I do not own ff7. Regretably, I am have no claim to the characters and plot
they made. However, Square has NO claim to MY ENHANCED characters! TAKE
THAT! MWUHAHAHAHAHAH!!!
Ehem.
Today's chapter is from Aerosmith, and iz 'Walk This Way'.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter IIXXX: Walk This Way
Shakal, the pale woman had introduced herself as, lead Cloud and his friends around the black halls of the last hold of Half-Breeds, called The Spire. Cloud had long ago lost his way in the intersecting hallways, going this way and that, while she explained a brief history of the place. Red XIII listened attentively, and even Vincent was distracted once in while by the massive gargoyles that had been carved into the walls around them. The air was stagnant, as if there hadn't been a fresh gust of air for centuries. And, as Shakal explained, there indeed had not.
"The Spire has stood out of view from the world for thousands of years, firmly locked into the Limbo of existence by the most powerful sorcerers of our time. It is, or rather was, similar to the demon afterlife." She explained coolly, and arrived at one door. Seemingly out of nowhere, she withdrew a key and jammed it threw a keyhole. "Who among you are the Strifes?" She asked. Cloud and Tifa came forth uncertainly.
Shakal smiled, and opened the door.
Something that looked to be an exact replica of Tifa's 'Eight Heaven' in Kalm stood behind the door. Everything was the same as they had left it, right down to the broken chair and table left by the brawling LoS riders and Turks.
"I have taken the liberty to recreate your home, if you will." She smiled, handing them the key. "Everything is the same, except what should lead outside of your home will lead to this door, no matter which door you go through." Tifa gaped, and Cloud stared. Shakal frowned deeply. "Is your room inadequate in some way?"
It took a moment for Tifa to recover, but when she did she shook her head in amazement.
"No, thank you, its perfect." She walked through the doorway, while Cloud still stared in amazement. After a minute Tifa dragged him in after her.
Shakal closed the door behind them, and continued on.
"Is the weariness strong upon you all?" She asked lightly, slowing down. "I am ashamed I did not think you all to be tired after such a long journey. Should you wish it I can have you all in your own rooms and have you all summoned tomorrow."
There was a mixed assent from the AVALANCHE, but Nox Seran, Aeris, Red XIII, The Turks and Reeve declined. As it was, Jarred or Kahn were not present to say anything. Yuffie moaned out her answer, and Vincent translated it to a yes. Barret growled put his approval, and Shera answered before Cid could open his mouth to spout any curses.
Shakal flicked her hand, and Barret, Yuffie, Shera, Cid, Vincent all faded and disappeared.
The now exceedingly smaller group continued on once more.
"I take it you people would like to ask me some questions. This I can allow to a point." She looked pointedly at Reeve suddenly. "Any question about the Prince Of Darkness I will ignore, as will everybody else in my command." There came a clang that sounded suspiciously like sword steel slashing against stone. Everyone turned to look at what seemed to be rage embodied.
A thin, pale man stalked up the hallway, carrying a sword in his right hand, which he scraped against the wall as he walked. Its silvery brilliance seemed to illuminate the man further, as if that could be done. Short, spiky white hair jolted upward stiffly, while it gleamed with silvery light as well as the sword. Icy blue eyes glared imperiously at the small assembly, scrutinizing the whole assembly apart from Shakal. He wore a loosely fitting white robe, with spiked, platinum pauldrons covering his shoulders. Two thin, but distinct scars ran across his face, one across his left eye, the other running across it, below his eye, and their position just begged for someone to ask how that could happen. He kneeled upon seeing Shakal, but like Jarred, didn't avert his gaze.
Nox Seran studied the person, a analyzing him thoroughly. A deep frown appeared on his lips, while he crossed his arms.
"My queen, do you think it wise to answer questions when a demon horde approaches?" He asked grimly, icy eyes glimmering darkly. His words brought a ripple of surprised looks from the humans, who were completely in the dark about the Shadowlord and his minions. Shakal narrowed her eyes sharply, glaring down at Psin.
"I think it even less wise to question me, Psin." She hissed, her hands twitching slightly. "Wraith and his brethren will take of them."
Psin cast his gaze downwards, to hide the sneer on his face, which had suddenly appeared on him while she spoke.
"As you will, my queen. I will be in the forge, if I am required." He seemed to twitch, and then faded away.
Shakal coolly recomposed herself, and continued down the hall.
"I fear Psin is not pleased with the sight of humans, not that any of us should be." She turned her head and smiled at them. "But two thousand years makes one lose arrogance and solitude when guests appear. Come, I will answer your questions."
They arrived at a door, which she pushed open.
Smooth, shiny marble pillars greeted them, while polished, light green jade made up the floor. A massive statue dominated the room, but it was time worn so that no features could be wrought from it without deep study. All that could be seen was the vague outline of a figure, carrying what looked like a hooked spear in one hand with a massive tome in the other. Although it had no significance to the human part of the group, Nox Seran's mouth slackened instantly.
"THIS is where you hid it? How much did you take with you into this place?" He asked in wonder, placing a hesitant hand on the statue."
Aeris looked at it, scepticism plain on her face. She tried to make out some of its features, but was unsuccessful. She turned to Nox Seran.
"What's so special about this statue?"
Shakal shot her an appalled look, and Nox Seran looked obviously aghast, even for him.
"T, this is no statue!" He hissed. "These are the remains of the very first Prince Of Darkness!"
Shakal continued to look appalled, but took a step closer to the statue.
"Can you not feel the magic radiating out of it? This is a relic not to be matched by any race! These are as close to a holy object as our race came." She put a delicate hand on the time worn stone. "My great grandmother saw her death, on the fields of Felwar."
Aeris's eyes bulged.
"The first Prince Of Darkness was a SHE?!" She said slightly confused. "Wouldn't that make her a princess, and not a prince?"
Shakal shrugged her shoulders, and sighed.
"This is the species that survived your kind, Nox Seran? It shames me to know that your people destroyed us." She muttered. "Young lady, the Prince Of Darkness is no-one and everyone. He draws upon all force, unlike normal Half-Breeds, which draw upon themselves. This is why I have summoned Jarred here. He has to realize he is NOT a normal Half-Breed."
Nox Seran slithered around the remains of the once mighty sorcerer, now stone corpse, with a smile on his face.
"She has kept well, my queen. She does not look any different from when I last saw her." He remarked, and then laughed. "A pity no one can appreciate her strength but a few, now." He went on in a giggling fit.
Red XIII sat down, and looked at Shakal with his single eye.
"Shakal, what did that man mean about a horde of demons approaching? Surely there is no-"
Shakal snapped away from Nox Seran to look at the dog-like creature. She fixed him an inquisitive glance, and went over to the creature, and stooped to a squat, looking him over at his own height.
"My my, your kind certainly have come a long way. What are you?" She muttered questioningly, catching a look at the tattoos and scars on him alike, and frowning.
"A good question, and one to ponder, I'm sure. I am what I am, and that is all I can be."
"I asked what you were, not for a flowery way of saying you haven't got a clue." She snapped, and smiled suddenly. "As for the demons outside this place, Wraith and his Brethren are more than capable of handling any intruder." She looked pointedly at Nox Seran suddenly, and stood up once again. "It is never wise to underestimate a genocider, after all." The snake demon blinked in surprise, and what sounded like a badly disguised string of curses erupted from him, turning into a fit of laughter.
Shakal looked around at the grouping once more, and frowned suddenly.
"Where did that blonde haired girl go?" She demanded curtly, placing her fists on her hips.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'That blonde haired girl' was wandering aimlessly around the seemingly infinite halls of The Spire. A small army of stone gargoyles flanked her against the walls, their grotesque stone faces glaring at her, sightless eyes staring forwards unmoving. She had gotten left behind while looking at one of those gargoyles which looked real enough to leap for forth and attack her. Since she had been left behind, she had walked down the endless corridor, searching for some sort of sign, or something. How was it that people actually LIVED here without getting hopelessly lost. As she proceded, the stone statues around here seemed to take on more real forms, depicting more graphic scenes, one particular statue actually extended a stone head, clawed hand gripping it by the hair, while its other hand held a wickedly curved spear, while crimson ruby seemed to drip from its mouth, leaving hardly any illusion at to what it was supposed to be. It went on like that for several hallways, until she emerged at a door, at its top a horned human-like figure struck outwards, arms outstretched, with a small beast in each. In the left, and dragon, in the Right, what looked to be a twisting image of the Leviathan. Normally, it would have chilled her the way its eyes were made from jet black obsidian, and how they seemed to follow you wherever you stood, but there was a betraying sign on the door handle. 'Busy!' it said, with the exclamation mark line replaced with a little heart, its background a light pink. The scene made her smile at its absurdity. Hazarding to put a hand on the handle, she slowly opened the door, hoping to see someone inside.
"But Jarred, you HAVE to wear the clothes mother got you!" She heard through the door, and almost pushed the door in there and then. It was females voice, she was sure, but had she just said what she did...?
"But, that is kinda..." A man's voice, for sure. Except for the scared and almost pleading tone in his voice, she could have sworn that it was Jarred in there. "Chilly, isn't it?"
There was a ruffling, and the sound of footsteps. Somewhere in the room, someone was moving.
"Its not like you'd be harmed by the cold anyway. Here, just try it on, atleast!"
"I don't know," The man said again, and this time Elena was sure it was Jarred.
So, she had discovered where Jarred's room lay. That might be handy to know, if she could remember how the hell to get back here!
"What are you afraid of? Me? I've seen you in the skin, Jarred!"
Elena nearly choked on herself right there. What kind of hussy girls did this place raise, anyway? To bring something like that up...! The thought made Elena blush, as she herself had avoided seeing Jarred 'in the skin'.
"I suppose your right." He sighed. "I'll change."
Elena chose that exact moment to 'stumble' in. She opened the door, wearing a slightly panicked face, worry in her eyes.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," Her mouth fell at what she saw.
A woman, wearing a very nearly translucent gown that hugged to her body, leaving very little to imagination. She had pink hair, which probably would have made even Aeris jump back in surprise, and she wore it loose, some of her hair on the left braided into a lnto a single strand, which she allowed to flow onto her chest, instead of backwards onto her back. She had silvery skin, like that of Shakal and that, Psin, if that was his name, person, as well as the icy blue eyes. They glared at her with such intensity that they could have bent steel. She very nearly had thrust her cleavage into Jarred's face, and Jarred himself, shirtless and cornered onto a couch, had a very nervous look about him. Nervous, and confused. However, upon seeing Elena in the doorway, a smile leapt onto his face faster than he could have guessed.
"Elena!" He shouted, stepping around the woman quickly, before she could move to stop him. From what she could see, he very nearly sprinted to her, eager to be away from the woman behind him. As it was, however, he merely walked away, however fast he did, and the woman followed behind.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," Elena began. "But I'm really lost." She explained truthfully.
"Oh, that's not a problem! I'll help you find your way!" Jarred said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, and walked towards the door.
"Jarred," The woman said, with a thin, silvery voice. "Won't you introduce me to this... woman you seem to know." Elena could very nearly feel the death glares and imaginary knives the woman was jabbing into her.
Jarred cringed from that, but politely turned around.
"H, her name is Elena, and she's a friend of mine." He stammered, hiding behind Elena's back. Apparently, his manners had nothing to do with his obvious fear of the woman. "Elena, this is Miena." He pronounced it in a strange way, Me-yena. "She has a lot of other titles after that, but there's a bit too much for me to remember."
Miena, wearing a deep frown by now, shot Elena a glare that could have stopped Sephiroth in his tracks.
"Daughter heir to the throne is hardly difficult to remember, Jarred." She said pleasantly. She turned to Elena, her pleasant tone didn't even have time to die. It just disappeared suddenly. "A pleasure, Elena." She said icily, with pure venom laced into her words. "I hope to be seeing more of you." The way she gripped the clothes in her hands left no illusion if there ever was one. If the woman really did hope to meet Elena once more, then she hoped to meet again in a dark ally, with no witnesses.
She walked primly past the two, out the door, and down the hallway, silently cursing. Elena raised an eyebrow at that. Why did she bother cursing? She couldn't have gotten her feelings through to them both any better if she had thunder clouds trailing after her.
Jarred peeked over Elena's shoulder, as if to make sure she rounded a corner and left. He sighed loudly.
"That woman scares me, I swear." He mumbled sullenly. "Why won't she leave me alone?"
"Some people are like that, Jarred." She said with a grin. So Jarred had an admirer here, and one of high rank. Elena felt something rise up in her, something odd, but smothered it down before it had a chance to cloud her judgement. Whatever it was, it couldn't be JEALOUSLY. Oh no. not EVER. "Women included."
Jarred grinned suddenly.
"So, where is it you want to go? I can show you to your room, if you like. I can make it myself." He beamed.
Elena raised an eyebrow.
"Make it, yourself? Wouldn't that take a long time?"
Jarred laughed. He regarded her with a merry smile.
"Of course not. The rooms here are made with magic. Whatever you consider home is in the room, once the magic in it is activated."
Elena was impressed. Clever people, to have thought of something so... useful.
"But, if I left, how would I be able to find my way around?"
Jarred grinned again.
"That's another trick of this place. These halls ARE infinite. Unless you have an idea where you want to go, you go nowhere, but when you know where you want to go, you're there." He said, with a grin. Elena raised an eyebrow at his dubious explanation.
"Uhm, would you mind running that past me again?"
Jarred smiled, and walked into his room.
"Its hard to understand, I know, but don't push it." He said casually from inside his room. Elena fumed inwardly at his inadvertent insult. Don't push indeed! "You don't think like we do, so it won't make too much sense. Here, I'll give you Impus. She knows her way around. She should be here somewhere..." He emerged the doorway once again, grinning. "Feel free to come inside." He said, and Elena cautiously obliged.
Jarred's room brought a gasp to her. The place looked like the embodiment of 'white'. Nowhere in the room was there even a differing shade of white, even where there should be shadows. Depth all but vanished here; she had the distinct feeling she could walk for a very long time in one direction and not touch a wall. In fact, the only thin that gave away walls, was that someone had taken care to put what looked like a collection of every weapon ever conceived of. Glaives, spears, daggers, axes, spears, maces, claws, and so forth, circling around her in a single evil array. Elena found the three weapons that Jarred used, dagger, hand-axe and claw, laid down on a counter, along with multiple pots and pans. In one corner, three couches surrounded what looked like a crystal coffee table. That was where Miena had cornered Jarred. Three doorways opened the room into three different ones, one even had the sound of trickling water, oddly enough.
"Make yourself at home!" Jarred said, opening a door and exploring it. Something that sounded like a bestial snarl erupted from the open door. "There you are!" He shouted, and the sound of something breaking same. "Oh, you wanna play like that, do ya?" Something else broke, loudly. "HEY! That was a birthday present! Get here, you little monster!"
The door jolted opening suddenly, and a small, rodent-like creature scurried out. It stood on its hind legs, but it ran on all fours. As soon as it saw Elena, it ran behind her, using her to obscure itself from Jarred. Elena twisted around to look at the little creature. Its creamy brown fur glistened slightly, and its bright brown eyes looked up at her, betraying an intelligence. It had a short snout, just barely qualifying as one, with its nose sniffing at the air. Its hands were like a human's, opposable thumbs and all, except covered in soft fur, and with short, but sharp claws. Standing up, it came up to mid-thigh, but well smaller than a dog. The most noticeable aspect, however, were its ears. They were massive, pointed like Jarred's, pointing backwards, behind its head. At the tips, the fur suddenly shifted to a deep blue, and flowed well out.
Elena smiled at the little creature, and what looked like a smile was returned to her. Jarred emerged from the door, holding a broken glass shards, and an angered look in his eyes.
"Impus, you know who this came from." He growled out. Impus, the furry little creature currently hiding behind Elena's legs, peeked its head out cautiously. "Come here." Jarred commanded.
Impus scampered out, bashfully, and laid its small hands on the broken shards. A dull, blue glow came from them, and faded abruptly, as it peeked over its shoulder at Elena. It jerked its head around abruptly, and regarded Jarred with a suspecting glance.
"She's a friend, Impus. And you'll be helping her around for while."
The little creature squeaked angrily, and the blue glow erupted brightly, and it drew its hands away, turning its back to Jarred, snout in the air. It squeaked once again for good measure.
Jarred held up what looked like a glass bird, and smiled, putting the thing on the floor, and grabbed Impus with a grin. The little beast squeaked angrily once again, flailing its arm around, while Jarred tickled its stomach. Elena looked as the two twisted around lithely, each seeking to gain the upper hand. Eventually, Impus managed to pin Jarred's arms to the ground with its legs, and carefully ran its short claws against Jarred's stomach, effectively tickling him in a fashion.
"Ack!" Jarred shouted between bouts of laughter. "Elena, heehee, HELP- ahaha! Argh!"
Elena laughed at the spectacle, and Impus looked up at her, an impish smile on its features. It scurried off of Jarred, and looked at the woman. It cocked its head at her.
Jarred picked himself up, still laughing slightly.
"Play with her, when you have time, and feed her food, and she'll follow you for life." The creature squeaked indignantly, sniffing at Jarred. "If you're going to talk bad about her, do it in a different room than she's in or in a different language; She know Wutainese and Midgarian, but you might sneak past her with Junonese. Or Coralan. She likes puzzles too." He said, beaming at the little creature.
"Huh? She, understands the words I say?" She stuttered. The little thing made a point of nodding with a pleased grin. "Amazing." Impus grinned slyly, and nodded once again in agreement.
Only Jarred's loud yawn brought her out of her thoughts about Impus. The young man was making for the room he had chased Impus out of. Halfway, he stopped and turned to Elena once again.
"Well, I'm going to sleep now. If you want, you could stay here tonight, and we could go ask Shakal where your room is tomorrow. Or, you could ask Impus to take you to your room. But you'd have to Shakal either way."
Elena looked around undecidedly.
"Well, I don't know..." She said hesitantly. "I mean, what about Reno and Rude? They'd worry and all..." She reasoned, halfway to herself. She was caught between wills, one reasoning that she should atleast make sure Reno and Rude knew she was safe, while another part yearned to be with, NO, wanted to be with this man who seemed to be almost too alluring with his charm and nature. At the very moment, having time alone with him didn't seem too bad of a prospect. Suddenly, the side that didn't want to stay said decided it wasn't fooling anybody, and switched sides suddenly. "Sure."
Jarred grinned, and instead of going through the door, made for the couches.
"Cool. Just go through that door, and you'll be in my room. Its big, I know, but it wasn't my decision. Try not to make a mess. Bathroom's over there," He gestured to the doorway where the sound of trickling water was coming from. And the kitchen is over there. I'll make something for breakfast tomorrow, if I wake up before you." He flopped down on the couch, and for some odd reason, the room seemed to dim to a dull black. The effect, however, was an artificial night. "Sleep well."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inside the forge, a dark room with a deep fiery atmosphere, Psin let magic seep into the bones he had collected, turning them from hard, immovable things, to soft, pliable object. He pressed them into the proper form he wanted, using the femurs from Gerald's corpse to form the blade, and pounded them into a thin, two inch wide blade, spanning half of his height. He used the two ribs to make a handle guards, one curving upward, the other curving down. He jammed the dagger handle into the handle guard, turning it into a handle of sorts, and forced the two child femurs together, and jammed the two together to add extra length to the handle. Picking up the crystal blade, he carefully inserted it at the tip of the blade, backwards, so that it acted like a hook. Then, he forced the handle into the blade, creating a crude sword.
Running his hands above it, the sword glowed hotly, and it seemed to be moving by itself. Slowly, the crude, forced union of the objects disappeared, instead forming into an object of death. Bone turned into glittering steel, blue crystal shifting to a dark green. The curving handle shifted, so that instead of simple steel, two dragon heads stood on the sides, mouths open, while the two steel handle guards emerged from their gaping mouths. The dagger handle merged with the bone, creating a smooth, double handed handle, worthy of any warrior-king, studded with gems and jewels, which glittered brightly.
Psin picked up the instrument of pain, hefting its weight in his hands, testing its balance. Finally, he smiled.
"Perfect." He said, wiping sweat from his forehead. Spell-forging wasn't easy work, even for those adept in the skill, but it was certainly easier and better than normal forging. Looking at it with an approving smile, he put it back down, laying his handle over the sword base. A quick, red glow shot from his hands, but dissipated quickly enough. He picked up the sword once more, eyeing his handywork.
Engraved in the steel, in flowing, Midgarian letters. The word 'betrayer' was written along its edge.
"I name you betrayer, for what you are made from." Flicking a hand, a scabbard appeared next to the sword, into which Psin put the blade. "Let Jarred try and destroy that which is made from those he treasures the most." He said with a wry smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, I'm sorry I didn't get too many perspectives in, but I was growing impatient, looked at the word count and said 'this is long enough' and hence, we have today's chapter. Sorry.
But, next chapter we'll have Wraith's battle with the Shadowlord, Aeris's antics with Shakal, and a drunken Reno picking fights with an equally drunk Kahn. If I can somehow manage to get started on it, though.
Ehem.
Today's chapter is from Aerosmith, and iz 'Walk This Way'.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter IIXXX: Walk This Way
Shakal, the pale woman had introduced herself as, lead Cloud and his friends around the black halls of the last hold of Half-Breeds, called The Spire. Cloud had long ago lost his way in the intersecting hallways, going this way and that, while she explained a brief history of the place. Red XIII listened attentively, and even Vincent was distracted once in while by the massive gargoyles that had been carved into the walls around them. The air was stagnant, as if there hadn't been a fresh gust of air for centuries. And, as Shakal explained, there indeed had not.
"The Spire has stood out of view from the world for thousands of years, firmly locked into the Limbo of existence by the most powerful sorcerers of our time. It is, or rather was, similar to the demon afterlife." She explained coolly, and arrived at one door. Seemingly out of nowhere, she withdrew a key and jammed it threw a keyhole. "Who among you are the Strifes?" She asked. Cloud and Tifa came forth uncertainly.
Shakal smiled, and opened the door.
Something that looked to be an exact replica of Tifa's 'Eight Heaven' in Kalm stood behind the door. Everything was the same as they had left it, right down to the broken chair and table left by the brawling LoS riders and Turks.
"I have taken the liberty to recreate your home, if you will." She smiled, handing them the key. "Everything is the same, except what should lead outside of your home will lead to this door, no matter which door you go through." Tifa gaped, and Cloud stared. Shakal frowned deeply. "Is your room inadequate in some way?"
It took a moment for Tifa to recover, but when she did she shook her head in amazement.
"No, thank you, its perfect." She walked through the doorway, while Cloud still stared in amazement. After a minute Tifa dragged him in after her.
Shakal closed the door behind them, and continued on.
"Is the weariness strong upon you all?" She asked lightly, slowing down. "I am ashamed I did not think you all to be tired after such a long journey. Should you wish it I can have you all in your own rooms and have you all summoned tomorrow."
There was a mixed assent from the AVALANCHE, but Nox Seran, Aeris, Red XIII, The Turks and Reeve declined. As it was, Jarred or Kahn were not present to say anything. Yuffie moaned out her answer, and Vincent translated it to a yes. Barret growled put his approval, and Shera answered before Cid could open his mouth to spout any curses.
Shakal flicked her hand, and Barret, Yuffie, Shera, Cid, Vincent all faded and disappeared.
The now exceedingly smaller group continued on once more.
"I take it you people would like to ask me some questions. This I can allow to a point." She looked pointedly at Reeve suddenly. "Any question about the Prince Of Darkness I will ignore, as will everybody else in my command." There came a clang that sounded suspiciously like sword steel slashing against stone. Everyone turned to look at what seemed to be rage embodied.
A thin, pale man stalked up the hallway, carrying a sword in his right hand, which he scraped against the wall as he walked. Its silvery brilliance seemed to illuminate the man further, as if that could be done. Short, spiky white hair jolted upward stiffly, while it gleamed with silvery light as well as the sword. Icy blue eyes glared imperiously at the small assembly, scrutinizing the whole assembly apart from Shakal. He wore a loosely fitting white robe, with spiked, platinum pauldrons covering his shoulders. Two thin, but distinct scars ran across his face, one across his left eye, the other running across it, below his eye, and their position just begged for someone to ask how that could happen. He kneeled upon seeing Shakal, but like Jarred, didn't avert his gaze.
Nox Seran studied the person, a analyzing him thoroughly. A deep frown appeared on his lips, while he crossed his arms.
"My queen, do you think it wise to answer questions when a demon horde approaches?" He asked grimly, icy eyes glimmering darkly. His words brought a ripple of surprised looks from the humans, who were completely in the dark about the Shadowlord and his minions. Shakal narrowed her eyes sharply, glaring down at Psin.
"I think it even less wise to question me, Psin." She hissed, her hands twitching slightly. "Wraith and his brethren will take of them."
Psin cast his gaze downwards, to hide the sneer on his face, which had suddenly appeared on him while she spoke.
"As you will, my queen. I will be in the forge, if I am required." He seemed to twitch, and then faded away.
Shakal coolly recomposed herself, and continued down the hall.
"I fear Psin is not pleased with the sight of humans, not that any of us should be." She turned her head and smiled at them. "But two thousand years makes one lose arrogance and solitude when guests appear. Come, I will answer your questions."
They arrived at a door, which she pushed open.
Smooth, shiny marble pillars greeted them, while polished, light green jade made up the floor. A massive statue dominated the room, but it was time worn so that no features could be wrought from it without deep study. All that could be seen was the vague outline of a figure, carrying what looked like a hooked spear in one hand with a massive tome in the other. Although it had no significance to the human part of the group, Nox Seran's mouth slackened instantly.
"THIS is where you hid it? How much did you take with you into this place?" He asked in wonder, placing a hesitant hand on the statue."
Aeris looked at it, scepticism plain on her face. She tried to make out some of its features, but was unsuccessful. She turned to Nox Seran.
"What's so special about this statue?"
Shakal shot her an appalled look, and Nox Seran looked obviously aghast, even for him.
"T, this is no statue!" He hissed. "These are the remains of the very first Prince Of Darkness!"
Shakal continued to look appalled, but took a step closer to the statue.
"Can you not feel the magic radiating out of it? This is a relic not to be matched by any race! These are as close to a holy object as our race came." She put a delicate hand on the time worn stone. "My great grandmother saw her death, on the fields of Felwar."
Aeris's eyes bulged.
"The first Prince Of Darkness was a SHE?!" She said slightly confused. "Wouldn't that make her a princess, and not a prince?"
Shakal shrugged her shoulders, and sighed.
"This is the species that survived your kind, Nox Seran? It shames me to know that your people destroyed us." She muttered. "Young lady, the Prince Of Darkness is no-one and everyone. He draws upon all force, unlike normal Half-Breeds, which draw upon themselves. This is why I have summoned Jarred here. He has to realize he is NOT a normal Half-Breed."
Nox Seran slithered around the remains of the once mighty sorcerer, now stone corpse, with a smile on his face.
"She has kept well, my queen. She does not look any different from when I last saw her." He remarked, and then laughed. "A pity no one can appreciate her strength but a few, now." He went on in a giggling fit.
Red XIII sat down, and looked at Shakal with his single eye.
"Shakal, what did that man mean about a horde of demons approaching? Surely there is no-"
Shakal snapped away from Nox Seran to look at the dog-like creature. She fixed him an inquisitive glance, and went over to the creature, and stooped to a squat, looking him over at his own height.
"My my, your kind certainly have come a long way. What are you?" She muttered questioningly, catching a look at the tattoos and scars on him alike, and frowning.
"A good question, and one to ponder, I'm sure. I am what I am, and that is all I can be."
"I asked what you were, not for a flowery way of saying you haven't got a clue." She snapped, and smiled suddenly. "As for the demons outside this place, Wraith and his Brethren are more than capable of handling any intruder." She looked pointedly at Nox Seran suddenly, and stood up once again. "It is never wise to underestimate a genocider, after all." The snake demon blinked in surprise, and what sounded like a badly disguised string of curses erupted from him, turning into a fit of laughter.
Shakal looked around at the grouping once more, and frowned suddenly.
"Where did that blonde haired girl go?" She demanded curtly, placing her fists on her hips.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'That blonde haired girl' was wandering aimlessly around the seemingly infinite halls of The Spire. A small army of stone gargoyles flanked her against the walls, their grotesque stone faces glaring at her, sightless eyes staring forwards unmoving. She had gotten left behind while looking at one of those gargoyles which looked real enough to leap for forth and attack her. Since she had been left behind, she had walked down the endless corridor, searching for some sort of sign, or something. How was it that people actually LIVED here without getting hopelessly lost. As she proceded, the stone statues around here seemed to take on more real forms, depicting more graphic scenes, one particular statue actually extended a stone head, clawed hand gripping it by the hair, while its other hand held a wickedly curved spear, while crimson ruby seemed to drip from its mouth, leaving hardly any illusion at to what it was supposed to be. It went on like that for several hallways, until she emerged at a door, at its top a horned human-like figure struck outwards, arms outstretched, with a small beast in each. In the left, and dragon, in the Right, what looked to be a twisting image of the Leviathan. Normally, it would have chilled her the way its eyes were made from jet black obsidian, and how they seemed to follow you wherever you stood, but there was a betraying sign on the door handle. 'Busy!' it said, with the exclamation mark line replaced with a little heart, its background a light pink. The scene made her smile at its absurdity. Hazarding to put a hand on the handle, she slowly opened the door, hoping to see someone inside.
"But Jarred, you HAVE to wear the clothes mother got you!" She heard through the door, and almost pushed the door in there and then. It was females voice, she was sure, but had she just said what she did...?
"But, that is kinda..." A man's voice, for sure. Except for the scared and almost pleading tone in his voice, she could have sworn that it was Jarred in there. "Chilly, isn't it?"
There was a ruffling, and the sound of footsteps. Somewhere in the room, someone was moving.
"Its not like you'd be harmed by the cold anyway. Here, just try it on, atleast!"
"I don't know," The man said again, and this time Elena was sure it was Jarred.
So, she had discovered where Jarred's room lay. That might be handy to know, if she could remember how the hell to get back here!
"What are you afraid of? Me? I've seen you in the skin, Jarred!"
Elena nearly choked on herself right there. What kind of hussy girls did this place raise, anyway? To bring something like that up...! The thought made Elena blush, as she herself had avoided seeing Jarred 'in the skin'.
"I suppose your right." He sighed. "I'll change."
Elena chose that exact moment to 'stumble' in. She opened the door, wearing a slightly panicked face, worry in her eyes.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," Her mouth fell at what she saw.
A woman, wearing a very nearly translucent gown that hugged to her body, leaving very little to imagination. She had pink hair, which probably would have made even Aeris jump back in surprise, and she wore it loose, some of her hair on the left braided into a lnto a single strand, which she allowed to flow onto her chest, instead of backwards onto her back. She had silvery skin, like that of Shakal and that, Psin, if that was his name, person, as well as the icy blue eyes. They glared at her with such intensity that they could have bent steel. She very nearly had thrust her cleavage into Jarred's face, and Jarred himself, shirtless and cornered onto a couch, had a very nervous look about him. Nervous, and confused. However, upon seeing Elena in the doorway, a smile leapt onto his face faster than he could have guessed.
"Elena!" He shouted, stepping around the woman quickly, before she could move to stop him. From what she could see, he very nearly sprinted to her, eager to be away from the woman behind him. As it was, however, he merely walked away, however fast he did, and the woman followed behind.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," Elena began. "But I'm really lost." She explained truthfully.
"Oh, that's not a problem! I'll help you find your way!" Jarred said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, and walked towards the door.
"Jarred," The woman said, with a thin, silvery voice. "Won't you introduce me to this... woman you seem to know." Elena could very nearly feel the death glares and imaginary knives the woman was jabbing into her.
Jarred cringed from that, but politely turned around.
"H, her name is Elena, and she's a friend of mine." He stammered, hiding behind Elena's back. Apparently, his manners had nothing to do with his obvious fear of the woman. "Elena, this is Miena." He pronounced it in a strange way, Me-yena. "She has a lot of other titles after that, but there's a bit too much for me to remember."
Miena, wearing a deep frown by now, shot Elena a glare that could have stopped Sephiroth in his tracks.
"Daughter heir to the throne is hardly difficult to remember, Jarred." She said pleasantly. She turned to Elena, her pleasant tone didn't even have time to die. It just disappeared suddenly. "A pleasure, Elena." She said icily, with pure venom laced into her words. "I hope to be seeing more of you." The way she gripped the clothes in her hands left no illusion if there ever was one. If the woman really did hope to meet Elena once more, then she hoped to meet again in a dark ally, with no witnesses.
She walked primly past the two, out the door, and down the hallway, silently cursing. Elena raised an eyebrow at that. Why did she bother cursing? She couldn't have gotten her feelings through to them both any better if she had thunder clouds trailing after her.
Jarred peeked over Elena's shoulder, as if to make sure she rounded a corner and left. He sighed loudly.
"That woman scares me, I swear." He mumbled sullenly. "Why won't she leave me alone?"
"Some people are like that, Jarred." She said with a grin. So Jarred had an admirer here, and one of high rank. Elena felt something rise up in her, something odd, but smothered it down before it had a chance to cloud her judgement. Whatever it was, it couldn't be JEALOUSLY. Oh no. not EVER. "Women included."
Jarred grinned suddenly.
"So, where is it you want to go? I can show you to your room, if you like. I can make it myself." He beamed.
Elena raised an eyebrow.
"Make it, yourself? Wouldn't that take a long time?"
Jarred laughed. He regarded her with a merry smile.
"Of course not. The rooms here are made with magic. Whatever you consider home is in the room, once the magic in it is activated."
Elena was impressed. Clever people, to have thought of something so... useful.
"But, if I left, how would I be able to find my way around?"
Jarred grinned again.
"That's another trick of this place. These halls ARE infinite. Unless you have an idea where you want to go, you go nowhere, but when you know where you want to go, you're there." He said, with a grin. Elena raised an eyebrow at his dubious explanation.
"Uhm, would you mind running that past me again?"
Jarred smiled, and walked into his room.
"Its hard to understand, I know, but don't push it." He said casually from inside his room. Elena fumed inwardly at his inadvertent insult. Don't push indeed! "You don't think like we do, so it won't make too much sense. Here, I'll give you Impus. She knows her way around. She should be here somewhere..." He emerged the doorway once again, grinning. "Feel free to come inside." He said, and Elena cautiously obliged.
Jarred's room brought a gasp to her. The place looked like the embodiment of 'white'. Nowhere in the room was there even a differing shade of white, even where there should be shadows. Depth all but vanished here; she had the distinct feeling she could walk for a very long time in one direction and not touch a wall. In fact, the only thin that gave away walls, was that someone had taken care to put what looked like a collection of every weapon ever conceived of. Glaives, spears, daggers, axes, spears, maces, claws, and so forth, circling around her in a single evil array. Elena found the three weapons that Jarred used, dagger, hand-axe and claw, laid down on a counter, along with multiple pots and pans. In one corner, three couches surrounded what looked like a crystal coffee table. That was where Miena had cornered Jarred. Three doorways opened the room into three different ones, one even had the sound of trickling water, oddly enough.
"Make yourself at home!" Jarred said, opening a door and exploring it. Something that sounded like a bestial snarl erupted from the open door. "There you are!" He shouted, and the sound of something breaking same. "Oh, you wanna play like that, do ya?" Something else broke, loudly. "HEY! That was a birthday present! Get here, you little monster!"
The door jolted opening suddenly, and a small, rodent-like creature scurried out. It stood on its hind legs, but it ran on all fours. As soon as it saw Elena, it ran behind her, using her to obscure itself from Jarred. Elena twisted around to look at the little creature. Its creamy brown fur glistened slightly, and its bright brown eyes looked up at her, betraying an intelligence. It had a short snout, just barely qualifying as one, with its nose sniffing at the air. Its hands were like a human's, opposable thumbs and all, except covered in soft fur, and with short, but sharp claws. Standing up, it came up to mid-thigh, but well smaller than a dog. The most noticeable aspect, however, were its ears. They were massive, pointed like Jarred's, pointing backwards, behind its head. At the tips, the fur suddenly shifted to a deep blue, and flowed well out.
Elena smiled at the little creature, and what looked like a smile was returned to her. Jarred emerged from the door, holding a broken glass shards, and an angered look in his eyes.
"Impus, you know who this came from." He growled out. Impus, the furry little creature currently hiding behind Elena's legs, peeked its head out cautiously. "Come here." Jarred commanded.
Impus scampered out, bashfully, and laid its small hands on the broken shards. A dull, blue glow came from them, and faded abruptly, as it peeked over its shoulder at Elena. It jerked its head around abruptly, and regarded Jarred with a suspecting glance.
"She's a friend, Impus. And you'll be helping her around for while."
The little creature squeaked angrily, and the blue glow erupted brightly, and it drew its hands away, turning its back to Jarred, snout in the air. It squeaked once again for good measure.
Jarred held up what looked like a glass bird, and smiled, putting the thing on the floor, and grabbed Impus with a grin. The little beast squeaked angrily once again, flailing its arm around, while Jarred tickled its stomach. Elena looked as the two twisted around lithely, each seeking to gain the upper hand. Eventually, Impus managed to pin Jarred's arms to the ground with its legs, and carefully ran its short claws against Jarred's stomach, effectively tickling him in a fashion.
"Ack!" Jarred shouted between bouts of laughter. "Elena, heehee, HELP- ahaha! Argh!"
Elena laughed at the spectacle, and Impus looked up at her, an impish smile on its features. It scurried off of Jarred, and looked at the woman. It cocked its head at her.
Jarred picked himself up, still laughing slightly.
"Play with her, when you have time, and feed her food, and she'll follow you for life." The creature squeaked indignantly, sniffing at Jarred. "If you're going to talk bad about her, do it in a different room than she's in or in a different language; She know Wutainese and Midgarian, but you might sneak past her with Junonese. Or Coralan. She likes puzzles too." He said, beaming at the little creature.
"Huh? She, understands the words I say?" She stuttered. The little thing made a point of nodding with a pleased grin. "Amazing." Impus grinned slyly, and nodded once again in agreement.
Only Jarred's loud yawn brought her out of her thoughts about Impus. The young man was making for the room he had chased Impus out of. Halfway, he stopped and turned to Elena once again.
"Well, I'm going to sleep now. If you want, you could stay here tonight, and we could go ask Shakal where your room is tomorrow. Or, you could ask Impus to take you to your room. But you'd have to Shakal either way."
Elena looked around undecidedly.
"Well, I don't know..." She said hesitantly. "I mean, what about Reno and Rude? They'd worry and all..." She reasoned, halfway to herself. She was caught between wills, one reasoning that she should atleast make sure Reno and Rude knew she was safe, while another part yearned to be with, NO, wanted to be with this man who seemed to be almost too alluring with his charm and nature. At the very moment, having time alone with him didn't seem too bad of a prospect. Suddenly, the side that didn't want to stay said decided it wasn't fooling anybody, and switched sides suddenly. "Sure."
Jarred grinned, and instead of going through the door, made for the couches.
"Cool. Just go through that door, and you'll be in my room. Its big, I know, but it wasn't my decision. Try not to make a mess. Bathroom's over there," He gestured to the doorway where the sound of trickling water was coming from. And the kitchen is over there. I'll make something for breakfast tomorrow, if I wake up before you." He flopped down on the couch, and for some odd reason, the room seemed to dim to a dull black. The effect, however, was an artificial night. "Sleep well."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inside the forge, a dark room with a deep fiery atmosphere, Psin let magic seep into the bones he had collected, turning them from hard, immovable things, to soft, pliable object. He pressed them into the proper form he wanted, using the femurs from Gerald's corpse to form the blade, and pounded them into a thin, two inch wide blade, spanning half of his height. He used the two ribs to make a handle guards, one curving upward, the other curving down. He jammed the dagger handle into the handle guard, turning it into a handle of sorts, and forced the two child femurs together, and jammed the two together to add extra length to the handle. Picking up the crystal blade, he carefully inserted it at the tip of the blade, backwards, so that it acted like a hook. Then, he forced the handle into the blade, creating a crude sword.
Running his hands above it, the sword glowed hotly, and it seemed to be moving by itself. Slowly, the crude, forced union of the objects disappeared, instead forming into an object of death. Bone turned into glittering steel, blue crystal shifting to a dark green. The curving handle shifted, so that instead of simple steel, two dragon heads stood on the sides, mouths open, while the two steel handle guards emerged from their gaping mouths. The dagger handle merged with the bone, creating a smooth, double handed handle, worthy of any warrior-king, studded with gems and jewels, which glittered brightly.
Psin picked up the instrument of pain, hefting its weight in his hands, testing its balance. Finally, he smiled.
"Perfect." He said, wiping sweat from his forehead. Spell-forging wasn't easy work, even for those adept in the skill, but it was certainly easier and better than normal forging. Looking at it with an approving smile, he put it back down, laying his handle over the sword base. A quick, red glow shot from his hands, but dissipated quickly enough. He picked up the sword once more, eyeing his handywork.
Engraved in the steel, in flowing, Midgarian letters. The word 'betrayer' was written along its edge.
"I name you betrayer, for what you are made from." Flicking a hand, a scabbard appeared next to the sword, into which Psin put the blade. "Let Jarred try and destroy that which is made from those he treasures the most." He said with a wry smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, I'm sorry I didn't get too many perspectives in, but I was growing impatient, looked at the word count and said 'this is long enough' and hence, we have today's chapter. Sorry.
But, next chapter we'll have Wraith's battle with the Shadowlord, Aeris's antics with Shakal, and a drunken Reno picking fights with an equally drunk Kahn. If I can somehow manage to get started on it, though.
