Nice to see the update, eh? I try as fast as I can, but all the
distractions! Stay away! Wait, no, that can stay. And maybe that. Perhaps
that as well. . .
Anyway, besides having entirely too much time to waste (Which I AM doing. I can assure you that I'm wasting it on very silly things as well. But hey, what kinda person would I be if I didn't kick back on a vacation? *Shiver* I don't even want to know.) I've added a paragraph or two to this fic every once and a while, so progress has been slow, but steady. Just so happens that it's still pretty fast compared to some other fics, which is sweet in my opinion.
Ahhh, the joys of creating characters left and right. The mercenary (He has a name, I just don't care to use it yet.), Joan, Wraith, Spectre, Ghost, Her, and probably a few more. Yes, it's starting to look a bit crowded. I might have to kill off a few characters in this to make room for, erm, whatever it is I need to make room for. Yeah. Something along those lines. But, if I DO decide that someone dies, then it won't be one of the original characters. I have grave misgivings about killing them off. In fact, I'm trying to revive as many as I can.
Anyway, I'd like to thank to reviewers again, but not in depth like last time. I'm sorry, but you'll have to settle for a rather simple 'thank you' (If not, then I think you know what you can do.). Thanks!
Yeah, I just realized this, but I've been inadvertently trying to get the journey started, but haven't been able to. Trust me, I'm just as in the dark about this as you are. Maybe next chapter they'll get off their asses and go. Who knows? Not me, that's for sure. (What fun is writing something where you KNOW something is gonna happen? Not much. Basic outlines, that's all I need.)
If anyone ever sees something called 'happy tree friends', I can assure you that unless you have a strong stomach you won't enjoy it. I've never seen such an 'inventive' way of using a squirrels intestines. *Shudder* I'm gonna have nightmares about that one.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter XIII: Half-Breeds Everywhere
Jarred, was to put it mildly, in a flurry of panic.
It wasn't state in which he preferred to be in, by no means. It was confusing, stressful, and very not fun. You might even go as far as to call it a bad thing. But it was a new experience for him, and those were always worth while, so long as they were new. If he had come across panic for the second time, there might be trouble.
He was in a state of panic, because he couldn't find either Joan or Reno, who was supposed to be to watching Joan, and Elena kept on trying to check the bar for some reason. Jarred didn't really see a reason why anyone would want to go there. The only thing in a bar was a bunch of smelly people and evil tasting drinks that made you walk funny after a while. Sure, it was kind of fun, but the aftershock wasn't worth it. Why would anyone want to go there?
So, having pulled Elena away from the bar, and forcing her to say what OTHER places they should look, and having received nothing but silence, he decided that she was a pretty useless person to have around. That having been said, she was nice, but a bit of a liability at the moment. So, he abandoned her.
And got himself lost in the process.
Yes, Jarred had somehow managed to get himself lost in the ShinRa building, which he had now discovered was a lot bigger on the inside than out. He could almost hear just about every person he had met so far laugh at him.
But he had merely mistaken that for the laughter that was coming from behind him. Nevertheless, he spun around and threw his hand axe, narrowly missing a security guard.
"STOP LAUGHING!" He bellowed indignantly.
The guard in question, who had just noticed Jarred, suddenly realized where the axe had come from and raised his weapon, which happened to be a very intimidating rifle*, and pointed it at his general direction.
"Hold still, freak!" He shouted, and advanced slowly.
There was a flash of dark light, and suddenly Wraith, Spectre and Ghost were barring the guards way. The guard leapt back in surprise. It was the work of a moment for Ghost. He ripped out his pistol, and pulled the trigger.
Wraith turned to face Jarred.
"YOU REALLY SHOULDN'T PUT UP WITH THIS, YOU KNOW. THEY'RE JUST HUMANS, AFTER ALL." The cold, mental voice said. "YOU DON'T NEED TO TOLERATE IT."
Jarred frowned.
"What do you think you're doing? You don't jump out of nowhere and KILL someone! You jump out of a dark corner when they aren't looking and THEN you kill them!" He criticized, turning away from the trio. They could really take the fun out of most things.
Spectre cackled that evil cackle.
"Oh, c'mon, Jarred! Lighten up! Have a little fun!" He shouted, kicking the dead corpse.
Jarred frowned even deeper.
"I'm sorry, but I just don't get my kicks from killing people who have no hope of hitting back."
Ghost turned, and regarded Jarred with a vicious grin.
"And blowing up buildings for fun is any better?" He asked, holstering his gun. "You got to admit, it IS fun causing chaos. C'mon, admit it!"
Jarred turned away, somewhat disgusted.
"Excuse me. I have a daughter that I need to look for, and you're distracting me." He murmured, and started to walk away. It was going to be very hard indeed to enjoy anything with them around, he thought.
"YOU MEAN THE LITTLE GIRL? YAY HIGH?" Wraith said, holding his hand at waist height. "BLACK HAIR, RED EYES?"
Jarred nodded.
"Have you guys found her? She's alright, right?" He said, suddenly interested in what Wraith had to say. He gave the tall warrior a pleading look.
A rare smile cracked across Wraith's face. You could almost tell it was rare, as he was rapidly trying to remember what muscles were needed to make a decent smile, and was experimenting along the way.
"WE TOOK HER INTO OUR CUSTODY FROM A HUMAN. WE MAY BE MEAN TO HUMANS, MY LIEGE, BUT WE TAKE CARE OUR OWN." Wraith flicked a hand at Ghost, who lifted his voluminous coat. Joan poked her head outside curiously. A huge smile spread across her face as she saw Jarred. She ran out from Ghost's coat and into Jarred's waiting arms, which then put her on his bare shoulder.
"What happened, daddy?" She asked, getting a good position on Jarred's shoulder. "I saw you fall and then they came and took you away and then that nice lady played some games with me and those people wouldn't let me see you and I was really worried, but now you're alright! Lets go play!"
Jarred smiled.
"That sounds like an excellent idea!" He said.
Jarred gave a Wraith a grateful look.
"Thanks. I might have to keep you three around a bit longer."
Wraith bowed deeply.
"We live but to serve, my prince. It is her will that we stand before you now, and it is her will that we obey."
Jarred looked upwards.
"This must be that loyalty thing I've heard so much about, isn't it? I'll have to learn about it from you guys. Later!" He said, and ran into an elevator and pushed 'up'. "Take care of that corpse, will you? It isn't nice to leave dead bodies in someone else's building!" He shouted as the doors closed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seph X, who was FINALLY being greeted by Reeve, stood in the president office once again, with a slight smile on his face.
"How is it that you can trace down JARRED without any information, but you can't find the metal re-incarnation of the single most evil person on the face of the planet?" He asked sceptically. "And how is it that I can prowl your halls for hours followed by your own guards before someone ushers me into your office?"
Reeve coughed nervously. Seph X's sudden arrival hadn't been expected in the least. Everyone had assumed that the only reason Seph X had stayed to help was to battle with Mech-Head, but apparently the machine was after something other than revenge for some forgotten reason.
"Well, you see, we were able to find Jarred easily because we had been tracing him. You need to keep an eye on someone who wields power that can destroy a city with ease. Especially when that someone might find it fun. And you seemed like you didn't want to known, so I didn't really bother tracking you down. As for the other question, well, not everyone knows about you. Some people were running down the stairs screaming that Sephiroth had been revived AGAIN, and that just caused panic." He explained.
Seph X put a metal hand to his chin.
"I see. I've also heard rumours about an attack. Are they true?"
Reeve nodded. There wasn't a point in denying it. Seph X WAS on their side, after all.
"We're still trying to find out why they were here, but we have definite knowledge that they came from Gaea's Peak. After that we're going to try and find out why they came down here. A somewhat reliable source says that magic is involved. Demon magic."
This got a look of shock out of Seph X.
"Demon Magic? What do you mean by that? Magic in itself is merely the will of the planet combined with the knowledge of the Cetra. How can there be a different type? It doesn't make sense."
Reeve shrugged.
"Who knows how it all works. We really are infants in our research of how the Lifestream works, and the history of the planet. We're finding new things everyday. Just a few weeks ago we found a file containing some research of Egg Isle by Hojo. They had found all sorts of things. Ironically, they missed the 'Knights Of The Round Table'** summon Materia. But they did acquire this." Reeve reached under his desk, and pulled out a large stone tablet.
It was a thin thing, amazingly thing considering the material it was made of. Scattered across it was a maze of lettering, somehow preserved from all the years they must have survived. But they didn't mean anything. They didn't resemble anything that even remotely looked like modern writing. If anything it looked like. . .
Seph X lifted his head.
"Cetra script?" He asked, moving a bit closer.
"Hojo's files say they aren't, but we really shouldn't believe everything he said. He DID make Sephiroth."
Seph X paused to look at Reeve.
"He also made me." He said coldly, and went back to examining the tablet.
"And you're still surprising us every day." Reeve returned, sitting back down into his chair. "We were thinking of giving it to our new friend to translate, but we don't really trust him yet. We were hoping you might know something, though. . ."
Seph X shook his head.
"I know nothing about this. I was made for one purpose, and one purpose only. To destroy all life and become a god. This I cannot do, so I become useless, until Hojo found another use. This did not include translating stone tablets, I'm afraid." He said simply, moving away from the tablet.
Reeve shrugged.
"Oh well. Oh, Seph X, as an apology for being excluded from our ceremony, would you like to accompany us on our expedition to the north? We won't be too long.***"
Seph X grinned.
"It would be my pleasure. 'Sides, I want to get the bastard who hurt Jarred. He's the only follower I have left after I left the riders with you." He replied, and cracked his metallic knuckles. "The bastard's gonna pay for it with blood."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aeris poked Kahn's shoulder. The demon growled deeply, half opening his eyes, regarding her with an icy gaze.
"Do you feel like dieing again, Cetra wench? You're going the right way about it." He said, and closed his eyes again. Sleeping had suddenly become a lot harder with that blasted CETRA around. A lot harder indeed.
Aeris poked him in the shoulder once more. She was getting ready to do it again, when the demons clawed hand snaked out and grabbed hers.
"I would prefer if you wouldn't do that. It annoys me."
Aeris giggled.
"That's what makes it fun." And poked him with her free, spectral hand.
A deep growl erupted from Kahn once again.
"Hath the Demon lord Zann Talrath Kahn become the plaything of deceased Cetra?" A haughty voice called from far away. It was a voice that seemed to laugh at you in every possible way, and yet keep its cool. But what made it of even greater spectacle was the fact that it spoke ancient demonic, forgotten to all except demons. "And you called US degenerates. A shame you must be to your brethren."
Kahn jumped away from Aeris, composing himself.
"I am in exile, fool. I can do as I please." He returned. "I have yet to hear your name, stranger, nor to see you. Show your face and address me as a man."
A man emerged from behind a mound of stone. Short, silvery hair shot upwards, like a mat of spikes. A platinum pauldron hung on the stranger's shoulder, and a sword sheath was buckled to his waist by a golden belt. The person's eyes burned a magically enhanced shade of green, which blazed outwardly.
"I bring her regards, demon lord." The figure bowed deeply. "And our humblest condolence for your exile. She was very distressed to hear of this turn of events."
Kahn snorted. It was a Half-Breed. A measly, degenerate Half-Breed.
"State your business and be gone, scum. I don't have time to meddle with you. There's more important things to be done." Kahn said with a sneer, but regretted his choice of words instantly.
"So you have grown a taste for Cetra women, have you? How very amusing. I'm sure she will find this quite humouring." He said with a smile.
Kahn clenched his claws. He had waged war for less then this. Why was he taking this shit from a HALF-BREED? He decided that he wasn't.
"I don't care what you think, you degenerate piece of slime. You get out of my sight before I cut you to pieces!" He growled, lifting one hand meaningfully.
The person seemed to smile all the deeper.
"Shakal Mora Kahn." He said.
Kahn was appalled. After thousands of years, people still remembered the words that would send blood shooting through his veins. They still taunted him for his fatal mistake. His only mistake. And now a HALF-BREED was mocking him. It was unbearable
"BACK OFF HALF-BREED SCUM!" Kahn screamed, barely stopping himself from tearing the snobbish Half-Breed apart. "YOU WEREN'T EVEN THOUGHT OF WHEN THAT HAPPENED, LET ALONE KNOW ABOUT IT!"
The stranger's smile only seemed to get bigger as the danger increased.
"I see you feelings on the matter haven't changed. In THAT case then I have good news for you. SHE has seized this chance to make an offer to you, demon. Join us. We will give you sanctuary." He gestured to Aeris. "Or would you rather stay with her?" There was a particular tone of amusement in the stranger's voice.
Rage that had threatened to envelope him now left Kahn, as the enormity of these words sunk into him. She, would grant him, sanctuary? The prospect dumbfounded him. Even now, she was willing to help him? After so long?
He cast a glance at Aeris, who obviously wasn't understanding a word of their conversation, which was being spoken in ancient demonic, which was very different from the smattering she knew.
"I have some unfinished business to take care of first. I will summon you when I am ready. How do you plan to take me away from this place?" He asked.
The stranger smiled.
"You will have no need to summon me. All is already underway. The Prince Of Darkness himself will escort you to our lands." He said with a smile. "If you should have need to speak with her, speak her name and she will listen. Remember, Kahn, Shakal Mora Kahn." And with this the stranger faded away and vanished.
Kahn stood like that for while, staring at where the Half-Breed had stood a moment before. He had to admit that she was gaining more powerful minions than before. He could still feel the strange power the stranger possessed, and the fleeting, yet effective way he used it. And she wanted HIM on her side as well.
"Kahn? Who was he? What did he want?" She asked, walking a bit closer to him.
Kahn turned around to face the girl.
"Remember how I told you that the Psirys's were taken away by the Half- Breeds?"
Aeris nodded.
"Well, now they want me." He said. "And I think I want to go."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cloud stood out on the deck.
"Everyone here?" he asked.
Jarred shouted, Joan joined in on the shouting. Vincent calmly reported that he was, indeed, here. Yuffie being to sick to say anything merely moaned. Tifa was already beside him. Barret, Cid and Shera were in the control room, getting the ship ready to go. The LoS riders and the Turks didn't say anything, merely walked inside the Highwind, followed by Reeve. Seph X was still recovering from the shock of having found out that Jarred had a child, and said nothing. Red XIII said 'present' and laid down on the ground. Nox Seran laughed maniacally, and Wraith, Spectre and Ghost glared evilly at him.
It certainly looked like everyone was here. If not, then there was enough people to compensate their absence.
"Then lets go, people!" Cloud said, and pulled the rope ladder up onto the deck. Jarred laughed playfully as he began spitting over the side of the ship. Joan soon took his example.
For the first time, it seemed as if Nox Seran took notice to Jarred.
"OMIGID! I, I, ITS JARRED!" The demon slithered with shocking speed to the young warrior. "CAN I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH?! YOUR AXE! CA I HOLD IT? PLEASE?"
Jarred looked at the demon with a smile.
"Why not? Here, you can borrow my dagger until I need it."
"SWEET GODS OF WAR! CAN I?" Jarred produced the crystal dagger from his belt and laid it in the demon's hands. "COOL!" Nox Seran produced a pen and paper.
"Could you write your name here?"
Cloud sighed and went inside. It was like having a ship full of children with BOTH Nox Seran and Jarred around. It was beginning to look like a very long trip indeed.
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*: Is it just me or are the guns in FF7 really, really, REALLY un- intimidating? You'd think that a militaristic regime like ShinRa could make a gun that made you want to run, but all they managed was a black mass that hurled metal at you.
**: Yes, that's what it SHOULD be. I counted all those people, and there are twelve, excluding the last one, so altogether there's thirteen, which fits rather nicely the legend of king Arthur and the Knights Of The Round Table. I don't know why they didn't write it right, but the people at Square are strange, eh? They DID buy Enix, right? That can count as mistake number one, and it'll keep going downwards.
You will agree with me, or Kahn will get it! He'll get it up the rompa! And Jarred will get it as well! (Now you wonder what a rompa is. (MWUHAHAHAHA!))
***: for whom, I might ask? I bet you guys have been waiting for the show to start for a LONG time. Just bear with me, okay? I write as fast as my thought-depleted mind allows.
As today is Easter, I humbly wish that you have had a nice vacation and that you have lots of chocolate and candy to gorge on. Otherwise that would be a waste of a good holiday if you didn't munch on a ton of sugar.
Anyway, besides having entirely too much time to waste (Which I AM doing. I can assure you that I'm wasting it on very silly things as well. But hey, what kinda person would I be if I didn't kick back on a vacation? *Shiver* I don't even want to know.) I've added a paragraph or two to this fic every once and a while, so progress has been slow, but steady. Just so happens that it's still pretty fast compared to some other fics, which is sweet in my opinion.
Ahhh, the joys of creating characters left and right. The mercenary (He has a name, I just don't care to use it yet.), Joan, Wraith, Spectre, Ghost, Her, and probably a few more. Yes, it's starting to look a bit crowded. I might have to kill off a few characters in this to make room for, erm, whatever it is I need to make room for. Yeah. Something along those lines. But, if I DO decide that someone dies, then it won't be one of the original characters. I have grave misgivings about killing them off. In fact, I'm trying to revive as many as I can.
Anyway, I'd like to thank to reviewers again, but not in depth like last time. I'm sorry, but you'll have to settle for a rather simple 'thank you' (If not, then I think you know what you can do.). Thanks!
Yeah, I just realized this, but I've been inadvertently trying to get the journey started, but haven't been able to. Trust me, I'm just as in the dark about this as you are. Maybe next chapter they'll get off their asses and go. Who knows? Not me, that's for sure. (What fun is writing something where you KNOW something is gonna happen? Not much. Basic outlines, that's all I need.)
If anyone ever sees something called 'happy tree friends', I can assure you that unless you have a strong stomach you won't enjoy it. I've never seen such an 'inventive' way of using a squirrels intestines. *Shudder* I'm gonna have nightmares about that one.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter XIII: Half-Breeds Everywhere
Jarred, was to put it mildly, in a flurry of panic.
It wasn't state in which he preferred to be in, by no means. It was confusing, stressful, and very not fun. You might even go as far as to call it a bad thing. But it was a new experience for him, and those were always worth while, so long as they were new. If he had come across panic for the second time, there might be trouble.
He was in a state of panic, because he couldn't find either Joan or Reno, who was supposed to be to watching Joan, and Elena kept on trying to check the bar for some reason. Jarred didn't really see a reason why anyone would want to go there. The only thing in a bar was a bunch of smelly people and evil tasting drinks that made you walk funny after a while. Sure, it was kind of fun, but the aftershock wasn't worth it. Why would anyone want to go there?
So, having pulled Elena away from the bar, and forcing her to say what OTHER places they should look, and having received nothing but silence, he decided that she was a pretty useless person to have around. That having been said, she was nice, but a bit of a liability at the moment. So, he abandoned her.
And got himself lost in the process.
Yes, Jarred had somehow managed to get himself lost in the ShinRa building, which he had now discovered was a lot bigger on the inside than out. He could almost hear just about every person he had met so far laugh at him.
But he had merely mistaken that for the laughter that was coming from behind him. Nevertheless, he spun around and threw his hand axe, narrowly missing a security guard.
"STOP LAUGHING!" He bellowed indignantly.
The guard in question, who had just noticed Jarred, suddenly realized where the axe had come from and raised his weapon, which happened to be a very intimidating rifle*, and pointed it at his general direction.
"Hold still, freak!" He shouted, and advanced slowly.
There was a flash of dark light, and suddenly Wraith, Spectre and Ghost were barring the guards way. The guard leapt back in surprise. It was the work of a moment for Ghost. He ripped out his pistol, and pulled the trigger.
Wraith turned to face Jarred.
"YOU REALLY SHOULDN'T PUT UP WITH THIS, YOU KNOW. THEY'RE JUST HUMANS, AFTER ALL." The cold, mental voice said. "YOU DON'T NEED TO TOLERATE IT."
Jarred frowned.
"What do you think you're doing? You don't jump out of nowhere and KILL someone! You jump out of a dark corner when they aren't looking and THEN you kill them!" He criticized, turning away from the trio. They could really take the fun out of most things.
Spectre cackled that evil cackle.
"Oh, c'mon, Jarred! Lighten up! Have a little fun!" He shouted, kicking the dead corpse.
Jarred frowned even deeper.
"I'm sorry, but I just don't get my kicks from killing people who have no hope of hitting back."
Ghost turned, and regarded Jarred with a vicious grin.
"And blowing up buildings for fun is any better?" He asked, holstering his gun. "You got to admit, it IS fun causing chaos. C'mon, admit it!"
Jarred turned away, somewhat disgusted.
"Excuse me. I have a daughter that I need to look for, and you're distracting me." He murmured, and started to walk away. It was going to be very hard indeed to enjoy anything with them around, he thought.
"YOU MEAN THE LITTLE GIRL? YAY HIGH?" Wraith said, holding his hand at waist height. "BLACK HAIR, RED EYES?"
Jarred nodded.
"Have you guys found her? She's alright, right?" He said, suddenly interested in what Wraith had to say. He gave the tall warrior a pleading look.
A rare smile cracked across Wraith's face. You could almost tell it was rare, as he was rapidly trying to remember what muscles were needed to make a decent smile, and was experimenting along the way.
"WE TOOK HER INTO OUR CUSTODY FROM A HUMAN. WE MAY BE MEAN TO HUMANS, MY LIEGE, BUT WE TAKE CARE OUR OWN." Wraith flicked a hand at Ghost, who lifted his voluminous coat. Joan poked her head outside curiously. A huge smile spread across her face as she saw Jarred. She ran out from Ghost's coat and into Jarred's waiting arms, which then put her on his bare shoulder.
"What happened, daddy?" She asked, getting a good position on Jarred's shoulder. "I saw you fall and then they came and took you away and then that nice lady played some games with me and those people wouldn't let me see you and I was really worried, but now you're alright! Lets go play!"
Jarred smiled.
"That sounds like an excellent idea!" He said.
Jarred gave a Wraith a grateful look.
"Thanks. I might have to keep you three around a bit longer."
Wraith bowed deeply.
"We live but to serve, my prince. It is her will that we stand before you now, and it is her will that we obey."
Jarred looked upwards.
"This must be that loyalty thing I've heard so much about, isn't it? I'll have to learn about it from you guys. Later!" He said, and ran into an elevator and pushed 'up'. "Take care of that corpse, will you? It isn't nice to leave dead bodies in someone else's building!" He shouted as the doors closed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Seph X, who was FINALLY being greeted by Reeve, stood in the president office once again, with a slight smile on his face.
"How is it that you can trace down JARRED without any information, but you can't find the metal re-incarnation of the single most evil person on the face of the planet?" He asked sceptically. "And how is it that I can prowl your halls for hours followed by your own guards before someone ushers me into your office?"
Reeve coughed nervously. Seph X's sudden arrival hadn't been expected in the least. Everyone had assumed that the only reason Seph X had stayed to help was to battle with Mech-Head, but apparently the machine was after something other than revenge for some forgotten reason.
"Well, you see, we were able to find Jarred easily because we had been tracing him. You need to keep an eye on someone who wields power that can destroy a city with ease. Especially when that someone might find it fun. And you seemed like you didn't want to known, so I didn't really bother tracking you down. As for the other question, well, not everyone knows about you. Some people were running down the stairs screaming that Sephiroth had been revived AGAIN, and that just caused panic." He explained.
Seph X put a metal hand to his chin.
"I see. I've also heard rumours about an attack. Are they true?"
Reeve nodded. There wasn't a point in denying it. Seph X WAS on their side, after all.
"We're still trying to find out why they were here, but we have definite knowledge that they came from Gaea's Peak. After that we're going to try and find out why they came down here. A somewhat reliable source says that magic is involved. Demon magic."
This got a look of shock out of Seph X.
"Demon Magic? What do you mean by that? Magic in itself is merely the will of the planet combined with the knowledge of the Cetra. How can there be a different type? It doesn't make sense."
Reeve shrugged.
"Who knows how it all works. We really are infants in our research of how the Lifestream works, and the history of the planet. We're finding new things everyday. Just a few weeks ago we found a file containing some research of Egg Isle by Hojo. They had found all sorts of things. Ironically, they missed the 'Knights Of The Round Table'** summon Materia. But they did acquire this." Reeve reached under his desk, and pulled out a large stone tablet.
It was a thin thing, amazingly thing considering the material it was made of. Scattered across it was a maze of lettering, somehow preserved from all the years they must have survived. But they didn't mean anything. They didn't resemble anything that even remotely looked like modern writing. If anything it looked like. . .
Seph X lifted his head.
"Cetra script?" He asked, moving a bit closer.
"Hojo's files say they aren't, but we really shouldn't believe everything he said. He DID make Sephiroth."
Seph X paused to look at Reeve.
"He also made me." He said coldly, and went back to examining the tablet.
"And you're still surprising us every day." Reeve returned, sitting back down into his chair. "We were thinking of giving it to our new friend to translate, but we don't really trust him yet. We were hoping you might know something, though. . ."
Seph X shook his head.
"I know nothing about this. I was made for one purpose, and one purpose only. To destroy all life and become a god. This I cannot do, so I become useless, until Hojo found another use. This did not include translating stone tablets, I'm afraid." He said simply, moving away from the tablet.
Reeve shrugged.
"Oh well. Oh, Seph X, as an apology for being excluded from our ceremony, would you like to accompany us on our expedition to the north? We won't be too long.***"
Seph X grinned.
"It would be my pleasure. 'Sides, I want to get the bastard who hurt Jarred. He's the only follower I have left after I left the riders with you." He replied, and cracked his metallic knuckles. "The bastard's gonna pay for it with blood."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aeris poked Kahn's shoulder. The demon growled deeply, half opening his eyes, regarding her with an icy gaze.
"Do you feel like dieing again, Cetra wench? You're going the right way about it." He said, and closed his eyes again. Sleeping had suddenly become a lot harder with that blasted CETRA around. A lot harder indeed.
Aeris poked him in the shoulder once more. She was getting ready to do it again, when the demons clawed hand snaked out and grabbed hers.
"I would prefer if you wouldn't do that. It annoys me."
Aeris giggled.
"That's what makes it fun." And poked him with her free, spectral hand.
A deep growl erupted from Kahn once again.
"Hath the Demon lord Zann Talrath Kahn become the plaything of deceased Cetra?" A haughty voice called from far away. It was a voice that seemed to laugh at you in every possible way, and yet keep its cool. But what made it of even greater spectacle was the fact that it spoke ancient demonic, forgotten to all except demons. "And you called US degenerates. A shame you must be to your brethren."
Kahn jumped away from Aeris, composing himself.
"I am in exile, fool. I can do as I please." He returned. "I have yet to hear your name, stranger, nor to see you. Show your face and address me as a man."
A man emerged from behind a mound of stone. Short, silvery hair shot upwards, like a mat of spikes. A platinum pauldron hung on the stranger's shoulder, and a sword sheath was buckled to his waist by a golden belt. The person's eyes burned a magically enhanced shade of green, which blazed outwardly.
"I bring her regards, demon lord." The figure bowed deeply. "And our humblest condolence for your exile. She was very distressed to hear of this turn of events."
Kahn snorted. It was a Half-Breed. A measly, degenerate Half-Breed.
"State your business and be gone, scum. I don't have time to meddle with you. There's more important things to be done." Kahn said with a sneer, but regretted his choice of words instantly.
"So you have grown a taste for Cetra women, have you? How very amusing. I'm sure she will find this quite humouring." He said with a smile.
Kahn clenched his claws. He had waged war for less then this. Why was he taking this shit from a HALF-BREED? He decided that he wasn't.
"I don't care what you think, you degenerate piece of slime. You get out of my sight before I cut you to pieces!" He growled, lifting one hand meaningfully.
The person seemed to smile all the deeper.
"Shakal Mora Kahn." He said.
Kahn was appalled. After thousands of years, people still remembered the words that would send blood shooting through his veins. They still taunted him for his fatal mistake. His only mistake. And now a HALF-BREED was mocking him. It was unbearable
"BACK OFF HALF-BREED SCUM!" Kahn screamed, barely stopping himself from tearing the snobbish Half-Breed apart. "YOU WEREN'T EVEN THOUGHT OF WHEN THAT HAPPENED, LET ALONE KNOW ABOUT IT!"
The stranger's smile only seemed to get bigger as the danger increased.
"I see you feelings on the matter haven't changed. In THAT case then I have good news for you. SHE has seized this chance to make an offer to you, demon. Join us. We will give you sanctuary." He gestured to Aeris. "Or would you rather stay with her?" There was a particular tone of amusement in the stranger's voice.
Rage that had threatened to envelope him now left Kahn, as the enormity of these words sunk into him. She, would grant him, sanctuary? The prospect dumbfounded him. Even now, she was willing to help him? After so long?
He cast a glance at Aeris, who obviously wasn't understanding a word of their conversation, which was being spoken in ancient demonic, which was very different from the smattering she knew.
"I have some unfinished business to take care of first. I will summon you when I am ready. How do you plan to take me away from this place?" He asked.
The stranger smiled.
"You will have no need to summon me. All is already underway. The Prince Of Darkness himself will escort you to our lands." He said with a smile. "If you should have need to speak with her, speak her name and she will listen. Remember, Kahn, Shakal Mora Kahn." And with this the stranger faded away and vanished.
Kahn stood like that for while, staring at where the Half-Breed had stood a moment before. He had to admit that she was gaining more powerful minions than before. He could still feel the strange power the stranger possessed, and the fleeting, yet effective way he used it. And she wanted HIM on her side as well.
"Kahn? Who was he? What did he want?" She asked, walking a bit closer to him.
Kahn turned around to face the girl.
"Remember how I told you that the Psirys's were taken away by the Half- Breeds?"
Aeris nodded.
"Well, now they want me." He said. "And I think I want to go."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cloud stood out on the deck.
"Everyone here?" he asked.
Jarred shouted, Joan joined in on the shouting. Vincent calmly reported that he was, indeed, here. Yuffie being to sick to say anything merely moaned. Tifa was already beside him. Barret, Cid and Shera were in the control room, getting the ship ready to go. The LoS riders and the Turks didn't say anything, merely walked inside the Highwind, followed by Reeve. Seph X was still recovering from the shock of having found out that Jarred had a child, and said nothing. Red XIII said 'present' and laid down on the ground. Nox Seran laughed maniacally, and Wraith, Spectre and Ghost glared evilly at him.
It certainly looked like everyone was here. If not, then there was enough people to compensate their absence.
"Then lets go, people!" Cloud said, and pulled the rope ladder up onto the deck. Jarred laughed playfully as he began spitting over the side of the ship. Joan soon took his example.
For the first time, it seemed as if Nox Seran took notice to Jarred.
"OMIGID! I, I, ITS JARRED!" The demon slithered with shocking speed to the young warrior. "CAN I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH?! YOUR AXE! CA I HOLD IT? PLEASE?"
Jarred looked at the demon with a smile.
"Why not? Here, you can borrow my dagger until I need it."
"SWEET GODS OF WAR! CAN I?" Jarred produced the crystal dagger from his belt and laid it in the demon's hands. "COOL!" Nox Seran produced a pen and paper.
"Could you write your name here?"
Cloud sighed and went inside. It was like having a ship full of children with BOTH Nox Seran and Jarred around. It was beginning to look like a very long trip indeed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*: Is it just me or are the guns in FF7 really, really, REALLY un- intimidating? You'd think that a militaristic regime like ShinRa could make a gun that made you want to run, but all they managed was a black mass that hurled metal at you.
**: Yes, that's what it SHOULD be. I counted all those people, and there are twelve, excluding the last one, so altogether there's thirteen, which fits rather nicely the legend of king Arthur and the Knights Of The Round Table. I don't know why they didn't write it right, but the people at Square are strange, eh? They DID buy Enix, right? That can count as mistake number one, and it'll keep going downwards.
You will agree with me, or Kahn will get it! He'll get it up the rompa! And Jarred will get it as well! (Now you wonder what a rompa is. (MWUHAHAHAHA!))
***: for whom, I might ask? I bet you guys have been waiting for the show to start for a LONG time. Just bear with me, okay? I write as fast as my thought-depleted mind allows.
As today is Easter, I humbly wish that you have had a nice vacation and that you have lots of chocolate and candy to gorge on. Otherwise that would be a waste of a good holiday if you didn't munch on a ton of sugar.
