Author's Note: Okay, another chapter, time to address the peoples again! But first, a couple of public service announcements: First, THIS STORY ALMOST HAS 100 REVIEWS! Holy crap, I must be doing SOMETHING right! If you're reading this, PLEASE REVIEW! I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE A MEMBER OR NOT! Second of all, I got a free e-mail address at Yahoo.com, so send stuff there if you want. (The one I signed up with is a private one, and I'd really rather not deal with Flamers bombarding it, and I'm too lazy to change it ^_^) See my bio for the address (Scroll down a bit, I think). You can also see the force I'll call on you if you want to flame… Lastly, I signed up for a homepage, but I can't figure out the freakin' page builder (Yes, I am horribly inept with computers…) so it could be a while before I get it running. I need to hire a chief of staff for this… @_@ (No volunteers needed, I have applicants already, more in my note in closing). Now then…
Okay, I understand my chapters are really freakin' long. It's part of why I take so d**n long to update! Now, since I can't post a chapter until I feel everything that must be said, has been said, I need a way to effectively cut the chapters in half. I'm thinkin' just stick a little advertisement in the middle so you can stop then get your spot back with CTRL+F easily. Yeah, just what I need, a place to promote the Lakers more. Well, maybe I'll let the cast plug something… we'll see.
Next, you need to understand that this story, believe it or not, is actually just starting to pick up. There is a reason for my madness, in the resurrecting all the dead peoples like Qui-Gon and Trieze. There was also a reason they said the light brought them back. There was also a VERY important reason Riku and co got Ansem's report 1-15 last chapter. The plot here isn't really going to reveal itself until I can get everyone to Traverse Town. That's when things really start getting interesting. They also get interesting in Sephiroth's final chapters on his own, the Skies of Arcadia chapter. Also, for those of you who thought this was that chapter, sorry, not yet. That should come right before Traverse Town. This chapter, well… it gives a couple more clues as to what exactly Ansem and his crew of villains are up to, and where they're dwelling.
Lastly, don't worry about character deaths. I hate character deaths. And, a lot of the minor characters discussed earlier (and some later ones) make returns later doing what Rouge, Shadow, Tails and Knuckles are doing: Serving as crew members on a ship. If you've ever played Skies of Arcadia, you'd know that a ship needs plenty of crewmembers to run smoothly. They also help a great deal in battle. Well, actually, you'll see how useful they are when Sephiroth… oops, almost gave away some of the plot. But, there will be ship battles later. FYI, ship battles are a BIG reason Skies of Arcadia is one of the awesomest RPGs ever. Trust me, that chapter should be worth the wait. Okay, this chapter should be a bit on the short side, so hopefully I didn't take too long… Here ya go.
Chapter 13: Extending Portal of Darkness
Sonic, Tails, Riku, Rikku and everyone else were standing, talking in the main hall of the Ascalon, about what was going on in the coming days. Little did they know they were being watched from the rafters by a small group of three mysterious figures.
"Strange, that we should end up on the very same ship that carries a Keyblade Master," said Qui-Gon.
"Perhaps the force has a hand in this… we may want to offer our services," said Mace Windu.
"Do what you will; I'm not prepared to choose a side in this war yet," said Sephiroth.
"Very well, perhaps there is more to this than it seems," said Mace Windu.
"Remember, that last world we were on had records of the Keyblade Master bearing destruction rather than salvation," said Qui-Gon. This was true; there had been records in the ruins of a long-dead civilization telling of a Key-bearing Warrior that opened the hearts of worlds, and left them to be consumed by the darkness.
"Let's go," said Sephiroth, and they all faded from the ship in an unnoticed flash of blue light.
On the other side of the universe, in a secluded cave in the middle of a desert, an orange seal appeared, and Sephiroth and the two Jedi appeared on the shifting sand.
"I wonder where we've ended up this time…" said Qui-Gon.
"In the middle of some desert, obviously," said Mace Windu.
"I meant the world," said Qui-Gon. Silently, he was beginning to think Obi-Wan was right about his being able to get on the counsel easily if he wanted…
"Enough. It seems like there's a sandstorm brewing. We should seek shelter," advised Sephiroth.
"Agreed," said the two Jedi. After a bit of wandering, they came across the mouth of a cave. Sephiroth's prediction had already proved itself true, so to escape the sandstorm, the trio entered the cave.
"Good thing we found this cave… that sandstorm was starting to get really bad," said Qui-Gon, shaking the sand from his robe.
"Not a moment too soon, either," agreed Sephiroth, attempting vainly to remove the sand from his feathered wing.
"It's a little dark in here, though," said Mace Windu. Suddenly, a purple flame lit in the back of the cavern, and the entire cavern was lit up, revealing a purple and white… creature of sorts, near even feet tall, standing in the back of the cave.
"Is that better?" came a deep voice.
"Who said that?" asked Qui-Gon, as the creature's mouth hadn't moved.
"I did… the 'creature' in the back of the cave," said the voice.
"How are you speaking to us?" asked Mace.
"I am a psychic Pokemon, cloned from the cells of Mew," said the creature. At the mention of 'cloned from the cells of', Sephiroth noticeably began paying more attention to what the creature had to say.
"What's a "Mew"? And, what's a "Pokemon", for that matter?" asked Qui-Gon.
"Pokemon… are creatures from another world. They have power over 1 or 2 of seventeen classes of powers: Normal, fire, water, electric, grass, ice, fighting, poison, ground, flying, psychic, bug, rock, ghost, dragon, steel and dark. Humans and Pokemon often worked together, humans as trainers, and Pokemon as competitors, to be known as the best of the best," began the creature.
"Best what?" asked Mace Windu.
"The strongest. The most powerful. The craftiest. Trainers would catch wild Pokemon, and train them, heighten their abilities. If the trainer was skilled enough, the Pokemon would obey them in battle, trust their judgment. So, the Pokemon League was organized. Trainers would battle their teams of six Pokemon against each other, the Pokemon fighting until they fainted, until one trainer had no more Pokemon to use," explained the psychic Pokemon," These battles continued until the day the world was destroyed. By a dark force known as the heartless."
"The heartless destroyed your world too?" asked Sephiroth.
"Yes. The humans would do nothing about them, save one or two, thinking they were a new breed of dark-type Pokemon… the fools. They spent their time trying to capture them, and add them to their teams. They defeated some, unwittingly, but most of them just got their hearts stolen. I knew, as well as some of the older, smarter and more powerful Pokemon, that these little devils were the bearers of the end. However we tried, we could never get rid of them completely. In the end, the world was destroyed, and I alone made it off before it was destroyed, using my power of teleportation, and I watched as the world was converted into some sort of orb, and followed it, to a large, dark purple and black rift of some sort. It seemed to drain the very light from the space around it. There, the orb was sucked in, to who-knows-where," said the creature," I followed it down, to the surface of the rift. There was some sort of… strange liquid. I levitated over it, looking for some clues as to where our world had gone. What I found was a large hole in the ground, surrounded by a ruin-like structure of stones arranged in a circular pattern, leading down into a rocky interior of sorts. I descended the rocks, and found the cavern began to move forward at the bottom."
"This rift you speak of… I have heard of it. This rift is known as the End of the World. The Keyblade Master, a boy named Sora, entered the cavern of which you speak some time ago. Using a series of portals, from what I've heard, he made it to the interior of some kind of base. There were warps leading to many different worlds within, and then he entered a more mechanical interior," interrupted Sephiroth," He made his way to the other side by going through an opening back out above the Sea of Despair, as the ocean was called, and defeated a powerful demon guarding the entrance of Bald Mountain. From there, he navigated a narrow corridor that lead to a surreal void of sorts containing the hearts of worlds that had been consumed… there, he fought and defeated Ansem, the seeker of darkness, the King of all heartless, and the worlds that were in the cavern were restored to their original form, and the heartless neutralized. He also found the entrance of Kingdom Hearts, the core of the light, within this place of eternal darkness, and sealed it with the help of the King and fellow Keyblade Master, Mickey Mouse, and his best friend, Riku, who is also now a Keyblade Master. The two were supposedly locked within, but they have resurfaced in recent times. At least, that is the story circulating Traverse Town."
"Hmm… perhaps there is more to this 'End of the World' than meets the eye," said the telepathic Pokemon.
"Maybe we should discuss it in the morning," suggested Qui-Gon, unfolding a small, one-person sleeping mat he kept on his belt.
"Agreed," said Mace Windu, pulling out his own pocket-size sleeping mat," But first, tell us your name, Pokemon."
"Very well. My name is Mewtwo," said the creature.
"Mewtwo? I can see how they got that name…" said Qui-Gon," Anyway, it's been a long day. I'm going to get some rest," and he rolled onto his mat, Mace Windu following suit. Sephiroth and Mewtwo just leaned against the wall.
"Can't sleep?" came Mewtwo's voice in Sephiroth's mind.
"No need for me too," thought Sephiroth. As he thought, Mewtwo read his mind and got the reply.
"So, what exactly are you people, and what are you doing in the middle of this desert?" asked Mewtwo," You don't seem like the lost traveler types."
"Why don't you just read our minds?" thought Sephiroth.
"I think I'll do that," came Mewtwo's response again," So, two high ranking members of an ancient order and an experiment-turned War Hero-turned power-hungry psychopath-turned wandering demigod? Interesting…"
"Hmph. I prefer to be thought of as more than just an experiment. I happened to be known as a living legend before I went insane, and now I'm trying to find my true fate. Somehow… you read my mind about the Jenova project, right?" asked Sephiroth.
"Yeah… what are you getting at?" wondered Mewtwo.
"I'm starting to think I may have missed something important that night in Shinra Mansion… My SOLDIER running mates, Cloud and Zack, seem to have thought so. That monster that I know as 'Mother' tricked me into thinking she was a Cetra, when she was the Calamity that fell from the Skies killing them all… what if I actually was born to a human woman?" thought Sephiroth.
"That's why you have become a wanderer, then, isn't it? To find traces of your old world, and rediscover your past," said Mewtwo.
"You're smarter than you look," acknowledged Sephiroth.
"I'm not sure if I should be flattered or offended," replied Mewtwo," But, as a fellow experiment, I have this much to say: Shape your own destiny. It doesn't matter what you were originally created for. Do what your heart tells you. I was created to win battles for Team Rocket, a powerful crime syndicate that stole others Pokemon and rare items. I turned on them and burned down their lab."
"Heh, been there, done that," thought Sephiroth with a smirk.
"There's more: I decided that all the people in the world should die; so I went off and conjured up a storm that would flood the land. A select few group of Pokemon trainers challenged my actions. Most of them were excellent trainers, and then there was this nobody who's most powerful Pokemon was a pathetic little yellow rat. He was a COMPLETE idiot. Actually, I take that back. He would've been a complete idiot except he was missing a few parts. But, that idiot was willing to sacrifice his life to stop our battle and call off the storm. And the other Pokemon used an ancient, forgotten power to revive him. Of course, in recent years he's devolved into an even less skilled trainer, but still… that's beside the point. It proved to me that there were good people in the world. Not everyone deserves to die. Think about it. Good night," said Mewtwo, who then floated into the air and went to sleep
Sephiroth thought about what Mewtwo had said. If he had gone through with summoning Meteor, many innocent lives would have been sacrificed in the impact… back then, he had looked at it as eradicating the evil people who had betrayed the Cetra. He now realized it was his own 'mother' that did that Cetra in… and he had killed Aerith, the last of the Cetra, or so he thought, until recently when he saw her in Hollow Bastion, alive and well. Looking back, Sephiroth determined that even if he had wanted to kill everyone in Shinra, he should have done it with his Masamune. Aerith shouldn't have been slain in either case. And, if he wanted to become godlike, he now saw he had the tools to do it from the start, and all he would have to do is train. That was how Cloud and his friends grew stronger than him, so if he had done it that way in the first place, would he have attained the power he was after? But then, Meteor would have crashed into the Planet anyway. It didn't matter now… He had achieved god-like strength from the after-effects of his Safer-Sephiroth form merging with his normal one after his battle with Cloud, combining their powers, and gained the ability to teleport anyway. "There's just one thing I don't understand…" thought the one-winged angel," Even though I held back on my power, and didn't equip my restore Materia fighting Sora at Olympus, how did I lose? Perhaps… there is more to fighting than just power. That boy fought with his head. He knew I would win if he just rushed in and attacked, so he kept his defenses up and waited for an opening to strike… I could test all this, but I don't think it would be wise to have the Light's best hope questioning his own strength… if I join Ansem and his cronies, I'll get the chance anyway, although at this point, I don't think that will be happening… I owe it to Cloud, Aerith and Zack, at the very least. But, unraveling my true origin comes first," decided Sephiroth, and he too leaned against the cold cavern wall and fell asleep.
The next morning, the four awoke before the burning sun rose over the desert, and the Jedi prepared instant-breakfast food tablets-little tablets that turned into to full size meals- for everyone. Then, the conversation from the night restarted itself.
"What exactly did you mean when you said there was more to the End of the World than it seems, Mewtwo?" asked Mace.
"What if End of the World wasn't really the heart of darkness… in my travels, I have seen theories on the heartless floating around… most of them copies of a document known as Ansem's Report. In the last version of the document I had seen, which had pages 1 to 13, it stated that there were three known worlds: The world of darkness, the world of light, the present world, and then there is the world in between, which isn't really even considered a world. Being a bit of a scientist myself, based on what I saw in Ansem's fortress at the end of the world, I came up with my own theory: End of the World is neither the world of darkness, nor light, and it is not a part of the present world. It is the end of the worlds. Therefore, the 'End of the World' is really the end of the world you entered from, and the beginning of the other ones," explained Mewtwo.
"… An interesting theory," said Sephiroth.
"If this is true, and the seeker of darkness has found a way into the dark world, this heartless army may be even harder to stop than we originally thought. It sounds like we'll be needing a fleet of ships as well," said Qui-Gon. Just then, their conversation was interrupted by the sound of stomping feet and battle cries from outside the cave. They all dashed outside, and saw a green-clad boy and a blue-clad girl, both about 17 by their looks, locked in battle with a mighty Behemoth. And, from what it looked, they had both already lost a good deal of strength.
"Link, we can't hold off this thing much longer!" cried the girl.
"I know, we didn't stand a chance for a minute… we spent most of our energy breaking out of that prison… Zelda, save yourself! I'll hold him off as long as I can!" yelled the boy, who Sephiroth assumed was Link. Just then, the Behemoth unleashed its lightning strike, knocking both of them to the ground. They now had little to no HP left.
"Should we save them?" asked Mewtwo.
"Why not? It could be fun," replied Sephiroth.
"We'll tend to the wounded," said the Jedi, moving off to carry the boy and girl back to the cave. Sephiroth and Mewtwo stepped forward and prepared to fight the Behemoth.
Boss Fight: Sephiroth and Mewtwo VS Behemoth 850/1500 HP (Link and Zelda weakened it already)Sephiroth drew his Masamune, and prepared for the Behemoth's attack. Just as he predicted, the Behemoth charged straight at him and attempted to gore him with its horn. Sephiroth simply leapt high over the beast's head, landing on the back of its neck, and slashed at its horn with the Masamune multiple times. The Behemoth thrashed about wildly in an attempt to throw its unwanted passenger off into the shifting sands. Just then, a blue beam of light shot forth from Mewtwo's hand.
"Stupid creature," taunted Mewtwo, and powerful waves of psychic energy blasted forth from the mighty psychic and overwhelmed the Behemoth's simple brain, taking off a good chunk of the stupid creature's HP. Sephiroth continued to slash at the beast's horn with the Masamune. Mewtwo launched another attack, a crackling Thunderbolt, on the creature's horn, and he followed it up with a Psyburn, creating a plume of purple psychic flames burning downward on the Behemoth's head. Sephiroth kept the Behemoth stunned by following up with a flame pillar. As soon as the pillar subsided, Sephiroth hit it again with a spinning upper. As the creature began to crash to the ground out of dizziness, Mewtwo darted under its head and used Galaxy Force, creating a miniature galaxy-shaped shield of psychic energy over him, battering the Behemoth around and back up again before it hit the ground. Sephiroth then finished the battle with an Omnislash, causing the Behemoth to disperse back into a million particles of dark energy.
"Was that supposed to be a challenge?" goaded Sephiroth, slashing the Masamune through the air before returning it to its sheath.
End Boss Fight"I wonder… what could the heartless army want with a couple of teenagers? If Ansem and his villain partners are sending Behemoths after them, they must be some kind of threat to the heartless," said Mewtwo.
"Maybe we should find out," replied Sephiroth, and they walked back to the cave where the Jedi had taken the injured party. When they got there, the two were in much better shape, thanks to a couple elixirs.
"So, you two are looking much better. Would you mind telling us where we are, who you are and why are the heartless after you?" began Mewtwo.
"All right…" began the girl," This place is a Kingdom known as Hyrule. It was once a prosperous place ruled by my father, the King. Then, an evil Gerudo man named Ganondorf, obtained the Triforce of Power 7 years ago, and became the near-invincible King of Evil. The Triforce is an artifact left from when the three goddesses that created our world departed back for the heavens. There are three pieces: Power, courage and wisdom. Whoever holds all three pieces will have their one wish granted. Recently, Ganondorf joined a group of villains from other worlds, called the Heartless Army. He is now one of their most powerful members."
"Ganondorf has been after us for the past seven years because we possess the remaining two pieces of the Triforce. Zelda holds the Triforce of wisdom," explained the boy.
"And Link has the Triforce of courage, as well as the sword of legend, the Master Sword," finished Zelda," We've managed to avoid Ganondorf for the past seven years because Link was trapped in the Temple of Time so his body would grow enough to handle the Master Sword, and I've been in hiding, disguised as a Sheikah warrior."
"You dress like you are still a warrior," pointed out Qui-Gon," since your father was the King, that makes you Princess Zelda, correct? Only the tiara on your head suggests your stature."
"Ganondorf discovered my identity some time after Link got out of the Temple of Time. He sent the heartless to attack us. We fought our way out, and we hoped to escape to the Spirit Temple, which is farther into the desert. So, I still have this disguise. It's easier to fight in anyway. So, what brings you to Hyrule? You don't seem like tourists, or heartless support forces."
"Just wandering about," said Sephiroth, who had been standing in the shadows of the cave until now.
"Hey… that black wing… long silver hair, and a nine foot or longer sword… would your name happen to be… Sephiroth?" asked Link.
"How'd you know that?" asked Sephiroth.
"We heard some of Ganondorf's elite warriors talking about you in the forest. They seemed to be very afraid of what might happen if you chose to fight for the light in this chaotic struggle. They even said you were even stronger than Ganondorf!" explained Link.
"If you really are the legendary Sephiroth, will you please help us? We may have been able to defeat Ganondorf and his armies before, but now that he has the heartless at his command, we have no chance! Please?" begged Zelda.
"I am on a quest right now, to rediscover my past… and my world has been destroyed by the heartless. Maybe later," answered Sephiroth.
"We understand…" said Link dejectedly.
"If your world was destroyed, those warriors in the forest were talking about other things too: The spoke of a place called the dark world, a place beyond the End of the World, where many of the people and pieces of the worlds destroyed by the heartless go. They said that the home base of the Heartless army is also within this realm," offered Zelda.
"So, it seems there is some truth to my theory," noted Mewtwo.
"I overheard that you need a ship to get there, and you have to somehow blast your way through the massive fortress wall they have guarding the entrance. It's designed to let their fleet through when they need to, and keep others out," added Link.
"So, we need a ship now…" concluded Sephiroth.
"The last thing we overheard was that there is a world to the south of here called Arcadia. A group there called the Blue Rogues are modifying their airships, which were already technical marvels, to travel through space. If you formed an alliance with them, you night be able to get through the fortress," said Zelda.
"But, if you want to try, you'd better get going pretty soon; the threat of the airships has made that world a prime target to be added to the darkness," advised Link.
"All right then," said Mewtwo," I will fly us there." Sephiroth, Mewtwo and the Jedi were telekinetically lifted off the ground, and then the four of them flew out into space, but before they were gone, Sephiroth yelled something back down to the young Hylians.
"Try to stay alive. I may return and kill this King of Evil."
Progress Report:
Sephiroth *Cure2-all *Regen
Qui-Gon No change
Mace Windu No change
Mewtwo Lv.79 850 HP 35 MP ;Telekinesis *Psychic *Psyburn *Energy Absorption *Thunderbolt *Blizzard *Recover *Reflect *Light Screen *Teleport *Levitate *Shadow Ball *Galaxy Force
Author's Note in closing: Well, looks like I got through another chapter in one piece. Hope I didn't lose any of you with all this stuff about what End of the World really does. Don't forget, THIS IS A FANFIC. Not what really happens, although it could, I suppose. If you don't get it yet, don't worry too much. I'll explain a little more later (I hope). Now then, about that chief of staff… this person/critter will help me run that Homepage (When I figure it out), and maybe they'll put some bloopers in after my rambling, or make some smart remarks around this area… well, here are the candidates. Please vote for one!:
The Cheat: Hails from www.homestarrunner.com (Funniest Website EVER). A furry little yellow man. Rumored to originally come from space, he is good with computers and doesn't mind doing dirty work.
Mew, an ancient Pokemon. Communicates with Telekinesis. Has abilities similar to Mewtwo.
Felix: Main hero of Golden Sun: The Lost Age. Seems cool and collected enough to deal with my outbursts at my computer ^_^. Also seems smart enough to figure this stupid thing out.
E-102 Gamma: Robot that appeared in Sonic Adventure. Is a computer himself, which could be helpful…
So, there you have it. Vote for one, please. Next chapter, maybe I'll give you guys some bloopers. Oh, just a warning, but I'm really considering starting another 'fic. Don't worry, this one will still be updated, just… not as "fast" (Like I update fast in the first place). Or, I might not start it at all and keep devoting all my time to this one. We'll see what happens. Now, I have a Laker game to watch.