Chapter 1: Those who journey into darkness.
The sign changed from don't walk to walk and two small figures ran across the darkened alley way. A female voice stated
"Travellers no longer come here is seems." The passing of the two disturbed a cat while raiding a trash bag for food. So it ran away meowing angrily. Suddenly a male voice said
"But… It disappeared again! Along with the whole ship!"
The two pass a well lit area and are in fact to children around the age of 10 or 12. The girl again said
"That pillar must really be connected to the other world." The two children headed towards an abandoned subway station. As they arrived the younger boy said
"A lot of subway construction workers have vanished too."
The girl agreed "It's been closed ever since."
As they headed down the darkened stairwell the boy stated one of his fears.
"What will we do if we can't come back?"
The girl reassured him: "It's alright. Father has returned more than once."
The two children walked along the darkened tunnel the girl held a flashlight which helped them find their way. They sat on a bench waiting for something. The girl was around 12 years old with pink hair and wore a simple white and pink outfit. While the boy had a green collared white shirt and brown hair he was 11 years old. The two shared some similarities, they both had deep brown eyes. They also each brought a knapsack filled with rations as well as other items for their trip.
As they sat there the boy said: "It's not coming…"
Again the older girl reassured him "We still have 2-3 minutes"
"Big sister… you aren't scared?" asked the younger brother.
She immediately replied "We're searching for our parents! How can you say you're scared?"
The bother then replied "I… guess…"
He let out a sigh. Right at that moment wind rushed through the tunnel they both turned to the source of the wind.
"Big sister!" He was uncertain about something. The sound of wheels skimming the tracks was heard by the two as well as a person hiding in the shadows.
"It was real after all." Said the sister in slight wonder.
"It's here!" said the younger brother.
The thing approached at such a high speed that when the first part of it was rushing by the two siblings were blasted off their feet. They sat and stared at the train that stood before them. It was a strange machine because it did not run on what the two considered a normal engine but it ran on a drill suspended between two drill like structures. As the 'engine' powered down they suddenly noticed that the train had eyes that were looking at them. They backed away in shock only to step into the view of the largest eye on the train.
The eye then blinked once then turned into a door for them to enter.
The younger brother sill slightly shocked said: "It opened…"
"Its pitch black…" said the sister while looking into the compartment.
They turned to look at each other and laughed nervously.
The younger brother still slightly frightened asked: "Are we getting on?"
His sister immediately replied: "Yes! That's why we came here!"
They were both suddenly surprised when a bell ran throughout the abandoned station and they looked around in confusion.
The brother then said "It sounds like a departure bell…"
"This is bad," She quickly grabbed her brother and dragged him onto the train "Hurry!"
Meanwhile a dark figure ran across the empty space and boarded the train. The doors shut and again were replaced by the large eyes. Steam issued from the train as it got ready to depart. The drill in the front began to spin and turned the rest of the structures as well. As the subway disappeared into the darkened tunnel fire swept along the tracks and in a burst of multicoloured light the subway left that dimension en route to another.
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The two siblings sat on the floor listening to the subway pass through the tunnel. The brother then questioned
"This is a subway right. His older sister just answered with a "huh"
The younger brother had to re-ensure himself: "Father and mother both rode this train right?" again his sister just replied with "huh."
Further back in the compartment a woman contacted someone "This is Pacifist. Right now…" suddenly her com device gave a no signal tone which alerted the two children.
It was the older sister who had spotted the orange clad woman first. "AHHHHH there's another human on board!"
The woman reacted by putting on her usual smile while saying "Good evening."
The older sister did not trust the woman: "That smile is kind of suspicious. It's like you're trying to get on our good side."
The woman was surprised. "Sis!" the younger brother remarked. "I'm sorry."
The woman tried to stall for time "You… Are you ghosts who dwell in this subway?" It did not work as planned.
"You're the ghost, aren't you?" Her younger brother cut in "Sis, stop it." He turned to the woman "We were thinking of going to the outer world, to look for our father and mother."
The black haired woman questioned "Outer World?"
The brother pulled out a book while explaining " 'That pillar of darkness leads to the other world,' Its written in a book my father wrote."
The woman looked more carefully at the book saying "It's written in here that, When traveling to the outer world, they rode on this subway."
The sister said "When I researched on the internet, there was a rumour it is possible to board this subway."
As she was talking the subway slipped into a dimensional tunnel. "At 0:13:13 at night."
The younger brother introduced himself: "I'm Hayakawa Yu, and my sister is…
She answered for herself "Hayakawa Ai. Even though I'm his big sister we're twins."
The woman then said: "Is that right? I'm Lisa…"
Ai suddenly interrupted Lisa "Why are you on this subway?"
Lisa tried to avoid the question "Eh? Eh… that is…" Before Ai could utter another word the subway began to shake violently. Yu asked "Are, are we floating?"
Lisa then added on "Or are we falling?"
Outside the subway it began to spin rapidly and everyone inside fell unconscious.
After everyone had woken up from the incident Yu took a look out the door. And noticed that the subway was standing with the leading car pointing upwards.
Lisa also took a look out "Is this place…the Outer World?"
Ai looked around as well: Our parents should definitely be here."
Yu just then noticed the stairs "it looks like we can go up…" Ai who was anxious to get out of the subway said "I'll go up. That's why we came here, isn't it?" And so they climbed the stairs.
A short time later "Do we still have to go up?" Complained Ai. Yu countered with "That's why we came, right?"
Lisa saw a light up ahead "I think I see an exit up there!"
When they stopped Yu found it to be a good time to ask Lisa something "Lisa, did you also come to this outer world to look for someone?"
"Boyfriend, I say" said Ai trying to embarrass Lisa. Lisa just smiled "You can call me Lisa." Ai was unhappy with the response.
The small group had finally reached the top of the stairs. "We made it!" Yu gasped "This place is the Outer World?!"
The group had emerged in a park which looked like part of a normal city to them only the sky was not the same. It was mostly clouded over with orange clouds which seemed to circle up in one place.
Ai looked around "What is this place? Is this really the Outer World?"
Yu looked around as well "It looks like a normal apartment district's park."
Lisa looked up "Except for the sky. Let's not wander around carelessly. I sense an evil presence."
Yu walked up to a slide "But, this isn't even a normal playground slide." When he tried to touch it, it broke apart as hundreds of flies.
Ai went into one of the buildings. It seemed to be made of sticks. "This isn't a building! It's entirely made of plants!"
She opened a door and say was seemed to be humanoid insects having a meal. She suddenly got the shivers and slammed the door closed yelling "I'm sorry."
Lisa looked a Ai "What's wrong?"
Ai turned to look at her "This place isn't… This is definitely… the Outer World!!!"
Else-ware Yu was walking around when he heard a crow of an animal. Yu turned around "Is something there?"
Yu approached a yellow bird. It turned it's head to look at him. Yu looked pretty happy "That's right!" he held out a chocolate bar trying to entice the bird to come to him. "Come to me," he said. He approached the yellow bird. "This is delicious!"
"Choc is boom, boom, it's Chobobar!" he sang while getting as close to the bird as he could.
His sisters voice made him think twice about giving the bird the candy. "Yu! What are you doing with out valuable rations?"
The bird walked over to Ai and grabber her hair with its beak. It began to try to pull her hair off. The bird then threw Ai into Yu
"Sister" was all he could say before being pegged by his older sister. They both fell to the ground while the bird ran away as fast a possible.
Lisa knelt next to Ai "Are you alright?"
All Ai could reply was "The fronts of my eyes are sparkling…sparkling…"
"That creature just now… It might be the bird of happiness that dwells in the Outer World, According to father's book." He said.
Yu then got up to chase the bird. He ran after it yelling "Birdie" over and over. "Wait!" was all Lisa could say before Yu disappeared after the bird.
Yu while chasing the bird yelled "Birdie, did you see father and mother?" He slowed down to a walk.
"I wonder where it went…" Yu suddenly tripped over something and he landed flat on his face. He looked around to see what he tripped over and what he saw he did not expect
"A leg!" Yu turned the other way to see a man in a black cloak wrapped in vines he had what seemed to be a pair of sunglasses on his face but only covered one eye as well as red and blue markings on his face and around his eye.. He was not moving so Yu took him for dead. He backed away as quickly as possible when Lisa and Ai arrived.
"What's wrong?" asked Ai worried about her brother's safety. Yu pointed into the dark cubby between the buildings.
"A…A person…" was all that he could say. That is when Ai and Lisa saw him as well. Everyone took a closer look.
"Is he dead?" asked Ai.
The man then stirred as if he was just sleeping, his blue eyes focused and he looked at them. They backed away from him. "This place…where am I?" he asked.
Ai faced the man "That's our question! Did you also get sucked into the Outer World?"
He looked more intensely at the group "Outer World?" his demeanour then changed, "Is he here also?" he asked.
Yu looked at the man "Him…? Are you looking for someone?" He got no response.
"Who are you?" asked Ai.
He looked at them, "My name… I have forgotten it"
Lisa looked at him with pity, "That's not good"
Yu then noticed a mushroom shaped ship approaching them. Yu looked at it more carefully. "What is that thing?"
Ai looked hopeful, "Looks like something we can ride on."
Yu turned to his sister, "Does that mean people are on it now?"
Lisa said: "No. This dark, sickening flow of energy…It's not human!" The mushroom ship released a giant crystal right above the group. Yu looked up
"A bomb? Lisa pulled them away from the impact area.
"Everyone run!" Lisa then remembered the man entangled in the vines and told him to run as well but he could not move at all. They watched as the crystal set itself into the ground Ai tried to see through the dust.
"It looks like it wasn't a bomb." Suddenly a giant mushroom sprouted right in front of them. A flap opened to reveal an eye. The eye scanned the area looking for something then it spotted them.
"It's looking at us!" said Ai worriedly The mushroom released many little bulbs which smashed the surrounding area. It made a strange laughing sound then gathered the bulbs back.
"This thing is dangerous!" said Ai
"Is it thinking of fighting us?" asked Yu.
Lisa looked the mushroom right in the eye. "Probably…" Again it made the laughing sound.
"It's coming." One of the bulbs twisted towards them, and shot directly towards them. Lisa brought her hands forward and the bulb seemed to hit ripples in reality. Lisa using the power she had flung the creature behind her.
Ai looked behind her "Amazing!" "You trashed him!" said Yu in amazement.
Ai then turned towards Lisa "So you're not human after all!"
Lisa put her hands up defensively "What I just used is called Kiginjitsu. It's very similar to martial arts."
"Kiginjitsu?" asked Yu.
The rumbling of something caught the group's attention. It seemed the mushroom creature had evolved and taken a more humanoid form except for the head which was an eyeball on the end of a stalk. It looked directly at them. Ai pointed to the new monster "Hurry up and destroy him!"
Lisa then smiled saying "I think it's too big so I can't… Let's run!"
The mushroom creature chased them to the very edge of the plant city. Ai, Yu and Lisa stood on the edge of the cliff and the monster punched it. It was by pure luck that Lisa was able to grab the children and catch them on a rock sticking out of the side. The Monster jumped down so that it could hit them directly. Lisa looked around desperately
"What should we do?" She then spotted the man form earlier. He looked at the creature unfazed by its size and strength.
"Is that the man from before?" asked Ai
"Is he still alive?" asked Lisa out loud.
"Help us!!" yelled Yu.
A strong wind picked up making the cloak he was wearing flare out to reveal one arm covered by a gold cylinder and a blue gem on the top. The man lifted it up looking at the gem as it began to spin and glow.
"It moved," was all he said. The monster shifted its focus from the group to the man standing on a boulder jutting out of the cliff.
"Soil! My strength!" he called out and brought the metal casing diagonally across his body. A bulge was pulled in and replaced by a drill. Four large fan blades connected to the drill angled at 90 degrees began to spin and created a strong wind which clouded his figure. The cylinder collected energy before breaking apart into many smaller pieces which constructed a handle, trigger, three barrels and a chamber where the ammunition was loaded and finally a glass container where a black heart began to beat. As soon a the transformation was complete he initiated one final command. "Demon Gun, Activate!" It shone for a short moment before becoming completely solid.
Yu heard only two things "Demon Gun?"
The monster only looked at the man with the Demon Gun. He pointed at the monster "I've chosen the Soil for the likes of you!"
From his belt he grabbed a bullet filled with a black substance. "Origin of all! Mother Black!" he flicked the bullet and the chambers opened and the bullet filled the first chamber which closed right after the bullet was put in.
Ai did not understand "Soil?"
Again the man picked another bullet from his belt "One that burns everything, Fire Red!" As soon as the bullet was in the chamber it closed.
"One that is the critical point of all, Burning Gold!" When the last bullet was put into the chamber it closed. The heart in its container began to beat very rapidly and the drill collected more and more energy.
Lisa could just watch "This is a tremendous flow of energy."
Energy build up inside the three barrels. He swung the gun out from under his cloak "Burn, Summoned Creature, Phoenix!"
He pulled the trigger and instead of bullets coming out, the gun generated a large amount of smoke. The smoke began to spin rapidly and three energy trails left the cloud of smoke each the respective colour that was used in the chambers. A red, a black and gold energy trails converged on the creature which held out an arm to block the attack. It looked at the uninjured body part then turned back to the man on the cliff. Just as it was about to strike it stopped and began to convulse. It body swelled up and heated up until it exploded. The initial explosion had just released fire which collected and created the form of a Phoenix. It nodded to the man and he nodded to it. The phoenix flew away through the sky creating a hole in that reality which sealed itself up again.
The Demon Gun reverted to its cylinder shape on the man's arm.
"Amazing" was all that Ai could say
"That person…" said Lisa
"Is like the wind," finished Yu.
The man looked towards the horizon "I am…"
In the far off distance the watcher finished the phrase "Unlimited!"
This is the end of part one but what happens to the children and Lisa and who is really the person who wields the Demon Gun. Keep reading Final Fantasy: Unlimited to find out!
Please R&R