Disclaimer: *now to tune of Jingle Bells!* I no own! You no sue! I'm wri-ting a
sto-ry! About Vivi's son who kills every-one in chapter-oni! Hey!
*`*`*`*``*
Author's Note: Also...about the sequel for this story....eh yeah, it kinda evolved
into a story all on its own that I decided to do separate. Heh, heh heh. If you're
pissed off....REVIEW! And tell me how much you hate my guts! But that means
that this story will be extended, so you have reason to be happy. We ALL have
reasons to be happy. Like me getting PS2 and Kingdom Hearts for Christmas.
*dances*
Oh, and I'm reserving this chapter for Christmas day, seeing as it's the chapter
where we finally see horrifically graphic descriptions and gore! Whoo, Christmas
time carnage! *cheers*
~NeoNaoNeo
*`*`*`*`*`*
'It seems right… My thoughts are all wrong, and so is my body…'~Vivi,
"Innocence Lost" (awesome FF9 fic by Ivyna J. Spyder! Cheer for her!)
*`*`*`*`*``*
Chapter 13: I'll See You Again
*`*`*`*`*`*`*
The inner cabin of the airship was crowded and packed with bodies, black mages
pressing up against one another as the airship rocked and turned. The small
mage looked at his comrades, all of them examined one another blankly with a
casual and slightly stupid air. They all knew they were going to slaughter, to kill.
But the smallest mage knew very few if none of the spells his comrades did, but
he did know they would need protection from the humans' weapons, seeing as
leather shirts didn't provide much resistance against swords and sickles. He
knew that much, and not much more.
He raised a hand and summoned up a spell, casting it on every single one of his
allies. A small veil of light seemed to cover each of the mages and then it
vanished. The small mage looked around, feeling slightly drained from the large
spell. He sat down and looked around, his eyes meeting similar, orange tinted
eyes every so often.
The runt allowed his mind to once again go blank, his comrades were protected
and would now be better off on their mission.
The airship jerked to a halt, many of the mages toppled over, falling onto one
another. The door to the cargo hold slowly slid open, two guards staring at them
awestruck. The runt held back the sudden instinct to kill, waiting for orders. So,
they all waited, staring at the awestruck guards for no more than a second when
a familiar voice shouted at them from behind the guards.
"Attack!!!" Ipsen crowed as he leapt from the deck and spread his wings, taking
to the air with an aggressive disposition. "Attack! Leave none alive in your
wake!"
The black mages stampeded out of the cargo hold, burning and trampling the
pathetic guards. Another Lindblum guard called to his companions. "Don't let
them get into town! Claude and Manette! Go into town and warn the people!"
Many of the guards, against orders, fled. This left very little opposition for the
black mages, allowing them to go into the town. Ipsen had already left the
chamber through a window and was beginning to descend towards Lindblum.
*`*`*`*`*`*`*`
The sky over Lindblum was beginning to grow dark, the sun was setting on the
western horizon. The sunset was a soft pink that blended in perfectly with the
inky darkness of the enveloping night. Vivi sighed as he stood outside the
synthesis shop, watching the sky in awe of its beauty. It had been nearly two
weeks since he had seen his son, and he was still as worried as ever, although
hope was beginning to dwindle. A strong hand gripped Vivi's shoulder and gave
him a firm shake, which was followed by a strong, husky voice.
"You a'right little guy?" said a burly man, releasing Vivi's shoulder. It was his
boss. The man reminded him of Baku in nearly every way, except his face was
always cleanly shaven and hair kept extremely short. Vivi nodded. "By the way,
you been doin' a miracle with the daggers you know? Must be the new hammer,
eh?"
He gave Vivi a playful shove, but the mage simply nodded. "Aw, what's the
matter?" he asked.
"Well, Mr. Adnerson..."
"Whoa, you've been working with me for nine years now! I told you, call me
Gregg!"
"Sorry," Vivi apologized. "It's just, my son is still missing."
"Ah," Gregg sighed. "Dun' worry 'bout it. He'll be fine. I can assure ya."
Vivi nodded. "That's what I've been trying to tell myself, but I..." His sentence
was interrupted by people running toward the entrance of town, screaming. A
few had suitcases and other bags, while other's hands were full with children. "I
wonder what the commotion is."
Gregg nodded. "Aye, come on. Le's ask 'em what they're runnin' from."
"Hey!" Vivi said, waving to one of the people. "What's wro....?"
"Ah! They're here already!" One of them women cried out and broke away from
the pack in a panic. The people screamed and scattered in different directions,
many dropping their things. A Lindblum guard quickly came through the
crowd, holding his sickle high in the air, ready to strike Vivi until Gregg
unsheathed a sword and put it over Vivi's head, guarding him from the blow.
The small mage winced from the sudden and close metallic clank. He trembled
slightly.
"Traitor!" the guard bellowed. "You're in league with them?"
A few people in the crowd stopped and watched, while the rest still headed
toward the exit. "What do ya mean 'them'?!" Gregg shouted back,
his eyebrows furrowed at the guard.
"The black mages! They're attacking and...."
"What?!" Gregg growled. "From Alexandria!?"
The guard shook his head. "No, they don't appear to be FROM anywhere in
particular."
"I see," Gregg nodded. "Well, this little guy isn't one of 'em. He's been living in
Lindblum for nearly 10 years."
The guard eyed Vivi distrustfully. Vivi returned the glare. "How many are
there?" the mage finally asked.
"They said its a group of 50, maybe 60 at most." the guard reported. Gregg
cupped his hand over his mouth.
"That many?!" Gregg said. "What are you planning on doin'?"
"Well, we've sent for help from Burmecia and Cleyra," he said. "But we're using
our guards as best as possible."
"You're gonna need help if there's fifty of these things." Gregg said, putting his
sword away. "You up to it Vivi?"
Vivi nodded. But something bothered him. The black mages needed someone to
tell them what to do. When they attacked almost twenty years ago, the
Alexandrian guards were running alongside them and barking orders. So who
was....?
Before his thoughts could develop any further, a blast of flame exploded in the
middle of the road, killing four people instantly. People screamed and scattered,
flames now beginning to engulf the surrounding buildings. A few of the people,
the few curious and foolish people, looked around for the cause, only finding
Vivi in sight until a shout from an observant old man caught their attention. "Up
there!"
Ipsen flapped in place, staying stationary in the air as he lifted his staff and
commanded a powerful Thundaga spell to the crowd. A wild crack of lightning
peeled through the air and savagely hit the world below, burrowing a deep
groove into the path and killing its half dozen targets. Vivi shook his head.
"Black Waltz No. 3?" he muttered, shaking his head. No, that's impossible, we
defeated him. This black waltz is different....
The airborne mage cackled as his army began running into the square. The air
smelled heavily of burning bodies and was thick with smoke. The waltz dove
down to join the ranks of his army, spreading his wings broadly to land. Vivi
shook his head in disbelief when he saw Ipsen's characteristic white spot on his
left wing.
"Come on Vivi, let's go get 'em!" Gregg said, unsheathing his sword. He noticed
Vivi's confused gaze. "Hey, whatsa matter? You look like you seen a ghost."
Vivi shook his head again. "Come on!"
The small mage snapped out of it and looked to Gregg. "I-I don't kn..."
Their hesitation to get to combat or flee cost them dearly. One of the black mages
aimed a flare spell at them, and hit the two with deadly accuracy. Vivi was able
to stand the blow, but just barely. He looked to Gregg. "Oh my God..."
Gregg's entire front side was charred to crisp. Vivi narrowed his eyes at the black
mage that had attacked them and conjured a Water spell, which killed three of
them from the sudden surge of water, snapping their necks. Ipsen appeared in
front of Vivi in a flash and struck him down with a swift movement of his arm.
He grabbed Vivi up by the collar and lifted him to eye level.
The waltz narrowed his eyes, something holding him back from killing Vivi. He
narrowed his eyes at Ipsen and mustered up the strength to talk. "What are you
doing!?" Vivi scolded. He couldn't say anything else.
Ipsen said nothing, just stared. The black mage before him looked so....familiar.
He knew him...from somewhere. Was he in the cargo ship? No. Before that? Yes,
but where...?
Vivi was growing agitated by Ipsen's silence. Unwilling to finally accept this fact,
he knew what he needed to do, so Vivi raised his hand, preparing a Death spell.
It was the cleanest and most painless spell he knew, but the most effective. Ipsen
shook his head and dropped Vivi, but was still watching him with a bewildered stare. Vivi's spell disipated, the sudden lar destroyed his concentration.
A guard who had snuck up behind Ipsen, unnoticed, raised his sickle-like weapon
and drove it through Ipsen's wing. The guard surprised himself with his own
strength when the weapon brought Ipsen completely down, pinning him by the
wing to the gravel path.
Ipsen tried flapping away, but the blade held him firmly to the ground, his blood
seeping into his feathers and dribbling down the tether. His panicked flapping
became a wild flail as more guards gathered around him, weapons ready. Vivi
was just as terrified, the blade of the sickle had barely missed his arm. The black
mage finally shook himself from the shock and rolled off to the side, not wanting
to get caught in the middle.
Ipsen continued jerking his wing, frenzied with panic as one of the guards finally
approached him, his sickle in the air. The waltz spotted his staff, but it was too
late to reach for the discarded weapon. Even if he conjured a spell without it, it
was still too late, the guard was ready to finally kill him.
No! I can't die now! I must complete my mission! His thoughts race as he
abentmindly awaited the blow. But it never came.
A bright light that burst within the ring of guards and enveloped them with a burning intensity, killing them instantly. Ipsen looked up and examined the spell as it was cast. He knew that spell as Holy, but no one that he considered to be on 'his side' knew it. He looked about and saw the runt stumble over and fall, his eyes growing very dim from using a large spell.
Ipsen didn't have time to put two and two together as he finally calmed himself
down and pried the sickle from the earth, freeing his wing. The appendage was
soaked in blood, the cut was ragged and dirty from the dust and grit of the path.
A wave of dizziness and heat passed him over, leaving the waltz alittle
lightheaded. He stood up and grabbed his staff. He had to carry out his mission.
But my wing. A voice pleaded. It's damaged. The mages are injured and many
are being killed. Withdraw now.
He shook his head at his internal monologue. "No, we still need to..."
Another flash of heat and dizziness. Ipsen could feel his legs shaking from the
combination of blood loss and the beginnings of an infection in his wing.
The waltz looked about. The streets were nearly clear of the living, only corpses
littered the paths while black mages continued their destruction of the town. The
humans screams had died down, many of them silenced through their slaughter.
But then he spotted another human on the street. It was a girl with a horn and an
unusual outfit of pink pants and a yellow sweater. Vivi stood next to her.
"It's Ipsen," Vivi told her, pointing to the injured waltz. "Eiko, please. If you're
going to kill them...."
Eiko shook her head.
"Retreat!" Ipsen barked at all the black mages within earshot. He caught sight of
the runt, his arm extended and pointed at Ipsen. Before the waltz could do
anything, a spell left its hand. Ipsen winced when he expected to be hit with a
painful spell, but instead was relieved of much of the pain in his wing. The runt
fell to the ground with a thump. Ipsen looked around.
"Vivi! No we can't let them get away with this!" Eiko shouted at Vivi as he held
her back.
"They're retreating, let them go!" Vivi scolded defensively. He couldn't describe
the feeling of betrayal and loyalty he felt between both sides.
Eiko shouted something very offensive at him and the retreating black mages,
until Vivi cast a Sleep spell on her. He couldn't believe what he was doing, letting
them all get away with this. It was too late now, Ipsen was the only member of
the army that remained.
Ipsen growled and thought their retreat was a show of weakness. But they still
went at that moment, with no opposition from the black mage and summoner.
As he walked down the gravel path, Ipsen noticed the runt laying in a small
heap, not moving. Ipsen suddenly felt a pang of emotion that was very
unfamiliar and stooped down near the small mage. He checked to see if it was
breathing. It was. Ipsen looked it over, thinking to himself. Perhaps I should
bring him back. He saved my life....
But another part of his mind snapped and reminded him of his superiority over
the black mages, how they were nothing more than identical golems. Ipsen
shook his head and noticed Vivi was still watching him, holding a slumbering
Eiko in his arms. His feathers bristled as he scooped up the small mage, partly
from Vivi's staring, partly from surprise at his own actions of deciding to bring
the runt back.
No, this one's different. He told himself with a slight, beaming attitude. This
mage is different than the rest, like me. Ipsen nodded and felt something of an
attachment to the runt as he began leaving the city.
*`*`*`*`*`*`
Author's Note: Merry Christmas!
sto-ry! About Vivi's son who kills every-one in chapter-oni! Hey!
*`*`*`*``*
Author's Note: Also...about the sequel for this story....eh yeah, it kinda evolved
into a story all on its own that I decided to do separate. Heh, heh heh. If you're
pissed off....REVIEW! And tell me how much you hate my guts! But that means
that this story will be extended, so you have reason to be happy. We ALL have
reasons to be happy. Like me getting PS2 and Kingdom Hearts for Christmas.
*dances*
Oh, and I'm reserving this chapter for Christmas day, seeing as it's the chapter
where we finally see horrifically graphic descriptions and gore! Whoo, Christmas
time carnage! *cheers*
~NeoNaoNeo
*`*`*`*`*`*
'It seems right… My thoughts are all wrong, and so is my body…'~Vivi,
"Innocence Lost" (awesome FF9 fic by Ivyna J. Spyder! Cheer for her!)
*`*`*`*`*``*
Chapter 13: I'll See You Again
*`*`*`*`*`*`*
The inner cabin of the airship was crowded and packed with bodies, black mages
pressing up against one another as the airship rocked and turned. The small
mage looked at his comrades, all of them examined one another blankly with a
casual and slightly stupid air. They all knew they were going to slaughter, to kill.
But the smallest mage knew very few if none of the spells his comrades did, but
he did know they would need protection from the humans' weapons, seeing as
leather shirts didn't provide much resistance against swords and sickles. He
knew that much, and not much more.
He raised a hand and summoned up a spell, casting it on every single one of his
allies. A small veil of light seemed to cover each of the mages and then it
vanished. The small mage looked around, feeling slightly drained from the large
spell. He sat down and looked around, his eyes meeting similar, orange tinted
eyes every so often.
The runt allowed his mind to once again go blank, his comrades were protected
and would now be better off on their mission.
The airship jerked to a halt, many of the mages toppled over, falling onto one
another. The door to the cargo hold slowly slid open, two guards staring at them
awestruck. The runt held back the sudden instinct to kill, waiting for orders. So,
they all waited, staring at the awestruck guards for no more than a second when
a familiar voice shouted at them from behind the guards.
"Attack!!!" Ipsen crowed as he leapt from the deck and spread his wings, taking
to the air with an aggressive disposition. "Attack! Leave none alive in your
wake!"
The black mages stampeded out of the cargo hold, burning and trampling the
pathetic guards. Another Lindblum guard called to his companions. "Don't let
them get into town! Claude and Manette! Go into town and warn the people!"
Many of the guards, against orders, fled. This left very little opposition for the
black mages, allowing them to go into the town. Ipsen had already left the
chamber through a window and was beginning to descend towards Lindblum.
*`*`*`*`*`*`*`
The sky over Lindblum was beginning to grow dark, the sun was setting on the
western horizon. The sunset was a soft pink that blended in perfectly with the
inky darkness of the enveloping night. Vivi sighed as he stood outside the
synthesis shop, watching the sky in awe of its beauty. It had been nearly two
weeks since he had seen his son, and he was still as worried as ever, although
hope was beginning to dwindle. A strong hand gripped Vivi's shoulder and gave
him a firm shake, which was followed by a strong, husky voice.
"You a'right little guy?" said a burly man, releasing Vivi's shoulder. It was his
boss. The man reminded him of Baku in nearly every way, except his face was
always cleanly shaven and hair kept extremely short. Vivi nodded. "By the way,
you been doin' a miracle with the daggers you know? Must be the new hammer,
eh?"
He gave Vivi a playful shove, but the mage simply nodded. "Aw, what's the
matter?" he asked.
"Well, Mr. Adnerson..."
"Whoa, you've been working with me for nine years now! I told you, call me
Gregg!"
"Sorry," Vivi apologized. "It's just, my son is still missing."
"Ah," Gregg sighed. "Dun' worry 'bout it. He'll be fine. I can assure ya."
Vivi nodded. "That's what I've been trying to tell myself, but I..." His sentence
was interrupted by people running toward the entrance of town, screaming. A
few had suitcases and other bags, while other's hands were full with children. "I
wonder what the commotion is."
Gregg nodded. "Aye, come on. Le's ask 'em what they're runnin' from."
"Hey!" Vivi said, waving to one of the people. "What's wro....?"
"Ah! They're here already!" One of them women cried out and broke away from
the pack in a panic. The people screamed and scattered in different directions,
many dropping their things. A Lindblum guard quickly came through the
crowd, holding his sickle high in the air, ready to strike Vivi until Gregg
unsheathed a sword and put it over Vivi's head, guarding him from the blow.
The small mage winced from the sudden and close metallic clank. He trembled
slightly.
"Traitor!" the guard bellowed. "You're in league with them?"
A few people in the crowd stopped and watched, while the rest still headed
toward the exit. "What do ya mean 'them'?!" Gregg shouted back,
his eyebrows furrowed at the guard.
"The black mages! They're attacking and...."
"What?!" Gregg growled. "From Alexandria!?"
The guard shook his head. "No, they don't appear to be FROM anywhere in
particular."
"I see," Gregg nodded. "Well, this little guy isn't one of 'em. He's been living in
Lindblum for nearly 10 years."
The guard eyed Vivi distrustfully. Vivi returned the glare. "How many are
there?" the mage finally asked.
"They said its a group of 50, maybe 60 at most." the guard reported. Gregg
cupped his hand over his mouth.
"That many?!" Gregg said. "What are you planning on doin'?"
"Well, we've sent for help from Burmecia and Cleyra," he said. "But we're using
our guards as best as possible."
"You're gonna need help if there's fifty of these things." Gregg said, putting his
sword away. "You up to it Vivi?"
Vivi nodded. But something bothered him. The black mages needed someone to
tell them what to do. When they attacked almost twenty years ago, the
Alexandrian guards were running alongside them and barking orders. So who
was....?
Before his thoughts could develop any further, a blast of flame exploded in the
middle of the road, killing four people instantly. People screamed and scattered,
flames now beginning to engulf the surrounding buildings. A few of the people,
the few curious and foolish people, looked around for the cause, only finding
Vivi in sight until a shout from an observant old man caught their attention. "Up
there!"
Ipsen flapped in place, staying stationary in the air as he lifted his staff and
commanded a powerful Thundaga spell to the crowd. A wild crack of lightning
peeled through the air and savagely hit the world below, burrowing a deep
groove into the path and killing its half dozen targets. Vivi shook his head.
"Black Waltz No. 3?" he muttered, shaking his head. No, that's impossible, we
defeated him. This black waltz is different....
The airborne mage cackled as his army began running into the square. The air
smelled heavily of burning bodies and was thick with smoke. The waltz dove
down to join the ranks of his army, spreading his wings broadly to land. Vivi
shook his head in disbelief when he saw Ipsen's characteristic white spot on his
left wing.
"Come on Vivi, let's go get 'em!" Gregg said, unsheathing his sword. He noticed
Vivi's confused gaze. "Hey, whatsa matter? You look like you seen a ghost."
Vivi shook his head again. "Come on!"
The small mage snapped out of it and looked to Gregg. "I-I don't kn..."
Their hesitation to get to combat or flee cost them dearly. One of the black mages
aimed a flare spell at them, and hit the two with deadly accuracy. Vivi was able
to stand the blow, but just barely. He looked to Gregg. "Oh my God..."
Gregg's entire front side was charred to crisp. Vivi narrowed his eyes at the black
mage that had attacked them and conjured a Water spell, which killed three of
them from the sudden surge of water, snapping their necks. Ipsen appeared in
front of Vivi in a flash and struck him down with a swift movement of his arm.
He grabbed Vivi up by the collar and lifted him to eye level.
The waltz narrowed his eyes, something holding him back from killing Vivi. He
narrowed his eyes at Ipsen and mustered up the strength to talk. "What are you
doing!?" Vivi scolded. He couldn't say anything else.
Ipsen said nothing, just stared. The black mage before him looked so....familiar.
He knew him...from somewhere. Was he in the cargo ship? No. Before that? Yes,
but where...?
Vivi was growing agitated by Ipsen's silence. Unwilling to finally accept this fact,
he knew what he needed to do, so Vivi raised his hand, preparing a Death spell.
It was the cleanest and most painless spell he knew, but the most effective. Ipsen
shook his head and dropped Vivi, but was still watching him with a bewildered stare. Vivi's spell disipated, the sudden lar destroyed his concentration.
A guard who had snuck up behind Ipsen, unnoticed, raised his sickle-like weapon
and drove it through Ipsen's wing. The guard surprised himself with his own
strength when the weapon brought Ipsen completely down, pinning him by the
wing to the gravel path.
Ipsen tried flapping away, but the blade held him firmly to the ground, his blood
seeping into his feathers and dribbling down the tether. His panicked flapping
became a wild flail as more guards gathered around him, weapons ready. Vivi
was just as terrified, the blade of the sickle had barely missed his arm. The black
mage finally shook himself from the shock and rolled off to the side, not wanting
to get caught in the middle.
Ipsen continued jerking his wing, frenzied with panic as one of the guards finally
approached him, his sickle in the air. The waltz spotted his staff, but it was too
late to reach for the discarded weapon. Even if he conjured a spell without it, it
was still too late, the guard was ready to finally kill him.
No! I can't die now! I must complete my mission! His thoughts race as he
abentmindly awaited the blow. But it never came.
A bright light that burst within the ring of guards and enveloped them with a burning intensity, killing them instantly. Ipsen looked up and examined the spell as it was cast. He knew that spell as Holy, but no one that he considered to be on 'his side' knew it. He looked about and saw the runt stumble over and fall, his eyes growing very dim from using a large spell.
Ipsen didn't have time to put two and two together as he finally calmed himself
down and pried the sickle from the earth, freeing his wing. The appendage was
soaked in blood, the cut was ragged and dirty from the dust and grit of the path.
A wave of dizziness and heat passed him over, leaving the waltz alittle
lightheaded. He stood up and grabbed his staff. He had to carry out his mission.
But my wing. A voice pleaded. It's damaged. The mages are injured and many
are being killed. Withdraw now.
He shook his head at his internal monologue. "No, we still need to..."
Another flash of heat and dizziness. Ipsen could feel his legs shaking from the
combination of blood loss and the beginnings of an infection in his wing.
The waltz looked about. The streets were nearly clear of the living, only corpses
littered the paths while black mages continued their destruction of the town. The
humans screams had died down, many of them silenced through their slaughter.
But then he spotted another human on the street. It was a girl with a horn and an
unusual outfit of pink pants and a yellow sweater. Vivi stood next to her.
"It's Ipsen," Vivi told her, pointing to the injured waltz. "Eiko, please. If you're
going to kill them...."
Eiko shook her head.
"Retreat!" Ipsen barked at all the black mages within earshot. He caught sight of
the runt, his arm extended and pointed at Ipsen. Before the waltz could do
anything, a spell left its hand. Ipsen winced when he expected to be hit with a
painful spell, but instead was relieved of much of the pain in his wing. The runt
fell to the ground with a thump. Ipsen looked around.
"Vivi! No we can't let them get away with this!" Eiko shouted at Vivi as he held
her back.
"They're retreating, let them go!" Vivi scolded defensively. He couldn't describe
the feeling of betrayal and loyalty he felt between both sides.
Eiko shouted something very offensive at him and the retreating black mages,
until Vivi cast a Sleep spell on her. He couldn't believe what he was doing, letting
them all get away with this. It was too late now, Ipsen was the only member of
the army that remained.
Ipsen growled and thought their retreat was a show of weakness. But they still
went at that moment, with no opposition from the black mage and summoner.
As he walked down the gravel path, Ipsen noticed the runt laying in a small
heap, not moving. Ipsen suddenly felt a pang of emotion that was very
unfamiliar and stooped down near the small mage. He checked to see if it was
breathing. It was. Ipsen looked it over, thinking to himself. Perhaps I should
bring him back. He saved my life....
But another part of his mind snapped and reminded him of his superiority over
the black mages, how they were nothing more than identical golems. Ipsen
shook his head and noticed Vivi was still watching him, holding a slumbering
Eiko in his arms. His feathers bristled as he scooped up the small mage, partly
from Vivi's staring, partly from surprise at his own actions of deciding to bring
the runt back.
No, this one's different. He told himself with a slight, beaming attitude. This
mage is different than the rest, like me. Ipsen nodded and felt something of an
attachment to the runt as he began leaving the city.
*`*`*`*`*`*`
Author's Note: Merry Christmas!