came out of the nearly invisible portal and almost punctured his eye. He had to form a plan.
She thrusted the spear to her left, to her right, and then spun it around her in an amazing demonstration of skill. Then, out of nowhere, stepped a large man with a cloak covering his entire body.
The dangerous end of the spear was at his neck in an instant. He put his bare hands up as a sign of surrender.
"Who are you, and why did you touch me?" She demanded angrily.
Under his cloak, he grinned, "My name is… Vicious Vantino. I am sorry, but I could not control myself. Not in front of such a beautiful woman as you."
She resisted a blush, but he knew his plan was working perfectly. He changed his shape and took off his cloak. He had made himself look like he did in Fanelia Castle, but with his own red eyes, silver hair and outfit of jeans and black T-Shirt.
He bowed gracefully, but she carried on with her own self-pride, "Who do you think you are? Keep your hands to yourself, especially around me, if you value your life. And what were you doing invisible? Trying to scare children?"
"I am traveling, and do not wish to be noticed. I have gotten myself lost," He told her in an Spanish accent that matched his current form, "I apologize for my rudeness. Is there anything I can do to make up for my disrespect?"
She grinned, "Yes, as a matter of fact, there is something I need done. Would I be wrong if I were to say you might be a warrior?"
"Not at all, I am a warrior. What can I do to help?" He asked politely.
"Well, you see," She began, "It's like this: My friend lives in Sutherland, but I haven't seen her in a while and wonder if she's okay. I am holding a wedding in a tavern I own, so I can't check up on her until it's over, next week. Would you please go there and check on her? It's not too far from here. Just a couple of miles that way."
She pointed southeast. He looked in the direction she indicated towards and looked back at her, "No problem. But before I go, could I ask you for your name?"
"Of course, it's Tiffany. Most of my friends call me Tiffa. By the way, her name is Caitlin and she's sixteen. You'll find her in a big, blue-and-green house," She said, but before she was done, he was gone again.
"I've never heard of anyone named Vicious…" She said to herself.
MysteryWarrior, or Vicious as he was now calling himself, flew quickly between some trees and over a strange blood-colored pond. He landed at the barrier between Fanelia and Sutherland, where the ground was half cinders and half grass, trees, and life.
He raised an eyebrow, "Oops, guess I went a little overboard when I left. Released too much energy when I took off. I feel bad for Tiffany, but much worse for her friend."
Just then, he heard whistling coming from a house in Sutherland not too far off from the barrier and to his right, facing the other direction. He realized then that the house had come to no harm, so he approached it with caution. The tune to the song was familiar, but not enough to distract him.
It was a very strange melody indeed, one that came from one's soul and pierced his own. It would normally be intoxicating, but he was a focused warrior.
He stepped casually around the corner of the house, coming to the front of it.
He was surprised when a young girl was sitting at the front steps that lead to the door. When he got a good look at her he realized that he had already met her. She was known by nickname as Angel and he had previously interrogated her. He knew she was a FierceDeity, but he wasn't disgusted by her like the others did.
She looked up at him, "I wouldn't recommend coming any closer. It's dangerous."
He got worried, but hid it from her, "W-what do you mean by that, young lady?"
"Oh, it wasn't a threat. There's a spell around this house. It was meant to protect it, but the explosion messed it up and now it's like a prison for me," She informed him, "And, if you do come closer, the shield would probably vaporize you."
He leaned down, picked up a rock, and casually tossed a rock two feet ahead of himself. It froze in midair and slowly turned to dust, starting with the front and worked it's way back.
"Yeesh, I see what you mean," He said admiringly, "Good work. Well, I came to help you, and that just what I'm gonna do."
Her eyebrow quirked and she stood up, "Who are you? I don't think I know you… Are you related to Link? Or FDW?"
He twitched at the second name and said, "I'm Vicious, Vicious Vantino. I'm a relative of FierceDeityWarrior, or Kevin as family calls him."
He struggled to get these bits of info from her mind, but she seemed sealed off, maybe by the force field. He reached out and placed his hands on the invisible wall that was protecting the house.
He sensed no energy from it, but when he tried, he only felt that it was corrupt magic. Magic that was made and then twisted by another spell was what this was.
Her eyes went wide and she watched him push through the pulsing red wall. She could now see it because it was resisting him and couldn't keep itself invisible without losing the power it needed to hold him off.
After a few seconds, she could see it was bending under his strength and would break at any moment. He pulled one hand back and punched the field, shattering it like so much glass. The fragments flew in all directions, and disappeared just before impact with anything.
He reached down and picked up the small crystal that sustained it. He held it for a second, then threw it down and stomped on it. She could see a little red demon rush out of it and vanish.
"Just demons, nothing to worry about," he told her, "By the way, you are Caitlin, right?"
She nodded and laughed, "Yeah, yeah, I'm Caitlin all right, but why are you here, Vicious? I can call you Vicious, can't I?"
"Of course, and Tiffany sent me to see if you were okay." He leaped up onto her roof without even trying. He swung down and hung by his feet from the edge, facing the wall.
She laughed again, "Well, I'm okay. So, where are you from?"
"Ah… you know, around," he said, unsure, "You live alone here?"
"I didn't used to, but I guess the blast killed my roommates. They were at the market when it happened. I wonder what did it," She told him, trying in vain to jump onto the roof.
He laughed as he looked at her. He casually raised a hand and she floated up. She laughed with him and landed.
She told him, "I could have done that. I wanted to jump, dummy."
They both laughed and he jumped down. She noticed a strange pattern in red on the back of his T-Shirt. It looked something like the Triforce with a crescent moon contained within the three triangles. She though nothing of it and said, "Seriously, where are you from, you have a strange accent. Are you even from this Realm?"
"Of course I am. I was born in… Hyrule… But it was Termina. You know, Hyrule's Twin?" He said, hiding his nervousness.
"I've never been there, maybe you could take me sometime. Anyway, Let's go check up on Tiffa."
XenSity ran at full speed, swinging his sword left and right, falling trees were all that he left behind. He trained steadily for the fight he planned to have with MysteryWarrior. He went to take a break under a fallen tree that was propped against a living one. After a moment, he dozed off. Suddenly, he was gone.
Zero was sitting on FDW's only chair, which was made out of Deku Wood, the finest wood in the Crystal Realm. He held this black flute, which had a crescent moon for a mouthpiece. He knew that the Crescent moon was a sign of Darkness and the symbol for FierceDeities. He was worried that the Archangel would find that he possessed the flute and come to take it, but that event never came.
Instead, the fireplace crackled to life on it's own. He quickly stood and kneeled before the flame. It grew to reach the ceiling outside the fireplace and Din stepped out of it.
It subsided the instant Din left it. Since there was no wood, the fire vanished completely. She smiled broadly at the sight of the Flute.
"You served me well," She told him as she snatched it away from him, "One more thing and you can have your freedom."
"Anything, Mistress," He pleaded, "Just release me. I hate being controlled. Please, tell me what you need."
She smirked, "I need the other instruments of Darkness and the Symphony of Shade in order to complete my plans. Bring these to me and you have your free will back."
He nodded enthusiastically, "Whatever you wish, my Queen, I will retrieve them."
"Whatever I wish… Yes…" She laughed at these words, "That is my plan exactly! Ha ha ha!"
Vicious and Caitlin were floating above everyone within the tavern, staying within the range of his cloaking spell. They could see each other, due to the parameters of the spell. One had to know the person was there to see them. She saw that there was something black sticking out of his black pocket, but couldn't see what it was.
He suddenly swooped down and landed behind Tiffa, who was hurriedly arranging everything. Every motion she made, he now mimicked perfectly, right down to her eyebrow height and motion of her lips. Of course he didn't make a sound, because she would know he was there.
After a moment of watching his method of doing it and stood behind him, doing the same thing.
At one point, Tiffa's hand touched his, but she didn't notice. Vicious continued to copy without flaw.
While Tiffa was directing some men as to where to put a statue of the newlyweds together. Caitlin bumped into one of them, and he knew she was there. He saw her slowly appear, and he stepped away from her.
"Oops," she said. Then, everyone saw her appear as they heard the 'oops' as plain as day.
Vicious gave up and dropped the spell completely, revealing himself now standing in front of Tiffa, who was just before staring through him at Caitlin.
Tiffa stumbled backwards and fell. Just before she hit the ground, Vicious was holding her up from behind by her upper arms. He grinned, "Careful, now."
"Aww, I though you were my hero. Now I feel unspecial," Caitlin said playfully.
Like before, he vanished and was next to her, "Don't worry, there's plenty of Vicious to go around."
They all laughed, including the workers, whom Tiffa yelled at for being lazy. Vicious looked at her, "You know, you should really mellow out. Well, guys, I guess this is a big ol' buh-bye on my part. I gotta go, see ya!"
With that, he walked away. Before they could say anything, he seemed to vanish.
XenSity couldn't see anything, not even himself. He could tell he was weightless, floating aimlessly, or not at all. He shouted into the nothingness, "Where am I? Who are you to bring me here? Do you value your life? Release me!"
He tried to fly, but got not results. He guessed that his powers were gone, where he was.
"No, they're there, you just don't know how to use them here." A voice seemed to speak to him from nowhere and everywhere at once. He faintly recognized it, but it seemed different than any he had ever known or could remember at the moment.
"But why have you brought me here? And, what is this place?" xenSity grew calmer, but stayed on guard.
The Voice came again, "If you can learn to use your powers in the Earth Realm, they will increase greatly in your home world, among others."
As soon as these word were said, a grassy plain materialized around him and his body weight hit him, sending him into the fresh dirt. He stood and looked around him. In the distance, there was a city similar to those of Megaman's world, except dirtier. His sword landed beside him and dug into the dirt.
He reached to take it out of the ground, but found that he could not. Apparently, he was a mortal completely here. He decided to work on his strength, resisting the temptation to find his mind-double which was supposed to exist in this world. He powered up as best he could and began to train.
Vicious appeared in the Shadow Realm in his full cloak. He thought to himself: Vicious Vantino, completely made up, but I think it suits me. I'll keep it. Now Caitlin and Tiffa, they were some funny people. I think I'll go back there, but until then, I'm hanging out here. Hmm… I'm in the mood for grapes.
He reached out in front of him and plucked a grape from a nonexistent vine. He wondered when he should show up again and surprise them. Vicious had another one of his plans.
Zero asked around, beat up people, and killed others, and found only three of the four missing instruments, all in the possession of elderly men. He counted a harp, a violin, and a French horn. According to his sources, he had the Mystery Harp of Truth, the Violin of Destiny, and the Horn of the Hidden. He was missing the Ocarina of Death. To his dismay, he found it to be with the worst person possible.
Vicious appeared in the woods near to Tiffany's Tavern. He was in his disguised form, but wearing a black vest over a white T-Shirt and his usual black jeans were torn at the knees.
He stepped out of the woods and started towards the tavern. Before he got there, the robot FierceDeity appeared in his path. Vicious remembered that his name was Zero and that he was weak.
Zero addressed him with authority, "My mistress Din wishes to obtain an object in your possession…"
He stopped because Vicious' expression matched his name when Zero said 'Din'. Vicious muttered in anger, "Do not EVER cross my vision again. You received mercy last time! Next time I will NOT be so forgiving! Tell your mistress to stay out of my life!"
Vicious waved an arm and Zero was thrown into the air and landed with a crash. Unfortunately, Caitlin was watching from the Tavern, though she couldn't hear anything from that distance. She rushed faster than Vicious had guessed she could move to Zero's side.
Stray wires were hanging from his head and joints. His eyes were blank and next to him lay a small sack he had probably dropped. Caitlin turned from him, still kneeling.
"How could you have done this? I thought you were good!" she yelled at him and stood, approaching him as she spoke, "He is good and he is my friend. Why did you harm him? What reason could you possibly have?"
The louder she shouted, the more Vicious thought he saw fangs in her mouth and translucent wings on her back. He blinked and they vanished. He began to explain the truth:
He was the MysteryWarrior that was terrorizing people, including herself. He had accidentally destroyed Sutherland. He was under Din's control and so was Zero. He had threatened the FD's with death and loss of power. He was hunting FDW and preparing to destroy him. He had found the shadow realm. He explained what it was like to her. He made friends of her and Tiffa and was ready to be Vicious Vantino Full-Time. Then, he explained what happened with Zero.
"So, you see, I will do anything to know who I am. You don't understand, and you couldn't understand what I'm in here." He sighed and turned to leave.
"Stop," She said to him, he stopped and listened, "Zero may be under her control, but it's not his fault. He'd never act like this on his own. Please, don't hurt him or anyone else."
Tiffany dropped out of nowhere and landed between them, "I knew you couldn't be related to FDW, he's not human. He wasn't 'born'. I caught your lie the second it left your lips, but I had a feeling you had reason to lie. Guess I was right."
Vicious nodded and continued to leave. And before he was completely gone, he reached out a hand. Tiffany and Caitlin went to grab it, but Zero's bag flew into his hand before it vanished into the Forest.
They sighed and went back to the Tavern to complete the wedding preparations, ignoring Zero's mangled body.
XenSity had mastered use of the energy that flows through all universes and regained nearly all his old supernatural strength. His skill was never lost, but he improved on that as well.
When he was confident that he could fly, fight, and use energy as freely as he used to, he decided to check out the city. He used the energy around him to create the illusion that he looked very ordinary and could not attract attention.
After this was accomplished, he flew off towards the city, ready to find what this world had to offer.
Vicious went into the castle and upstairs. He couldn't stop himself from sulking in his shame. To get his mind off it, he decided to check out what Zero had in the bag. He emptied it onto a table and examined the contents.
There was a black harp in the shape of a crescent moon, a black violin with designs that twisted into the shapes of indescribable images which changed freely, and a black French horn that seemed in no way special except that looking at it seemed to make him want to change into his true form.
He reached back and pulled his ocarina from his back pocket. Deep inside, he knew it to be called the Ocarina of Death, though he knew it was an instrument of good, and change, not death itself.
When he put it down with the others, the designs seemed to come to life and turn gold as they danced about. The horn did not change but Vicious could feel that it felt joy and expressed it secretly, but just as hugely as the others. The harp's strings glowed and seemed to sing a silent melody of sadness and joy and bliss and hatred.
All this happened, but not visually. They did not change at all, in fact. He just got a rush of joy and sorrow as he knew how these objects felt together. Before the dance was done, a fire swept over the table and snatched them up.
Vicious knew it was Din, but couldn't do anything since she was already gone. He slammed his fist into the table, "That evil WITCH!"
XenSity had drawn near to the city when the voice came again, "It is time to test your skills! We depart to your world!"
Zero leapt up, remarkably healed and he knew that he was no longer under control. Something inside him urged him into a battle he sensed was near.
Tiffany and Caitlin felt a cold breeze in the air and knew that something was wrong. Tiffany left Caitlin to finish and put on her armor and gear. Then, Tiffany set out for the Shadow Realm to do battle.
Vicious had smashed the table to bits and stood in thought. After a moment, he sensed a presence nearby. Tiffany burst through the door, geared for battle. Then, Zero landed, having jumped from the ground and through the window. XenSity stepped out of the shadows and nodded at Zero, receiving a similar greeting in return.
Then, all three said in unison, "We come to help you fight, Vicious, and we come to win."
Din was very angry and her sisters were in a deep sleep. A sleep Din herself had induced before she began her plan. She wished she had something to throw, she was so angry.
"I need that stupid song!" She shouted, "But how can I get it? Does anybody know the song?"
Flames formed around her body and whirled in a tornado of fire. The fire thinned out and vanished, along with Din and the Instruments of Darkness.
As she vanished, the four warriors burst in from a portal in the room. Vicious, in his uncloaked form, ran from the room and searched the castle. Zero scanned it with his mechanically enhanced eyes. Tiffany checked the room for the instruments that Vicious had told them about. XenSity was searching like Vicious, manually and over a large area.
Eventually, when nothing was found, they met up in Din's room again. Tiffany burst out saying, "How could you let her take them? She's weak, Vicious! She couldn't even defeat me when we fought!"
Vicious hung his head in shame, but Xen defended him, "She has her stealth methods and probably snuck by him too fast. We don't have time to point fingers right now."
"Wait… Doesn't Din have sisters?" Zero asked while he continued his scan.
"Yeah!" Tiffa shouted, "Din would have to get them out of her way before she could do something like this. But, she would never kill them, so…"
Zero reported, "They're in the basement level two, under a trapdoor in the Tower of Fire."
"We must make haste," Vicious said as he ran off towards the red part of the castle which could only be the Tower of Fire.
Din held the instruments as she sat looking at her sisters. She couldn't understand why they had been against her plan.
Well, no matter. Once I use these to play the Symphony of Shadow, the Crystal Realm and the Shadow Realm will become one and I will rule over both worlds! My people will all be happy because the Shadow Realm offers whatever you could possibly want, and the Crystal Realm is their home. I really don't care if it gets messed up, because it is worth a try.
"Hand them over," came a voice that scared her, but made her bold at the same time, "And you may yet see another sunrise."
She turned to see that her Shrouded Servant was standing defiantly under the trapdoor and in a human form.
"Listen," she asked him as she stood up, "You know what the Shadow Realm is like. It's bliss and happiness everywhere! I just want everyone to have that, and not need leave their families to do it. I will use these to merge the two Realms and make everyone live in peace and happiness under my rule."
In a flash, he had slapped her, but it appeared he had not moved at all from the spot twenty feet away from her. She ignored the pulsing throb of pain and continued, "I don't know who you were, the spell was random. It was meant to erase your memory and make you loyal. It didn't work. You have freedom and you could live in peace. Why do you fight me?"
"Whether or not you realize it, your method for a paradise is wicked. You should know that humans can't exist in the Shadow Realm without a spirit. And also that FierceDeities would all die if you merged the two castles of Fanelia and Shadow," he told her condescendingly.
She ignored him and said, "I think I know the person that Kevin would teach the Symphony to…"
And she vanished as she always did, making sure not to leave the instruments behind.
The wedding was underway, and Caitlin was standing behind the seats watching the procession. She sighed and turned to walk into the Tavern. At that moment, everything was alit with fire, even the people.
Caitlin was horrified. She crouched and watched them scream for help. The bride herself in her flowing gown was crying out in agony, her wedding gown was the biggest fire there, and she couldn't get it off.
Then, it all seemed to become blurry, as if she were about to faint on the spot. Caitlin shook her head and it seemed none of it had happened. The bride and groom were staring lovingly into each other's eyes. The wedding official was performing it perfectly. The families and friends of the couple were seated in their rows, all talking under their breath of how happy they seemed together.
Then, in her head, came the voice of a woman, "Do you want that to happen?"
She shook her head, not caring that a few people were staring at her.
The voice came again, "Then come to Fanelia Castle Courtyard now, and be ready to teach a tune you know by heart."
She quickly sprouted her gossamer wings and took flight towards the Castle.
As Tiffany jumped into the trapdoor, Vicious asked her, "Who would FDW teach the Symphony of Shadow to?"
"Let's see…" she said as she thought, "Well, there's me, Caitlin, Tiff, and… come to think of it; he doesn't have many friends who are close enough to teach a song to."
He looked over to the twin beds where the goddesses Farore and Nayru slept. He seemed deep in thought.
"I think it's time we paid Tiff a visit," he said with authority.
Tiff was sitting on a chair in her room, writing a letter to her friend. When she finished, she held it up in the air. A small chubby kid with wings swooped out of nowhere and snatched it up.
She said to herself, "What would I do without MemoServ… probably send less letters, ha ha ha!"
A knock came at her door. Her eyebrow went up and she went to answer it.
She was very surprised when she saw Tiffa in full battle gear, xenSity seemed much more serious than usual, and an upgraded-looking Zero standing at her doorsteps.
Tiffa spoke first, "We need to talk. But first, let me introduce you to a new friend of ours."
She stepped sideways and a young man was standing behind where she was. He looked distracted, but dangerous. He wore black jeans, a white shirt, and a black vest. His silver hair reminded her of someone, but she couldn't remember who. His wandering red eyes didn't look familiar at all. Other than all that, he could have been Link's twin.
"What's your name, newbie?" she asked him politely.
Tiffa laughed and said, "He's not a newbie, Tiff. His name's Vicious and we don't really know his real name or where he's from."
Tiff laughed back, "Why don't you just ask him?"
Vicious spoke, "Because I don't know either. Now, we need to ask you a question."
Tiff stepped out of her house and closed the door behind her, "What is it?"
Vicious asked her while he was staring into the sky, "Did FierceDeityWarrior ever teach you any songs?"
She thought for a moment, then shook her head "No, none that I can remember. Why?"
The four of them ignored her and took off towards Tiffany's Tavern.
Caitlin landed gracefully in the open courtyard of Fanelia Castle. Her wings folded and vanished behind her. The courtyard itself was empty. Caitlin shouted, "Show yourself! I'm ready."
A fierce wind blew, and Caitlin shielded her eyes from it. When it stopped, Din stood before her in a flowing red gown and her hair up.
Din glared at Caitlin, and received a welcome that wasn't quite as warm from Caitlin. Caitlin glared right back at her with ten times more hatred than she thought she could feel towards someone.
Din spoke, "My brother Kevin taught you a song, and I want that song as well."
Caitlin raised an eyebrow, "What's so special about a song?"
"Nothing, really. It's a family thing. He's not around and I would like to learn it. And, as you know by now, I'm not very patient." Din hovered a little off the ground, trying to intimidate Caitlin.
Caitlin replied to this by baring her vampiric fangs and licking one idly. She then said, "I can tell it's more than just a song. Tell me why you want it, or I'll never teach it to you."
"Tell me, girl, do you value your life at all? Or shall I make it clear to you that I am very powerful and very impatient and therefore very dangerous." Din's eyes were rimmed with flame.
Caitlin spread her wings and made them visibly black, showing her anger, "I am dangerous as well. Now what can it hurt to tell me this, girl to girl?"
Din sneered, "Fine, I'll tell you. But, you must promise to teach me the song afterwards."
Caitlin nodded and folded her wings, making them disappear from view.
Din began, "I have just found my Father's most prized possessions, and they're instruments. Well, my father knew a song that went with all of the instruments at once, but he never had a chance to teach it to me. He had died before he could, when I was just a newborn goddess."
"Hold on, gods can die?" Caitlin asked with wonder.
Din laughed at her ignorance, "Not in the way you think of it. You see, he was destroyed, but his… how should I put this… his power lived on, as any god's power does. When he was destroyed by my mother, his power, his soul, and his body were separated. His body is still where it was when he was destroyed. His power is in Kevin, or FierceDeityWarrior. His soul is in a human body, and when it dies, he finds another one. My father's mind and memory are gone as long as the three remain separated."
Caitlin nodded, trying to piece these things together. She didn't notice the way Din fidgeted with impatience.
"Now, I want the song so I can play these instruments and at least remotely know what my father was like," These words were a lie, but Din knew that Caitlin wouldn't understand her true intentions. She continued, "Kevin knew the song the moment he was born, but refused to teach anyone. I found out later that he had played it and you learned from that and played it alongside him. Since he won't teach it to me, I need you to."
"But, where is FDW?" Caitlin asked her, "Do you know where he is? Everyone's worried about him and Vicious is out to get him!"
Din raised an eyebrow, "Kevin's missing? That's very strange… When did he go missing? We don't get along much, so I didn't think of it when I didn't hear from him for a while…"
"He's been missing for a little over three weeks," Caitlin told her, forgetting her hatred for her for a moment.
Din froze, wide-eyed and fearful. She looked at Caitlin and said, "Th-three weeks!?"
"Yeah, almost a month. Vicious Vantino, or whatever his real name is, is after him. He's been looking for him and threatening FierceDeities since almost right after FDW disappeared," Caitlin was worried now, seeing the look on Din's face.
"Oh no… I've made a horrible mistake…" Din whispered.
Vicious and the others showed up at the wedding, and immediately began searching for Caitlin. Tiffa asked around, but nobody knew where she went. Vicious and xenSity searched the entire area as fast as their extreme powers would allow. Zero scanned for angelic or vampiric life-forms and found only a couple friends and relatives of the bride and groom fit into either category.
Caitlin taught the haunting song that Din had told her was named the Symphony of Shadow. After Din had dedicated it to memory, Din struck her across the head, knocking her out cold.
"Now, to play it with these instruments and merge the two worlds," then a fault in her plan occurred to her, "But how can I play all the instruments at once? Stupid Din! Stupid, stupid Din!" She scolded herself for her foolishness.
Then an idea hit her. She could make slaves of the four warrior who sought to stop her. It was perfect. Then, nobody could possibly prevent her from completing her plan.
She raised both hands into the air and shouted to the winds, "I call on my power! I am the Goddess of Power and I demand ultimate control! It will begin with four chosen warriors, servants of Fate, and messengers of Justice. They will obey my every WORD!"
Two pillars of fire rose from her arms and into the sky. They twisted together and split apart to make four. They then went in search of their chosen hosts.
Zero detected Din was coming towards his current location. He readied for combat and a fireball came into view over the treetops fifty yards away. He jumped at it and it hurtled toward him at breakneck speed.
Vicious flew silently around the tavern, looking into the windows of the second floor in search of any sign of Caitlin. He sensed a small power coming towards him from behind and thought it was Caitlin. He turned and landed to greet her, but all that was there to greet him was a large fireball coming towards him faster than he could follow.
Tiffa found that Caitlin ran off towards Fanelia City in a hurry, mumbling something about the castle and Din. Tiffa immediately went in search of the others. She flew over the tavern, and when she landed, a fireball was in her face before she could blink.
XenSity was in the forest itself, shouting Caitlin's name over and over. His path was now blocked by a large thorn bush. He chopped through it with his sword, and then sheathed his sword. He stepped over the remnants of the now flaming bush. Then, he was knocked off his feet by a huge fireball which came from the sky.
Din laughed sadistically when the four warriors stepped out of the forest, all dressed in black and in FierceDeity form. Tiffa wore armor that covered her abdomen and a black cap. Her armor also had a leather skirt coming out from all sides. XenSity wore full black body armor. His face was covered in dark warpaint and his features were all blank as his stare.
Zero himself was as black as night all over. On his head he wore a helmet like that of a knight's and you could easily hear his normally muffled inner workings and gears turning. Vicious now truly stood up to his name and personified it. He almost looked like a FierceDeity himself. His black cloak was now in shreds, and no longer covered his face. It was almost unidentifiable, but you could see that FierceDeityWarrior and Vicious were the same person. His eyes were completely red and not white at all. He wore black boots that were similar to his old ones and his body armor was covered in the designs that were once seldom on it.
Din looked at Vicious for a moment and said, "I am sorry, dear brother, but it is for the best. Now, you must all take one instrument and play a melody that I am now sending into your minds. The girl will take the harp, the boy will take the violin, the robot will have the horn and my brother will have the ocarina while I play the flute.
"After the song is done, the Shadow Realm and the Crystal Realm will become one and all mortals may die. It's worth the risk. And if they do merge, you will help me educate mortals on how to exist in this new world and you will maintain order, being the strongest, fastest, and brightest of them all. Let us begin the Symphony of Shadow."
Everyone put out their dominant hand and their instruments floated into the hands. Then, they began to play.
The melody was sweet, promising, scary, and evil, all at the same time. They all seemed to bend with the song, and the world around them did bend and change. It became darker and swirled with the colors of the Shadow Realm. Caitlin stirred on the ground by Din's feet.
XenSity played the violin with impossible skill, sending waves of a haunting melody into the air. Zero blew the horn and it seemed ordinary and unnoticeable at the same time it could chill a mortal's spine, and it could make one cry until one went mad.
Tiffa's fingers graces the harp delicately, but with fierce skill. The sound drowned out all the others, while it also amplified and added onto them. Din's flute seemed deafening and silent at the same time. She played with less skill than the others, but the flute made up for it with sharp and dull notes that touched any listener's soul.
Vicious played with skill, experience, and absolute ignorance. His ocarina was undoubtedly the most powerful instrument among the others. The others drifted off to back up the song Vicious personified. Vicious seemed hypnotized by the melody and his eyes were closed as he swayed to the beautiful song. Suddenly, the swirling of the physical world hit the two mortals and robot that were there and they stopped playing and collapsed in pain.
They cried out, but since Vicious was under a stronger spell, he ignored them completely and carried on the symphony with Din, continuing the transformation of the Crystal Realm.
A Symphony of Chaos
Vicious and Din continued to play, not seeing anything around them because they played with their eyes closed. XenSity and the others stopped crying out and struggling against the pain and were being torn up just as the Crystal Realm was. They swirled with the ground and trees and with the song itself. They lay still and their fiercer forms became their normal ones. They seemed to accept what was happening.
Just before the world was completely dark and twisted, another song rose from the forest around them. Din's eyes shot open, but vicious ignored it as well. The song seemed nearby and also stretched out forever into the world itself. When the new song reached a crescendo, they darkness began to retreat and the swirling of the world slowed to a stop.
It was then when Vicious opened his eyes, still lost in his own song, but wondering about the other. It seemed to become one with his own song, but also changed it for the better. Their unity was a true symphony, and when Din stopped playing, it only sped up the process.
Din spun around and saw Caitlin on the ground playing a golden ocarina. The song seemed louder near her, so Din knew it was Caitlin who was producing the new song, despite Caitlin's obvious pain which came from the twisting world.
The song was as familiar to Vicious as the Shadow Symphony. As he continued to play, he remembered fragments of being another person. Of having a wife who glowed green, brown, and red because of being Mother nature herself. He remembered the tears in her eyes as she played this new song and it destroyed Vicious, or whoever this other person was. He then saw the he had split, his mind was gone, his body lay with a blank stare.
The body did not look familiar. It was an Elder God's body, and this god's Power left him and headed away from Heaven and toward the Crystal Realm. The soul matched the body except was filmy white and headed toward the Crystal Realm in another direction, towards an older man who was crafting masks in solitude. The Power turned and shot into the masks themselves, thus beginning the FierceDeities.
Caitlin spread her wings and gathered energy from the air around her as she played. She floated and stood in front of an astonished Din. Caitlin's eyes were closed, the same as Vicious'. She gathered power and Caitlin's wings filled with a swirling rainbow of colors.
A few minutes later, Vicious and Caitlin shot into the sky, leaving craters where they stood. Din tried to fly after them, but their wakes dragged her and slammed her into a tree.
In the sky, Caitlin released the energy she gathered from the song and it scattered through the world, a small piece hitting Vicious.
Vicious stopped playing and the Ocarina of Darkness and the other Instruments of Darkness began to glow. The others all began to drag across the ground toward Vicious, by some unknown force.
They lifted off the ground and shot towards Vicious. Vicious looked indifferently at them as they flew towards him. He looked back at Caitlin, who continued to play. He then raised a hand as Din controlled him from below. Energy formed in front of his palm in a black ball of swirling chaos.
As he blasted her, the Instruments of Darkness (except for the Ocarina) encircled her and put up a powerful shield. Vicious furrowed his brow and blasted again. The shield weakened under his enhanced powers.
Caitlin realized what was happening just as the shield failed. She quickly ducked out of the way, and barely missed becoming charcoal. When she dodged, she had to stop playing the song. In doing so, the instruments fell to the ground.
Vicious' vacant red eyes stared at Caitlin. She glared back at him, not realizing he was FierceDeityWarrior.
"I knew you were evil! I bet Zero was trying to save us, so that's why you trashed him!" She flew at him and punched his chest.
He merely stared down at her, still in a simplified state. Her hits didn't even phase him. His armor had thickened with the transformation of servitude, just as his personality thinned.
The others stirred. They were no longer under Din's spell, and therefore no longer enhanced as Vicious was. XenSity shook his head and looked up at what looked like an angel trying in vain to hurt a devil. The Devil wore rags and had a scary face. He couldn't see the angel's face because the angel faced the other direction.
The angel had huge gossamer wings that were a transparent blue. They shimmered in the air around them and seemed not to support anything at all. The angel was small and obviously female, while the devil was quite large and most definitely male. It looked frightening and dangerous.
Just then, Zero awoke. XenSity flinched when Zero spoke, "Do you know who they are? Or where we are? Where's Vicious?"
Tiffa was quiet, but had been awake even before xenSity. She had seen Din controlling the devil creature. She knew who it was, and who the angel was.
She spoke, "The angel is Caitlin." She paused, knowing they would not want to know who the other was.
XenSity urged her to tell them who the other one was, so she told them, "It's… It's… It's Kevin. Kevin is under Din's control. He seems stronger than he ever was. I have a bad feeling about this."
Zero and xenSity froze in shock, then looked back up at the floating pair. Tiffa quietly prayed for Vicious' safety, though she didn't know that Vicious and Kevin were one in the same.
Din laughed as she lay bruised and broken on the ground. With her unbroken hand, she directed him to shatter the shield and stop her from playing the song. She then ran out of energy and merely watched.
Din wondered why her sister Fate betrayed her by making Kevin the first slave. She was very distressed that she had to manipulate her favorite sibling and the only other god that understood her actions.
She then began to contemplate why Kevin was in the disguise of Vicious Vantino, even after his enslavement. She also wondered why he continued against her, even though he didn't know who he trusted or loved. He followed the others and helped them, and Din couldn't figure out why.
A familiar voice answered her, "Because he knows what you don't, dear sister."
Din scoffed. She had expected her sister would interfere, "Using your dream apparition to defy me? That is so cheap. What could a memory-less person like him know what I don't?"
"He knows what you're doing is wrong. He knows that there can't be a larger Shadow Realm and the Light Realm remain. He knows the balance would be destroyed. The balance that separates wrong from right, chaos from order, hate from love." A transparent-looking woman in blue was standing beside her, watching Vicious be hit by Caitlin.
"Ah, now I understand, dear sister. I only wish I had the energy to shake him out of my spell." Din sighed as she passed out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Mystery of the Warrior
FierceDeityWarrior was looking for his lost golden ocarina when a storm started up. He said to himself, "Hmmm, I guess the girls are fighting again, Din must have brought another mortal man there. She can be so crazy sometimes…"
He decided to rest under a fallen tree that was propped up against another. He didn't feel like using powers that day, so he just lies on the ground and relaxed.
A few hours later, the storm subsided. The fallen tree was waterlogged, but the ground underneath it was dry. FierceDeityWarrior was nowhere in sight.
A few weeks later, his friend xenSity was flying around, and looking for him. Xen had urgent news for him, but FierceDeityWarrior had been missing since that last storm.
His news was that a strange warrior was hunting FierceDeities and interrogating them mercilessly. Zero was last seen battered and sparks of electricity were being flung randomly from his mangled body. Angel was not harmed, but was questioned repeatedly as to where their leader was. Angelo hadn't heard of him yet, but xenSity knew Angelo was in trouble if he didn't disguise himself. XenSity himself was in a fight with the warrior, and barely got out alive.
Angel felt worried about FierceDeityWarrior, but not too worried. She knew he could handle himself. The mystery warrior almost hit her for denying him the FD's leader's name and location. Luckily, he seemed to have gotten distracted and left.
XenSity was very much worried, but had long ago found that FierceDeityWarrior was prone to strange disappearances and making enemies as well as friends wherever he went. He was more concerned for some of the newest members of the FD's than anything. They didn't know FierceDeityWarrior and didn't stand a chance against the mystery warrior. Zelutos could handle himself, so xenSity put him out of mind.
What he couldn't figure out was how that the warrior knew all of the FD's by name and even who he was. The warrior must have been somebody they knew, but he wasn't as good as Trygon, and even knew them now. He also must have been highly skilled. XenSity had known the warrior, but couldn't think of who he was.
The warrior now flew alone, hidden completely by a black cloak and hood. His hands were holding two swords by his side as he flew. He silently thought to himself:
I must find the leader of those strange warriors. I must find out who I am. I can't continue living without knowing… Why? Why must I fight? Why must I only be satisfied with fighting and competition? Somehow I know this man is the only way for me to know who… what… why I am whatever I am. I somehow know the FD's, maybe I was one of them… no, that can't be right, I'm nothing like them. I could not be a cowardly, disgusting creature of the shadows. I must continue searching, he MUST know who I am.
Suddenly, a woman appeared in front of him and he immediately stopped in midair. He took on a fighting stance, "Who are you? Some kind of red-haired Demon?"
The woman laughed and shook her head, "Forget about me, I came to tell you what to do."
"Nobody orders me around, lady! Out of my way before I show you the foolishness of angering me!" He shouted, and a dull red glow came from his eyes, which was all she could see of his face.
She grinned evilly and spun in place, "I am your master, and I am Din. You will destroy the FierceDeities and their home realm, that 'Shadow Realm'."
The glow faded from his eyes, "Wait, how do I know this isn't a tri-" The warrior suddenly clutched his head and began to scream in pain, "WHAT IS THIS? WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME? …Please… please stop it, it hurts so much… help me…"
She laughed as he reached out for her and began to descend. His pain made him lose all concentration and he began to fall, unable to hold himself up any longer. He slammed into the ground and muttered into the dirt, "I will destroy them… master…"
Again, she let out a disgustingly wicked laugh and was lit afire. The flame that enveloped her swirled and vanished with her. A puff of smoke was all that remained.
The warrior lay silent on the ground for a few hours, and then slowly stood. Then, he picked up one of his swords and pulled a string from it. The whole sword glowed and became a silver bow with the same crescent moon designs on it. He leaned down and picked up the other sword. Without even looking at it, he attached it to his back and it became a quiver full of black-tipped arrows.
XenSity was watching from a nearby tree, after seeing him fall out of nowhere. When the warrior did this with his weapons, it shocked him so much he almost fell out of the tree. Luckily, he was experienced with surprises and regained his balance quickly enough not to attract attention. He went to fly away, but was stopped suddenly by the warrior's deep voice, echoing eerily throughout the forest.
"Tell me how to enter the Shadow Realm, FierceDeity, and you will live longer than I would normally allow," The warrior said without looking up at him. XenSity was a bit frightened, and aware of his own abilities, so he told him, "I don't go there much anymore, but I'll tell you this: You need to receive the ability from a former shadow creature or the King of Fanelia, I recommend the former rather than the latter."
The warrior nodded and gave solemn thanks before vanishing completely. XenSity was angry at himself, but knew the it would be best if the warrior actually found FierceDeityWarrior, because then the FD's could live in peace rather than fear and because FierceDeityWarrior could handle himself.
Two days later, the warrior had terrorized Fanelia looking for the king or a shadow creature. A frightened and battered Fanelian had told him of a cave where he thought he once saw a shadow warrior practicing alone.
Later, the Warrior entered the cave and looked around. Finding nothing after a few minutes of searching. He became angry. He clenched a fist and the Fanelian that told him of the cave died at the same moment as he was sitting with his family to dinner.
The Warrior almost left the cave when he heard a footstep. He whirled around and blasted whatever it was.
The blast bounced off of outstretched palms and through the cave wall. The person who was fired at started blowing on his now blistered hands, trying to relieve the pain of his bubbling skin.
He glared at the warrior and appeared behind him. The warrior reached behind himself, grabbed the man's neck and lifted him over him. The hand that held him wore a black gauntlet with a crescent moon insignia on it. The warrior held the man upside-down by his neck, but high enough to be face-to-face.
"Who are you?" The man struggled to say as he tried to free himself from the warrior's steel grip.
The warrior laughed, "That makes the two of us who would like to know. Tell me your name, vile shadow creature."
The man spat at him and continued to struggle. Steam came from under the warrior's hood as the spit evaporated. The warrior angrily threw him back, effortlessly breaking every one of his ribs against the jagged wall. The man bled freely from his energy-burnt neck and the back of his head, but he was still conscious.
Slowly, the Warrior approached him, trying to decide how to deal with the situation. Finally, he said, "You will tell me how to enter the Shadow Realm."
The man coughed blood and didn't move, but said, "You need a shadow's spirit inside of you, and I'm guessing you don't have one. I was created from one and when I die I will become one again, and be reborn in the Shadow Realm. I am not afraid of you. Do your worst."
"Ah, but you should be very afraid. It is quite sad, death. I don't remember killing anyone in my life, but it is entirely possible that I did. I did, although; do away with a sentient robotic life form. You, my disgusting little friend, are going to die, and you will not be coming back. Goodnight." The warrior drew his bow and loosed an arrow as the final word was said.
A strange black, shapeless form rose from the body as the body itself vanished, but the warrior raised a hand into the air. The spirit stopped in midair and was drawn into the warrior's hand.
The Warrior felt a jolt of exhilaration and his vigor was renewed completely. He grinned and knew that his strength had increased significantly with the spirit that was bonded to his soul. Then, he began to wonder if he even had a soul and the spirit had not simply attached to him physically. He decided not to decide at all and faded into the shadows of the cave.
Zero was tuning his robotic body up and finishing his repairs when xenSity appeared almost out of nowhere. Zero paid no attention to him as he approached and Zero continued working.
XenSity asked him politely, "Do you know who he is? You know, that guy who's after the FierceDeities?"
Zero kept working, but said, "I did scan him before we fought and his cloak had some sort of mystical shroud around it and the shroud prevented me from identifying his energy signature. Even though, I suspect who he is, but you might not want to know."
XenSity thought for a moment and said, "I have my own suspicions, maybe we can figure it out."
"Sure, whatever, just don't get in my way, this is delicate work," Zero told him sternly, "And, if you can, help me out a bit."
XenSity agreed to this and passes him the requested socket wrench, "I think it may be a former FierceDeity. You know, from before that war. He might be under an Angel's control. You know how they hate us."
"Of course I know, and I had exactly the same thoughts on it. FD's are only weak because of the whole mask thing, lucky it doesn't apply to us," Zero responded with a nearly robotic tone that was ironically unlike him.
XenSity paced the room while Zero readjusted his power core, "I seem to have forgotten, but what mask thing and why doesn't it apply to us?"
"Well, FD's are naturally supposed to be a split version of what was once the Shadow God. I think when the man who created the mask wished for them to have life; the Shadow Lord was destroyed on a different plane, but in the same area. I believe his soul fragments possessed the mask and took on individual personalities over time," Zero patiently explained, "But when the FD separates from his or her mask, the mask has control over them and the bearer can use their power to their will. And, since Angels took control of nearly all the FD's, their power accumulated into one being, FierceDeityWarrior. Thus, he is becoming a Shadow God more completely than ever. This transformation is leaving him vulnerable.
"He was born with an army of a family and I think he was lonely when he made us, or simply in need of at least some company," He paused to tighten a screw, "And granted us pieces of himself, or his very essence, or even his immortal soul… Whatever the case, he is vulnerable, and there are still Shadow Knights, Dark servants of Angels, that were once FD's out there and under the control of fiends. The Angels must be against losing their servants or that there may be a new Shadow God. Whatever the case, we're in trouble if they do find and kill him. But hey, if worse comes to worse, he can hide in the Shadow Realm, since they can't go there anymore because they lost their Shadow Spirits."
XenSity coughed nervously and turned away. His fists were clenched so tight his knuckles turned white. Zero notices this human sign of guilt and told him so, "You… didn't tell that guy how to get into the Shadow Realm, did you?"
XenSity coughed again and avoided Zero's red eyes, "I thought FierceDeityWarrior could beat that guy, and that if he did, we wouldn't need fear him. I didn't know FDW was weakened or whatever. I thought I was helping!"
Zero sighed and tried to think. Even his advanced computerized brain had needed a moment to figure it out. And, even then, he couldn't come up with a solution except to find FierceDeityWarrior as quickly as possible.
"Xen, we have to go find FierceDeityWarrior right now, understand? He is in extreme danger… we have to go immediately!"
Xen nodded and they headed off towards where he was last seen, the Great Forest.
The Warrior had asked (or interrogated) a man how to get into the Shadow Realm, and the man told him that he had heard of a portal in Fanelia Castle, but also that he didn't understand why he would go there.
The Warrior replied, "I have to visit some friends of mine, thank you for your help and goodbye."
The man was shocked when the warrior took off into the air, but not as shocked as when the country of Sutherland (The man's own country) burst entirely into flames and explosions as the warrior departed.
The warrior swooped down on Zero and xenSity as they were scanning the Great Forest for any sign of any Deity at all. They were caught by surprise, but the warrior didn't attack.
"I come to warn you. After I find this 'Shadow Realm' I will destroy the castle of FierceDeities and effectively destroy him and take your shadow powers. You cannot stop me unless you tell me WHERE HE IS!" The mysterious warrior said in near rage. He was holding off the overwhelming desire to kill them that he had since he had met the Red-Haired woman Din.
Zero and xenSity showed no fear, and Zero calmly said, "We are as clueless as you as to where he is. Leave us in peace, we do not wish to fight."
XenSity formed a ball of protective energy around himself and Zero, but the warrior paid it no mind. The warrior seemed distracted, but said, "You all will die, and there is no doubt about that. Though we could have been friends, had the circumstances been different. We shall meet again in the Final Battle. Until then, I hope that you find a way out of your fate."
The warrior flew past them so fast there was a loud roar behind him and was flying northwest. Xen and Zero sighed and continued scanning the forest.
After a minute, a small metal orb came from where the warrior had and hovered in front of Zero. Xen was surprised, but Zero seemed to know what it was.
"What do you have to report?" Zero asked it in a calm manner. The orb itself seemed to be twitching a lot.
"ERRR… Major Disssturbance… Sutherland has been attacked… ERRR… No surrrvivors… *Beep*" The metallic orb told him. After it was done, Zero's chest opened and it flew in. Zero closed it and then turned to Xen.
He said, "We have to go to the Shadow Realm and to the castle, we might find some answers there!"
XenSity grinned and said, "Sounds like a plan! Let's go find out how to kick some cloaked butt!"
XenSity drew a long, black sword out of midair and sliced a circle into the air itself. The sword then vanished and the air inside the circle seemed to swirl around in front of it and become ten shades darker.
"Let's get goin', bro," xenSity said and they both flew into the portal and it closed behind them.
At Fanelia Castle, the princess was talking with her friends in the courtyard. She said to Zelutos, "Hey, aren't you a FD? Where's FierceDeityWarrior? Isn't he supposed to be my 'guardian'?"
"How should I know? I'm just the new guy and I'm not even sure if I want to be a FD anymore. It got really boring. I was only one because Caitlin was one, anyway. Now about this news, who is this guy?" Zelutos said, ignoring her angry glare.
She decided to ignore his impudence and said, "All I heard is that someone saw him flying over Sutherland, and the next thing you know, *BANG* it's all ashes and firewood. I heard he's hunting FD's… Better watch out, Zel! He'll get you good!"
Zelutos didn't look the least bit worried, "I'm not afraid of him. The FD's were weak, that guy couldn't take me on! And, it probably wasn't him that did that to Sutherland. You know how they can be, messing with magic and matter and calling it 'Science'. People like that won't last. It'll always be dragons and magic and unexplained mysteries. 'Science' won't last out this century. Especially if they keep blowing themselves up."
The princess nodded and pointed across the courtyard. She whispered to Zelutos, "Do you know who he is? He wasn't here a minute ago and I didn't see him come in."
The man she was pointing at was watching them silently. He looked remarkably like Link, but different somehow. The way he stood and the way he was dressed were so different as to make him look like an opposite.
Zelutos shook his head, "He looks kinda like Link, but Link is in Hyrule now, and he would never be caught in Jeans and a T-Shirt. Let's go back inside."
She agrees and they leave with three others. The blonde-haired man grins and his blue T-Shirt turns black. The blackness covers him and his face is shrouded in the shadow of his hood as it takes its true shape. He says to himself, "Now, to find this portal I've heard so much about."
He then became invisible and hovered a couple inches from the ground. The warrior floated toward the door and down the hallway. He found the staircase of the North Tower, where the portal was supposed to be kept.
He floated to the middle of the stairwell and flew straight up through the spiraling stairs. The warrior landed in front of a wooden door and tried to open it. He quickly found that the door was locked and secured by magic.
Mystery warrior put his finger to the keyhole on the padlock and it started to shake violently. After a moment, it released and the door swung open. Behind it was something MysteryWarrior did not expect.
He stood facing a bedroom that was obviously a girl's and most likely the princess'. It was littered carelessly with clothes and discarded hair accessories. The room was basically a horrible mess. The warrior didn't seem to mind and walked right in, looking for the portal.
After searching an unused closet and getting red-faced by looking through some drawers, he decided it wasn't in there. He would search for it elsewhere.
Still invisible, he left the room and locked it behind him. He scratched his chin, barely revealing it to the light the windows provided.
Where could it be? It was supposed to be in the North Tower, but I already searched it. I have to find it; I just have to!
He looked up, still lost in thought. Then, he noticed that the ceiling looked distorted and darker above the Princess' door. He figured it must be for her guardian FierceDeity to get to her if she were in trouble.
The Warrior jumped straight into it as the Princess ascended the stairs with a red-haired girl she had recently met.
"Nothing!" Zero shouted as he searched the Great Library for information about finding a FierceDeity or destroying a Shadow Knight. Xen had found a map of the Crystal Realm revealing the few portals that existed there. He knew his must have flickered on and off the scroll as he entered the Shadow Realm with Zero.
They also found that another realm existed that bound the two together. The Earth Realm consisted of good and evil combined and warring in every person, and that Science dominated all other sources of wisdom there. They also found that they had alter egos there that were matching in mind to their bodies and spirits.
They found many things, but not what they needed. The Earth Realm idea sparked an interest in Zero, but only for a moment, since it was so dull.
Eventually, they gave up their search and flew out towards the courtyard. XenSity had long ago found that the castle matched Fanelia's in perfect detail. They practiced fighting for a while to stretch their limbs and work off some stress.
"I have an Idea!" XenSity shouted after they were done with their break.
Zero raised an eyebrow, "Wow, I didn't think you could do that. How far you've come since Retard Camp."
"Shut up," Xen said angrily, "Anyway, let's check FDW's chamber. There has to be something there!"
Zero pointed out that it was a good idea for his bamaged drain. Then, they flew through the halls and up the staircase of the North Tower. When they reached the top, Zero detected a life form nearby.
"Stay on guard, he could be here by now," He said as xenSity began to look for the key in his satchel that would open the lock.
"Oh, don't worry about me, guys, I'm just going to look around in this dimension for a while before I tear this castle to pieces," said as he appeared above them.
They looked up, showing no fear, and said together, "GO AWAY!"
The warrior laughed at this, but didn't remark on it, "Since I'll kill you next time we meet, it might be good to have a name for me. I think it would be best for all of us if it were MysteryWarrior."
"We don't care, bogeyman wannabe! You're going down, and going down alone!" XenSity shouted in anger.
MysteryWarrior showed no reaction, except a sneer, "You wish. Farewell, Vile Ones, until we meet in hell!" And he was gone.
He soon found that the Shadow Realm lived up to its name. It was simply billions upon billions of twisting shadows as far as the eye could see. He continued to look for something, anything, and found nothing.
MysteryWarrior decided to rest, and landed on a solid surface that couldn't be seen, only the dark things underneath it. He unconsciously wished for a place to sit and he was seated on a log before the thought even registered in his mind.
He now realized why you needed a Shadow Spirit to enter this realm. It was never completed. The pure chaos of it was eager to please even an idle mind with anything it wished for.
This place sounded promising to one with no identity or known face. He had to temporarily adopt a fake one to enter the castle. This realm enticed him and made him want never to leave.
Zero and xenSity had found nothing in FDW's surprisingly small and poor room.
Zero was scanning the walls for any hollow areas when Xen spoke up, "What exactly are looking for, anyway?"
Zero shrugged, "Anything, really. We just need to find something that can either bring him down, or FDW to us."
Xen stood up, and then sat down again, "All this searching is putting a cramp in my limbs, mind if I go out to stretch?"
"Not at all, but check around the doorframe on your way out, he may have hidden something there," Zero told him as he tapped on a potential hollow point.
XenSity nodded and went out the door, quickly running his fingers around the doorframe before leaving.
When xenSity reached the bottom of the stairs, he quickly flew off. Zero stood up as soon as xenSity was out of human hearing range.
"What a fool… he doesn't even suspect my false loyalties one bit. Way too trusting, those humans." Zero punched the floor and a loose plank of wood shattered under his metal fist.
He then reached into the floor and pulled out the legendary Darkness Flute. A menacing expression rose onto his face. He said silently, "Mistress Din, I have found it. Your servant awaits the time you come to collect it."
MysteryWarrior floated through the dark abyss of the Shadow Realm, occasionally picking various fruits out of midair and eating them. As he did so, he thought to himself:
There is no need to know any more about myself as long as I remain in this beautiful place. I do regret hurting those people, but that's over and I am content to live here for my remaining years.
He stopped and sat on nothing. He sighed to himself, "But I do wonder what I would have found had I kept looking."
For a while he floated upside-down, talking to himself. Eventually, boredom set in and he got an idea to bring excitement.
He reached into his cloak and drew one of his swords from it. It was curved back, so it could be easily drawn without cutting himself. He then made a few motions with it in midair and a hole was torn into the Crystal Realm.
MysteryWarrior poked his hand through to check out where it came out in the Crystal Realm. As soon as he had done this, he pulled it back. He realized he had touched hair on the other side, but did not know whether it was animal or person hair.
A gasp came from the other side, "What was that? Who's there?" Came a female voice.
He knew that unless she looked, she wouldn't see the small portal, so he relaxed.
"Show yourself, or I'll have to make you do so!" She demanded. He didn't want to argue with a girl like that, so he remained silent.
Since he did not know how to close it, he decided to wait until she left to investigate the other side.
She, on the other hand, had other ideas. She could tell that whatever it was, it was invisible, and probably nearby. She drew a spear and thrust it in the direction of what had touched the back of her head, coming just short of his eye.
Now, you can imagine how he felt when a spear came out of the nearly invisible portal and almost punctured his eye. He had to form a plan.
She thrusted the spear to her left, to her right, and then spun it around her in an amazing demonstration of skill. Then, out of nowhere, stepped a large man with a cloak covering his entire body.
The dangerous end of the spear was at his neck in an instant. He put his bare hands up as a sign of surrender.
"Who are you, and why did you touch me?" She demanded angrily.
Under his cloak, he grinned, "My name is… Vicious Vantino. I am sorry, but I could not control myself. Not in front of such a beautiful woman as you."
She resisted a blush, but he knew his plan was working perfectly. He changed his shape and took off his cloak. He had made himself look like he did in Fanelia Castle, but with his own red eyes, silver hair and outfit of jeans and black T-Shirt.
He bowed gracefully, but she carried on with her own self-pride, "Who do you think you are? Keep your hands to yourself, especially around me, if you value your life. And what were you doing invisible? Trying to scare children?"
"I am traveling, and do not wish to be noticed. I have gotten myself lost," He told her in an Spanish accent that matched his current form, "I apologize for my rudeness. Is there anything I can do to make up for my disrespect?"
She grinned, "Yes, as a matter of fact, there is something I need done. Would I be wrong if I were to say you might be a warrior?"
"Not at all, I am a warrior. What can I do to help?" He asked politely.
"Well, you see," She began, "It's like this: My friend lives in Sutherland, but I haven't seen her in a while and wonder if she's okay. I am holding a wedding in a tavern I own, so I can't check up on her until it's over, next week. Would you please go there and check on her? It's not too far from here. Just a couple of miles that way."
She pointed southeast. He looked in the direction she indicated towards and looked back at her, "No problem. But before I go, could I ask you for your name?"
"Of course, it's Tiffany. Most of my friends call me Tiffa. By the way, her name is Caitlin and she's sixteen. You'll find her in a big, blue-and-green house," She said, but before she was done, he was gone again.
"I've never heard of anyone named Vicious…" She said to herself.
MysteryWarrior, or Vicious as he was now calling himself, flew quickly between some trees and over a strange blood-colored pond. He landed at the barrier between Fanelia and Sutherland, where the ground was half cinders and half grass, trees, and life.
He raised an eyebrow, "Oops, guess I went a little overboard when I left. Released too much energy when I took off. I feel bad for Tiffany, but much worse for her friend."
Just then, he heard whistling coming from a house in Sutherland not too far off from the barrier and to his right, facing the other direction. He realized then that the house had come to no harm, so he approached it with caution. The tune to the song was familiar, but not enough to distract him.
It was a very strange melody indeed, one that came from one's soul and pierced his own. It would normally be intoxicating, but he was a focused warrior.
He stepped casually around the corner of the house, coming to the front of it.
He was surprised when a young girl was sitting at the front steps that lead to the door. When he got a good look at her he realized that he had already met her. She was known by nickname as Angel and he had previously interrogated her. He knew she was a FierceDeity, but he wasn't disgusted by her like the others did.
She looked up at him, "I wouldn't recommend coming any closer. It's dangerous."
He got worried, but hid it from her, "W-what do you mean by that, young lady?"
"Oh, it wasn't a threat. There's a spell around this house. It was meant to protect it, but the explosion messed it up and now it's like a prison for me," She informed him, "And, if you do come closer, the shield would probably vaporize you."
He leaned down, picked up a rock, and casually tossed a rock two feet ahead of himself. It froze in midair and slowly turned to dust, starting with the front and worked it's way back.
"Yeesh, I see what you mean," He said admiringly, "Good work. Well, I came to help you, and that just what I'm gonna do."
Her eyebrow quirked and she stood up, "Who are you? I don't think I know you… Are you related to Link? Or FDW?"
He twitched at the second name and said, "I'm Vicious, Vicious Vantino. I'm a relative of FierceDeityWarrior, or Kevin as family calls him."
He struggled to get these bits of info from her mind, but she seemed sealed off, maybe by the force field. He reached out and placed his hands on the invisible wall that was protecting the house.
He sensed no energy from it, but when he tried, he only felt that it was corrupt magic. Magic that was made and then twisted by another spell was what this was.
Her eyes went wide and she watched him push through the pulsing red wall. She could now see it because it was resisting him and couldn't keep itself invisible without losing the power it needed to hold him off.
After a few seconds, she could see it was bending under his strength and would break at any moment. He pulled one hand back and punched the field, shattering it like so much glass. The fragments flew in all directions, and disappeared just before impact with anything.
He reached down and picked up the small crystal that sustained it. He held it for a second, then threw it down and stomped on it. She could see a little red demon rush out of it and vanish.
"Just demons, nothing to worry about," he told her, "By the way, you are Caitlin, right?"
She nodded and laughed, "Yeah, yeah, I'm Caitlin all right, but why are you here, Vicious? I can call you Vicious, can't I?"
"Of course, and Tiffany sent me to see if you were okay." He leaped up onto her roof without even trying. He swung down and hung by his feet from the edge, facing the wall.
She laughed again, "Well, I'm okay. So, where are you from?"
"Ah… you know, around," he said, unsure, "You live alone here?"
"I didn't used to, but I guess the blast killed my roommates. They were at the market when it happened. I wonder what did it," She told him, trying in vain to jump onto the roof.
He laughed as he looked at her. He casually raised a hand and she floated up. She laughed with him and landed.
She told him, "I could have done that. I wanted to jump, dummy."
They both laughed and he jumped down. She noticed a strange pattern in red on the back of his T-Shirt. It looked something like the Triforce with a crescent moon contained within the three triangles. She though nothing of it and said, "Seriously, where are you from, you have a strange accent. Are you even from this Realm?"
"Of course I am. I was born in… Hyrule… But it was Termina. You know, Hyrule's Twin?" He said, hiding his nervousness.
"I've never been there, maybe you could take me sometime. Anyway, Let's go check up on Tiffa."
XenSity ran at full speed, swinging his sword left and right, falling trees were all that he left behind. He trained steadily for the fight he planned to have with MysteryWarrior. He went to take a break under a fallen tree that was propped against a living one. After a moment, he dozed off. Suddenly, he was gone.
Zero was sitting on FDW's only chair, which was made out of Deku Wood, the finest wood in the Crystal Realm. He held this black flute, which had a crescent moon for a mouthpiece. He knew that the Crescent moon was a sign of Darkness and the symbol for FierceDeities. He was worried that the Archangel would find that he possessed the flute and come to take it, but that event never came.
Instead, the fireplace crackled to life on it's own. He quickly stood and kneeled before the flame. It grew to reach the ceiling outside the fireplace and Din stepped out of it.
It subsided the instant Din left it. Since there was no wood, the fire vanished completely. She smiled broadly at the sight of the Flute.
"You served me well," She told him as she snatched it away from him, "One more thing and you can have your freedom."
"Anything, Mistress," He pleaded, "Just release me. I hate being controlled. Please, tell me what you need."
She smirked, "I need the other instruments of Darkness and the Symphony of Shade in order to complete my plans. Bring these to me and you have your free will back."
He nodded enthusiastically, "Whatever you wish, my Queen, I will retrieve them."
"Whatever I wish… Yes…" She laughed at these words, "That is my plan exactly! Ha ha ha!"
Vicious and Caitlin were floating above everyone within the tavern, staying within the range of his cloaking spell. They could see each other, due to the parameters of the spell. One had to know the person was there to see them. She saw that there was something black sticking out of his black pocket, but couldn't see what it was.
He suddenly swooped down and landed behind Tiffa, who was hurriedly arranging everything. Every motion she made, he now mimicked perfectly, right down to her eyebrow height and motion of her lips. Of course he didn't make a sound, because she would know he was there.
After a moment of watching his method of doing it and stood behind him, doing the same thing.
At one point, Tiffa's hand touched his, but she didn't notice. Vicious continued to copy without flaw.
While Tiffa was directing some men as to where to put a statue of the newlyweds together. Caitlin bumped into one of them, and he knew she was there. He saw her slowly appear, and he stepped away from her.
"Oops," she said. Then, everyone saw her appear as they heard the 'oops' as plain as day.
Vicious gave up and dropped the spell completely, revealing himself now standing in front of Tiffa, who was just before staring through him at Caitlin.
Tiffa stumbled backwards and fell. Just before she hit the ground, Vicious was holding her up from behind by her upper arms. He grinned, "Careful, now."
"Aww, I though you were my hero. Now I feel unspecial," Caitlin said playfully.
Like before, he vanished and was next to her, "Don't worry, there's plenty of Vicious to go around."
They all laughed, including the workers, whom Tiffa yelled at for being lazy. Vicious looked at her, "You know, you should really mellow out. Well, guys, I guess this is a big ol' buh-bye on my part. I gotta go, see ya!"
With that, he walked away. Before they could say anything, he seemed to vanish.
XenSity couldn't see anything, not even himself. He could tell he was weightless, floating aimlessly, or not at all. He shouted into the nothingness, "Where am I? Who are you to bring me here? Do you value your life? Release me!"
He tried to fly, but got not results. He guessed that his powers were gone, where he was.
"No, they're there, you just don't know how to use them here." A voice seemed to speak to him from nowhere and everywhere at once. He faintly recognized it, but it seemed different than any he had ever known or could remember at the moment.
"But why have you brought me here? And, what is this place?" xenSity grew calmer, but stayed on guard.
The Voice came again, "If you can learn to use your powers in the Earth Realm, they will increase greatly in your home world, among others."
As soon as these word were said, a grassy plain materialized around him and his body weight hit him, sending him into the fresh dirt. He stood and looked around him. In the distance, there was a city similar to those of Megaman's world, except dirtier. His sword landed beside him and dug into the dirt.
He reached to take it out of the ground, but found that he could not. Apparently, he was a mortal completely here. He decided to work on his strength, resisting the temptation to find his mind-double which was supposed to exist in this world. He powered up as best he could and began to train.
Vicious appeared in the Shadow Realm in his full cloak. He thought to himself: Vicious Vantino, completely made up, but I think it suits me. I'll keep it. Now Caitlin and Tiffa, they were some funny people. I think I'll go back there, but until then, I'm hanging out here. Hmm… I'm in the mood for grapes.
He reached out in front of him and plucked a grape from a nonexistent vine. He wondered when he should show up again and surprise them. Vicious had another one of his plans.
Zero asked around, beat up people, and killed others, and found only three of the four missing instruments, all in the possession of elderly men. He counted a harp, a violin, and a French horn. According to his sources, he had the Mystery Harp of Truth, the Violin of Destiny, and the Horn of the Hidden. He was missing the Ocarina of Death. To his dismay, he found it to be with the worst person possible.
Vicious appeared in the woods near to Tiffany's Tavern. He was in his disguised form, but wearing a black vest over a white T-Shirt and his usual black jeans were torn at the knees.
He stepped out of the woods and started towards the tavern. Before he got there, the robot FierceDeity appeared in his path. Vicious remembered that his name was Zero and that he was weak.
Zero addressed him with authority, "My mistress Din wishes to obtain an object in your possession…"
He stopped because Vicious' expression matched his name when Zero said 'Din'. Vicious muttered in anger, "Do not EVER cross my vision again. You received mercy last time! Next time I will NOT be so forgiving! Tell your mistress to stay out of my life!"
Vicious waved an arm and Zero was thrown into the air and landed with a crash. Unfortunately, Caitlin was watching from the Tavern, though she couldn't hear anything from that distance. She rushed faster than Vicious had guessed she could move to Zero's side.
Stray wires were hanging from his head and joints. His eyes were blank and next to him lay a small sack he had probably dropped. Caitlin turned from him, still kneeling.
"How could you have done this? I thought you were good!" she yelled at him and stood, approaching him as she spoke, "He is good and he is my friend. Why did you harm him? What reason could you possibly have?"
The louder she shouted, the more Vicious thought he saw fangs in her mouth and translucent wings on her back. He blinked and they vanished. He began to explain the truth:
He was the MysteryWarrior that was terrorizing people, including herself. He had accidentally destroyed Sutherland. He was under Din's control and so was Zero. He had threatened the FD's with death and loss of power. He was hunting FDW and preparing to destroy him. He had found the shadow realm. He explained what it was like to her. He made friends of her and Tiffa and was ready to be Vicious Vantino Full-Time. Then, he explained what happened with Zero.
"So, you see, I will do anything to know who I am. You don't understand, and you couldn't understand what I'm in here." He sighed and turned to leave.
"Stop," She said to him, he stopped and listened, "Zero may be under her control, but it's not his fault. He'd never act like this on his own. Please, don't hurt him or anyone else."
Tiffany dropped out of nowhere and landed between them, "I knew you couldn't be related to FDW, he's not human. He wasn't 'born'. I caught your lie the second it left your lips, but I had a feeling you had reason to lie. Guess I was right."
Vicious nodded and continued to leave. And before he was completely gone, he reached out a hand. Tiffany and Caitlin went to grab it, but Zero's bag flew into his hand before it vanished into the Forest.
They sighed and went back to the Tavern to complete the wedding preparations, ignoring Zero's mangled body.
XenSity had mastered use of the energy that flows through all universes and regained nearly all his old supernatural strength. His skill was never lost, but he improved on that as well.
When he was confident that he could fly, fight, and use energy as freely as he used to, he decided to check out the city. He used the energy around him to create the illusion that he looked very ordinary and could not attract attention.
After this was accomplished, he flew off towards the city, ready to find what this world had to offer.
Vicious went into the castle and upstairs. He couldn't stop himself from sulking in his shame. To get his mind off it, he decided to check out what Zero had in the bag. He emptied it onto a table and examined the contents.
There was a black harp in the shape of a crescent moon, a black violin with designs that twisted into the shapes of indescribable images which changed freely, and a black French horn that seemed in no way special except that looking at it seemed to make him want to change into his true form.
He reached back and pulled his ocarina from his back pocket. Deep inside, he knew it to be called the Ocarina of Death, though he knew it was an instrument of good, and change, not death itself.
When he put it down with the others, the designs seemed to come to life and turn gold as they danced about. The horn did not change but Vicious could feel that it felt joy and expressed it secretly, but just as hugely as the others. The harp's strings glowed and seemed to sing a silent melody of sadness and joy and bliss and hatred.
All this happened, but not visually. They did not change at all, in fact. He just got a rush of joy and sorrow as he knew how these objects felt together. Before the dance was done, a fire swept over the table and snatched them up.
Vicious knew it was Din, but couldn't do anything since she was already gone. He slammed his fist into the table, "That evil WITCH!"
XenSity had drawn near to the city when the voice came again, "It is time to test your skills! We depart to your world!"
Zero leapt up, remarkably healed and he knew that he was no longer under control. Something inside him urged him into a battle he sensed was near.
Tiffany and Caitlin felt a cold breeze in the air and knew that something was wrong. Tiffany left Caitlin to finish and put on her armor and gear. Then, Tiffany set out for the Shadow Realm to do battle.
Vicious had smashed the table to bits and stood in thought. After a moment, he sensed a presence nearby. Tiffany burst through the door, geared for battle. Then, Zero landed, having jumped from the ground and through the window. XenSity stepped out of the shadows and nodded at Zero, receiving a similar greeting in return.
Then, all three said in unison, "We come to help you fight, Vicious, and we come to win."
Din was very angry and her sisters were in a deep sleep. A sleep Din herself had induced before she began her plan. She wished she had something to throw, she was so angry.
"I need that stupid song!" She shouted, "But how can I get it? Does anybody know the song?"
Flames formed around her body and whirled in a tornado of fire. The fire thinned out and vanished, along with Din and the Instruments of Darkness.
As she vanished, the four warriors burst in from a portal in the room. Vicious, in his uncloaked form, ran from the room and searched the castle. Zero scanned it with his mechanically enhanced eyes. Tiffany checked the room for the instruments that Vicious had told them about. XenSity was searching like Vicious, manually and over a large area.
Eventually, when nothing was found, they met up in Din's room again. Tiffany burst out saying, "How could you let her take them? She's weak, Vicious! She couldn't even defeat me when we fought!"
Vicious hung his head in shame, but Xen defended him, "She has her stealth methods and probably snuck by him too fast. We don't have time to point fingers right now."
"Wait… Doesn't Din have sisters?" Zero asked while he continued his scan.
"Yeah!" Tiffa shouted, "Din would have to get them out of her way before she could do something like this. But, she would never kill them, so…"
Zero reported, "They're in the basement level two, under a trapdoor in the Tower of Fire."
"We must make haste," Vicious said as he ran off towards the red part of the castle which could only be the Tower of Fire.
Din held the instruments as she sat looking at her sisters. She couldn't understand why they had been against her plan.
Well, no matter. Once I use these to play the Symphony of Shadow, the Crystal Realm and the Shadow Realm will become one and I will rule over both worlds! My people will all be happy because the Shadow Realm offers whatever you could possibly want, and the Crystal Realm is their home. I really don't care if it gets messed up, because it is worth a try.
"Hand them over," came a voice that scared her, but made her bold at the same time, "And you may yet see another sunrise."
She turned to see that her Shrouded Servant was standing defiantly under the trapdoor and in a human form.
"Listen," she asked him as she stood up, "You know what the Shadow Realm is like. It's bliss and happiness everywhere! I just want everyone to have that, and not need leave their families to do it. I will use these to merge the two Realms and make everyone live in peace and happiness under my rule."
In a flash, he had slapped her, but it appeared he had not moved at all from the spot twenty feet away from her. She ignored the pulsing throb of pain and continued, "I don't know who you were, the spell was random. It was meant to erase your memory and make you loyal. It didn't work. You have freedom and you could live in peace. Why do you fight me?"
"Whether or not you realize it, your method for a paradise is wicked. You should know that humans can't exist in the Shadow Realm without a spirit. And also that FierceDeities would all die if you merged the two castles of Fanelia and Shadow," he told her condescendingly.
She ignored him and said, "I think I know the person that Kevin would teach the Symphony to…"
And she vanished as she always did, making sure not to leave the instruments behind.
The wedding was underway, and Caitlin was standing behind the seats watching the procession. She sighed and turned to walk into the Tavern. At that moment, everything was alit with fire, even the people.
Caitlin was horrified. She crouched and watched them scream for help. The bride herself in her flowing gown was crying out in agony, her wedding gown was the biggest fire there, and she couldn't get it off.
Then, it all seemed to become blurry, as if she were about to faint on the spot. Caitlin shook her head and it seemed none of it had happened. The bride and groom were staring lovingly into each other's eyes. The wedding official was performing it perfectly. The families and friends of the couple were seated in their rows, all talking under their breath of how happy they seemed together.
Then, in her head, came the voice of a woman, "Do you want that to happen?"
She shook her head, not caring that a few people were staring at her.
The voice came again, "Then come to Fanelia Castle Courtyard now, and be ready to teach a tune you know by heart."
She quickly sprouted her gossamer wings and took flight towards the Castle.
As Tiffany jumped into the trapdoor, Vicious asked her, "Who would FDW teach the Symphony of Shadow to?"
"Let's see…" she said as she thought, "Well, there's me, Caitlin, Tiff, and… come to think of it; he doesn't have many friends who are close enough to teach a song to."
He looked over to the twin beds where the goddesses Farore and Nayru slept. He seemed deep in thought.
"I think it's time we paid Tiff a visit," he said with authority.
Tiff was sitting on a chair in her room, writing a letter to her friend. When she finished, she held it up in the air. A small chubby kid with wings swooped out of nowhere and snatched it up.
She said to herself, "What would I do without MemoServ… probably send less letters, ha ha ha!"
A knock came at her door. Her eyebrow went up and she went to answer it.
She was very surprised when she saw Tiffa in full battle gear, xenSity seemed much more serious than usual, and an upgraded-looking Zero standing at her doorsteps.
Tiffa spoke first, "We need to talk. But first, let me introduce you to a new friend of ours."
She stepped sideways and a young man was standing behind where she was. He looked distracted, but dangerous. He wore black jeans, a white shirt, and a black vest. His silver hair reminded her of someone, but she couldn't remember who. His wandering red eyes didn't look familiar at all. Other than all that, he could have been Link's twin.
"What's your name, newbie?" she asked him politely.
Tiffa laughed and said, "He's not a newbie, Tiff. His name's Vicious and we don't really know his real name or where he's from."
Tiff laughed back, "Why don't you just ask him?"
Vicious spoke, "Because I don't know either. Now, we need to ask you a question."
Tiff stepped out of her house and closed the door behind her, "What is it?"
Vicious asked her while he was staring into the sky, "Did FierceDeityWarrior ever teach you any songs?"
She thought for a moment, then shook her head "No, none that I can remember. Why?"
The four of them ignored her and took off towards Tiffany's Tavern.
Caitlin landed gracefully in the open courtyard of Fanelia Castle. Her wings folded and vanished behind her. The courtyard itself was empty. Caitlin shouted, "Show yourself! I'm ready."
A fierce wind blew, and Caitlin shielded her eyes from it. When it stopped, Din stood before her in a flowing red gown and her hair up.
Din glared at Caitlin, and received a welcome that wasn't quite as warm from Caitlin. Caitlin glared right back at her with ten times more hatred than she thought she could feel towards someone.
Din spoke, "My brother Kevin taught you a song, and I want that song as well."
Caitlin raised an eyebrow, "What's so special about a song?"
"Nothing, really. It's a family thing. He's not around and I would like to learn it. And, as you know by now, I'm not very patient." Din hovered a little off the ground, trying to intimidate Caitlin.
Caitlin replied to this by baring her vampiric fangs and licking one idly. She then said, "I can tell it's more than just a song. Tell me why you want it, or I'll never teach it to you."
"Tell me, girl, do you value your life at all? Or shall I make it clear to you that I am very powerful and very impatient and therefore very dangerous." Din's eyes were rimmed with flame.
Caitlin spread her wings and made them visibly black, showing her anger, "I am dangerous as well. Now what can it hurt to tell me this, girl to girl?"
Din sneered, "Fine, I'll tell you. But, you must promise to teach me the song afterwards."
Caitlin nodded and folded her wings, making them disappear from view.
Din began, "I have just found my Father's most prized possessions, and they're instruments. Well, my father knew a song that went with all of the instruments at once, but he never had a chance to teach it to me. He had died before he could, when I was just a newborn goddess."
"Hold on, gods can die?" Caitlin asked with wonder.
Din laughed at her ignorance, "Not in the way you think of it. You see, he was destroyed, but his… how should I put this… his power lived on, as any god's power does. When he was destroyed by my mother, his power, his soul, and his body were separated. His body is still where it was when he was destroyed. His power is in Kevin, or FierceDeityWarrior. His soul is in a human body, and when it dies, he finds another one. My father's mind and memory are gone as long as the three remain separated."
Caitlin nodded, trying to piece these things together. She didn't notice the way Din fidgeted with impatience.
"Now, I want the song so I can play these instruments and at least remotely know what my father was like," These words were a lie, but Din knew that Caitlin wouldn't understand her true intentions. She continued, "Kevin knew the song the moment he was born, but refused to teach anyone. I found out later that he had played it and you learned from that and played it alongside him. Since he won't teach it to me, I need you to."
"But, where is FDW?" Caitlin asked her, "Do you know where he is? Everyone's worried about him and Vicious is out to get him!"
Din raised an eyebrow, "Kevin's missing? That's very strange… When did he go missing? We don't get along much, so I didn't think of it when I didn't hear from him for a while…"
"He's been missing for a little over three weeks," Caitlin told her, forgetting her hatred for her for a moment.
Din froze, wide-eyed and fearful. She looked at Caitlin and said, "Th-three weeks!?"
"Yeah, almost a month. Vicious Vantino, or whatever his real name is, is after him. He's been looking for him and threatening FierceDeities since almost right after FDW disappeared," Caitlin was worried now, seeing the look on Din's face.
"Oh no… I've made a horrible mistake…" Din whispered.
Vicious and the others showed up at the wedding, and immediately began searching for Caitlin. Tiffa asked around, but nobody knew where she went. Vicious and xenSity searched the entire area as fast as their extreme powers would allow. Zero scanned for angelic or vampiric life-forms and found only a couple friends and relatives of the bride and groom fit into either category.
Caitlin taught the haunting song that Din had told her was named the Symphony of Shadow. After Din had dedicated it to memory, Din struck her across the head, knocking her out cold.
"Now, to play it with these instruments and merge the two worlds," then a fault in her plan occurred to her, "But how can I play all the instruments at once? Stupid Din! Stupid, stupid Din!" She scolded herself for her foolishness.
Then an idea hit her. She could make slaves of the four warrior who sought to stop her. It was perfect. Then, nobody could possibly prevent her from completing her plan.
She raised both hands into the air and shouted to the winds, "I call on my power! I am the Goddess of Power and I demand ultimate control! It will begin with four chosen warriors, servants of Fate, and messengers of Justice. They will obey my every WORD!"
Two pillars of fire rose from her arms and into the sky. They twisted together and split apart to make four. They then went in search of their chosen hosts.
Zero detected Din was coming towards his current location. He readied for combat and a fireball came into view over the treetops fifty yards away. He jumped at it and it hurtled toward him at breakneck speed.
Vicious flew silently around the tavern, looking into the windows of the second floor in search of any sign of Caitlin. He sensed a small power coming towards him from behind and thought it was Caitlin. He turned and landed to greet her, but all that was there to greet him was a large fireball coming towards him faster than he could follow.
Tiffa found that Caitlin ran off towards Fanelia City in a hurry, mumbling something about the castle and Din. Tiffa immediately went in search of the others. She flew over the tavern, and when she landed, a fireball was in her face before she could blink.
XenSity was in the forest itself, shouting Caitlin's name over and over. His path was now blocked by a large thorn bush. He chopped through it with his sword, and then sheathed his sword. He stepped over the remnants of the now flaming bush. Then, he was knocked off his feet by a huge fireball which came from the sky.
Din laughed sadistically when the four warriors stepped out of the forest, all dressed in black and in FierceDeity form. Tiffa wore armor that covered her abdomen and a black cap. Her armor also had a leather skirt coming out from all sides. XenSity wore full black body armor. His face was covered in dark warpaint and his features were all blank as his stare.
Zero himself was as black as night all over. On his head he wore a helmet like that of a knight's and you could easily hear his normally muffled inner workings and gears turning. Vicious now truly stood up to his name and personified it. He almost looked like a FierceDeity himself. His black cloak was now in shreds, and no longer covered his face. It was almost unidentifiable, but you could see that FierceDeityWarrior and Vicious were the same person. His eyes were completely red and not white at all. He wore black boots that were similar to his old ones and his body armor was covered in the designs that were once seldom on it.
Din looked at Vicious for a moment and said, "I am sorry, dear brother, but it is for the best. Now, you must all take one instrument and play a melody that I am now sending into your minds. The girl will take the harp, the boy will take the violin, the robot will have the horn and my brother will have the ocarina while I play the flute.
"After the song is done, the Shadow Realm and the Crystal Realm will become one and all mortals may die. It's worth the risk. And if they do merge, you will help me educate mortals on how to exist in this new world and you will maintain order, being the strongest, fastest, and brightest of them all. Let us begin the Symphony of Shadow."
Everyone put out their dominant hand and their instruments floated into the hands. Then, they began to play.
The melody was sweet, promising, scary, and evil, all at the same time. They all seemed to bend with the song, and the world around them did bend and change. It became darker and swirled with the colors of the Shadow Realm. Caitlin stirred on the ground by Din's feet.
XenSity played the violin with impossible skill, sending waves of a haunting melody into the air. Zero blew the horn and it seemed ordinary and unnoticeable at the same time it could chill a mortal's spine, and it could make one cry until one went mad.
Tiffa's fingers graces the harp delicately, but with fierce skill. The sound drowned out all the others, while it also amplified and added onto them. Din's flute seemed deafening and silent at the same time. She played with less skill than the others, but the flute made up for it with sharp and dull notes that touched any listener's soul.
Vicious played with skill, experience, and absolute ignorance. His ocarina was undoubtedly the most powerful instrument among the others. The others drifted off to back up the song Vicious personified. Vicious seemed hypnotized by the melody and his eyes were closed as he swayed to the beautiful song. Suddenly, the swirling of the physical world hit the two mortals and robot that were there and they stopped playing and collapsed in pain.
They cried out, but since Vicious was under a stronger spell, he ignored them completely and carried on the symphony with Din, continuing the transformation of the Crystal Realm.
A Symphony of Chaos
Vicious and Din continued to play, not seeing anything around them because they played with their eyes closed. XenSity and the others stopped crying out and struggling against the pain and were being torn up just as the Crystal Realm was. They swirled with the ground and trees and with the song itself. They lay still and their fiercer forms became their normal ones. They seemed to accept what was happening.
Just before the world was completely dark and twisted, another song rose from the forest around them. Din's eyes shot open, but vicious ignored it as well. The song seemed nearby and also stretched out forever into the world itself. When the new song reached a crescendo, they darkness began to retreat and the swirling of the world slowed to a stop.
It was then when Vicious opened his eyes, still lost in his own song, but wondering about the other. It seemed to become one with his own song, but also changed it for the better. Their unity was a true symphony, and when Din stopped playing, it only sped up the process.
Din spun around and saw Caitlin on the ground playing a golden ocarina. The song seemed louder near her, so Din knew it was Caitlin who was producing the new song, despite Caitlin's obvious pain which came from the twisting world.
The song was as familiar to Vicious as the Shadow Symphony. As he continued to play, he remembered fragments of being another person. Of having a wife who glowed green, brown, and red because of being Mother nature herself. He remembered the tears in her eyes as she played this new song and it destroyed Vicious, or whoever this other person was. He then saw the he had split, his mind was gone, his body lay with a blank stare.
The body did not look familiar. It was an Elder God's body, and this god's Power left him and headed away from Heaven and toward the Crystal Realm. The soul matched the body except was filmy white and headed toward the Crystal Realm in another direction, towards an older man who was crafting masks in solitude. The Power turned and shot into the masks themselves, thus beginning the FierceDeities.
Caitlin spread her wings and gathered energy from the air around her as she played. She floated and stood in front of an astonished Din. Caitlin's eyes were closed, the same as Vicious'. She gathered power and Caitlin's wings filled with a swirling rainbow of colors.
A few minutes later, Vicious and Caitlin shot into the sky, leaving craters where they stood. Din tried to fly after them, but their wakes dragged her and slammed her into a tree.
In the sky, Caitlin released the energy she gathered from the song and it scattered through the world, a small piece hitting Vicious.
Vicious stopped playing and the Ocarina of Darkness and the other Instruments of Darkness began to glow. The others all began to drag across the ground toward Vicious, by some unknown force.
They lifted off the ground and shot towards Vicious. Vicious looked indifferently at them as they flew towards him. He looked back at Caitlin, who continued to play. He then raised a hand as Din controlled him from below. Energy formed in front of his palm in a black ball of swirling chaos.
As he blasted her, the Instruments of Darkness (except for the Ocarina) encircled her and put up a powerful shield. Vicious furrowed his brow and blasted again. The shield weakened under his enhanced powers.
Caitlin realized what was happening just as the shield failed. She quickly ducked out of the way, and barely missed becoming charcoal. When she dodged, she had to stop playing the song. In doing so, the instruments fell to the ground.
Vicious' vacant red eyes stared at Caitlin. She glared back at him, not realizing he was FierceDeityWarrior.
"I knew you were evil! I bet Zero was trying to save us, so that's why you trashed him!" She flew at him and punched his chest.
He merely stared down at her, still in a simplified state. Her hits didn't even phase him. His armor had thickened with the transformation of servitude, just as his personality thinned.
The others stirred. They were no longer under Din's spell, and therefore no longer enhanced as Vicious was. XenSity shook his head and looked up at what looked like an angel trying in vain to hurt a devil. The Devil wore rags and had a scary face. He couldn't see the angel's face because the angel faced the other direction.
The angel had huge gossamer wings that were a transparent blue. They shimmered in the air around them and seemed not to support anything at all. The angel was small and obviously female, while the devil was quite large and most definitely male. It looked frightening and dangerous.
Just then, Zero awoke. XenSity flinched when Zero spoke, "Do you know who they are? Or where we are? Where's Vicious?"
Tiffa was quiet, but had been awake even before xenSity. She had seen Din controlling the devil creature. She knew who it was, and who the angel was.
She spoke, "The angel is Caitlin." She paused, knowing they would not want to know who the other was.
XenSity urged her to tell them who the other one was, so she told them, "It's… It's… It's Kevin. Kevin is under Din's control. He seems stronger than he ever was. I have a bad feeling about this."
Zero and xenSity froze in shock, then looked back up at the floating pair. Tiffa quietly prayed for Vicious' safety, though she didn't know that Vicious and Kevin were one in the same.
Din laughed as she lay bruised and broken on the ground. With her unbroken hand, she directed him to shatter the shield and stop her from playing the song. She then ran out of energy and merely watched.
Din wondered why her sister Fate betrayed her by making Kevin the first slave. She was very distressed that she had to manipulate her favorite sibling and the only other god that understood her actions.
She then began to contemplate why Kevin was in the disguise of Vicious Vantino, even after his enslavement. She also wondered why he continued against her, even though he didn't know who he trusted or loved. He followed the others and helped them, and Din couldn't figure out why.
A familiar voice answered her, "Because he knows what you don't, dear sister."
Din scoffed. She had expected her sister would interfere, "Using your dream apparition to defy me? That is so cheap. What could a memory-less person like him know what I don't?"
"He knows what you're doing is wrong. He knows that there can't be a larger Shadow Realm and the Light Realm remain. He knows the balance would be destroyed. The balance that separates wrong from right, chaos from order, hate from love." A transparent-looking woman in blue was standing beside her, watching Vicious be hit by Caitlin.
"Ah, now I understand, dear sister. I only wish I had the energy to shake him out of my spell." Din sighed as she passed out.