Rhiannon: Sorry non-existant readers... writer's block kinda set in. Well... here is ch. 4!
Chapter 4: Seeds of Darkness
Leon sat quietly beside Sora as they made their way to a new planet. It had been good to see Quistis and Irvine but he quickly sent them on their way to Traverse Town. He ached at the thought of all that had happened and all that he'd lost. From Rinoa, a kind and gentle spirit to Zell and Selphie, such bright lights that could even pull a smile from his cold ass. The planet seemed dead as they landed and it made him wonder if the heartless and nothings had already decimated the planet. And yet, like lingering hope there was a village, small but filled with men, women and children that were strong and brave.
"What is that you carry?" A woman inquired as they entered the inn.
"Weapons." Leon answered immediately.
"We are warriors that are battling the nothing." Sora added.
"I see." She nodded her head. "Get out of our town before you bring them here." She ordered.
"We will leave after we inquire about what thing." Vincent spoke quietly.
"And what is it that you wish to inquire about?" She asked suspiciously.
"We are looking for a person of darkness and a person of light… Have you seen such?" Vincent continued.
"Never… Not in this town. They'd attract the nothings they would!" She growled backing away from them.
"Then we take our leave." Vincent nodded to the others.
"I can't believe that these people have survived as long as they have, none of them seem to be warriors." Seifer spoke as they entered the ship.
"I don't think we should dwell on it too much. We don't need to start finding conspiracies and well."
"Good point." Seifer walked off.
Leon made his way to the back of the ship and sat cross-legged and closed his eyes. The thoughts and smells and images of killing Zell of watching Selphie die all filled his mind. He couldn't stop it no matter how much he tried or begged of pleaded. He tightened his fists, feeling the skin began to break under his short almost non-existent nails. He could smell the fresh spilled blood. Watching as Zell pleaded with him from his one eye. He hadn't wanted to kill him, he hadn't he…
"Still torturing yourself with the past?" Seifer asked quietly from the doorway, his arrogant smirk for once not present.
"Shut up."
"Squall it wasn't your fault." He pointed out quietly.
"Yes it was! I killed Zell! I sent Selphie to die! I left Ellone on the Lunar Base until it was too late! They're deaths are on my hands!" He yelled standing.
"You forgot some details! Selphie wanted to go on that mission. SeeDs know they run the chance of dying! Ellone hadn't wanted to leave the Lunar Base and in the past it has always been the safest place! And Rinoa killed Zell!" Seifer was moving closer to him.
Leon was on his feet before he could think about it. "My poor decisions and Zell's blood was on my blade!"
"Sorceress' control! Remember who was the lackey in the Second Sorceress War! You didn't make these decisions by yourself! Stop blaming yourself from every goddamn thing!" He yelled back pushing Leon into a wall. "You are human Squall, humans make mistakes."
He didn't reply there was nothing he could really say to that. He closed his eyes and willed the older man to go away, hoping that the man would kindly remember what 'go away' meant. Which he didn't he noted as the man sat down next to him.
"You just aren't happy unless you're blaming yourself for something aren't you?" He asked leaning back against the wall.
"That's none of your business."
"Nothing is my business apparently… But I want to know anyway."
"Just shut up."
"No."
"Shut the fuck up."
"No."
"Seifer!"
"Squall!"
"Let it go… Both of you." Sora said upon entering. "We don't need shit like this to happen and we're almost at the next world."
"What's it look like?" Leon asked quietly.
"Untouched, as if the heartless are afraid of it. Maybe we'll find one of the keys there?" He said turning to walk away.
Vincent stared at the landscape of the place that they were landing. The sky was an empty blue and there was a lone figure watching them, as if it had been waiting a lifetime for them. Sora brought the ship down in a smooth landing, Seifer and Leon were already at the entrance of the ship waiting to be let out.
"Hello… Greetings new comers." A small creature spoke, he was humanoid from the way his clothes looked, but he had no face, just black shadows and bright golden eyes.
"Hello!" Sora said almost brightly, a former shadow of what he once was.
"My name is Vivi… May I inquire as to what you are doing here?"
"We are searching for many things." Vincent spoke.
"So move out of our way pipsqueak." Seifer spoke brandishing Hyperion.
"Leave my world." The small figure suddenly hissed.
"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Seifer yelled anger shooting through the roof.
"I am Vivi, the guardian of this world." A staff appeared in his hands as he shot lightening bolts, not at the four heroes but passed them at a group of heartless disintegrating them on sight.
"Holy shit… Mother of Hyne… Maybe we need to bring him on this field trip." Seifer muttered staring at the charred spot the heartless had once stood.
"I can not leave this planet to go on you… field trip." The mage muttered confused.
"Too bad… May I ask are you a weapon?" Vincent spoke.
"A weapon?" Vivi stared at him confused.
"A protector of Gaia… Created from it's energy."
"I suppose, since I was born from the mist, life energy." He shrugged his shoulders. "But I must still request that you leave. The heartless are following your hearts."
"We can't, not until we know!" Sora cried.
"Know what?" Vivi asked staring at him, his eyes narrowed.
"We're searching for keys… Keys of light and darkness. A way to stop all this." Leon gestured quietly.
"You have three days." Vivi turned to walk away. "You will not destroy this world with your search."
"What about the other worlds?" Sora asked bitterly. "Are they allowed to fail because they don't have a 'weapon' or some shit like that! Are the people aloud to loose their hearts so that you can leave in peace all mighty protector!"
"You have only three days. I suggest you get started." And he continued to walk away, disappearing as he went.
"So what now kiddies?" Seifer asked quietly.
"We search."
It was high on the second day and they had still found nothing. This world was big and they'd searched through many of the cities and continents. Now on the last most populated they stared at the tall castle on the hill, with the large blade shining brightly from it's center.
"This is Alexandria Castle." Vivi had appeared again.
"What do you want you little freak? We've still got time." Seifer grouched.
"I have friends there. I think I shall accompany you." Leon began to wish that whatever spell made it possible for them understand all languages was gone.
"Fine." He muttered before anyone else could speak.
They entered the city and walked along the cobble-stoned streets until they reached the palace gates. Vivi nodded to the guards and they continued in until they reached the moat and the gondola where a man, that Seifer quietly commented was part pig, part man, by the look of the snout on the man, he was.
"Greeting Baku. I wasn't expecting to see you at the palace this time of year." Vivi greeted the pig man.
"It's good to see you as well. You should know by now that Beatrix keeps a tight reign on her projects." He guffawed. "Especially her husband."
"That's a sad thing to hear. How is Steiner the Captain of the Pluto Knights?" Vivi asked politely.
"Good from what I hear. Although it's his wife that gets to me, you'd think she would appreciate the fact that the Queen and King are capably of physically fighting in tough battles." Baku muttered.
"Hm… Or maybe she would just like to grant then rest Baku."
"Hm… Maybe so." The pig man finally removed himself from the gondola.
"I shall see you… on the next full moon Baku of …." Vivi nodded and the pig man nodded and left.
"This place is fucked up." Seifer stated as they made themselves comfortable in the gondola.
"Ah, so it may seem to you." Vivi stated.
The knight directing the gondola looked very perturbed. "Master Vivi, is it wise to let, men so armed before the Queen and king?"
"Yes, for they are heroes and I am sure that heroes can appreciate heroes." He replied nodding to the young knight.
He nodded his assent and continued directing the boat in silence.
"If only we were all real heroes." Seifer muttered quietly.
"Underestimating what one has done in the past, is a sad way of searching for blame. You are a hero… All of you." He gave his wisdom and then stepped off the boat after it had docked.
They walked through the doors of the great place with people watching them as they made their way into the meeting room of the King and Queen. Seifer looked around at the mix of decadence and utilitarianism and began to wonder exactly who they were meeting. He groaned at the site of a seemingly frail woman in a long flowing gown. She kind of reminded him of Rinoa. The man sitting next to her, seemed frail as well, and he made to hold his tongue at the site of the appendage, tail that flicked back and forth lazily beside his left leg.
"So… the Queen is weak and the King, is the missing link. What's next?" He hissed under his breath and almost wished he hadn't when Vivi gave him a sharp look.
"Vivi? What brings you here?" The woman's voice was decidedly not weak, made of still laced with fond childhood memories.
"The heartless are attacking the world's barrier's harder now." He explained quietly ignoring the sharp breath of indignation that Sora took a being ignored.
"Hm… We were fearing that." The King's voice was pure steel, with eyes that had seen too much, like the almost destruction of a world, Vincent decided.
"Your majesties. Behind me are heroes from other worlds. Seifer and Squall who are from the same, Vincent from another and Sora who save all the worlds from Ansem originally." He introduced pointing to each one of them.
"It's nice to finally meet you. I am Garnet." The woman, who was surely the Queen stood and descended the steps. "To meet others who understand what it is like, watching the end of your world come so close. Or to see it actually end." Her voice trailed.
"We had been sure that our world had met it's end when we had fought Kuja and then… when we found the destroyer of worlds." The king said as he stood. "My name is Zidane."
"Okay… Zidane and… Garnet." Sora nodded at both. "I wish I had the time to be… kind and courteous and all those good, wonderful adjectives but… we are on an urgent mission." He smiled bashfully.
"All the true missions are the urgent ones." Zidane said with a kind smile as he came to stand beside Sora.
The king, dressed in clothes more fitting of a commoner, his tail swishing slowly to a beat inside his head, or maybe an instinctual rhythm. He came only to Sora's shoulders and that they were learning, was pretty tall. Well, with the exception of the freakishly tall pig man that reached Leon's height.
"And all great missions must take much time, and the last place you look, is always the place you wished you look first. The most obvious thing is but a simply cinder flown from the fire of fate." Garnet whispered as she rolled in her hands a small orb.
Vincent couldn't help but stare at those hands, those of a lady of royalty should have been dainty and soft, like a feather. But he could clearly see the calluses of a hard life, of using a staff, the same as the calluses that Areis… no Areith now. He noticed something odd about the ball, it glowed the most peculiar color, like… he hesitated lest he sound inappropriate and knew he would, Leon's eyes.
"Garnet? Dagger?" Zidane asked turning to her.
"We will give you are support. We have to men with which we can send you with… but take this." She handed it to Leon. "This is Alexander… The guardian of Alexandria… he will guard you well." She smiled slow and easy. "Like he has always guarded Zidane and I."
"I would thank you." And then the orb disappeared to where ever the hell Leon put his junctions.
"I still don't understand what the point of keeping us on this world was when what we are searching for is far more important then a… guardian." Vincent's tones were more level then his words.
"Maybe that's the way it seems now. But before you is much more then heroes." Vivi had had tone in his voice that Seifer didn't agree with it, it sounded… condescending.
"Don't make me cut you where you stand 'weapon' or no!" He ripped out Hyperion.
"Don't be foolish! A guide may be cryptic but do not let it get to you!" Garnet yelled.
"GUIDE! This annoying little pissant is no guide!" Seifer roared and swung.
A sword, no a dagger stopped the descent of Seifer's gunbalde. Welding it was the king, Zidane. His large blue innocent eyes hard a grim determination that shook Seifer to the marrow. He pushed Seifer's large sword up into the air and Seifer let it come to rest at his side. He stared at the king, feeling that he witnessed something not seen in a long time.
"You are very rash son of light. But that's all right. We have much to discuss and really not enough time. If you would be so kind as to stay one more day." Zidane stated letting his dagger slip to his side and the grin of a thief crossed his face. "We wouldn't want you to leave a moment too soon."
"We must be…" Seifer started put Garnet raised a hand to stop him.
"One should know when they move with too much haste." She gave a wry grin.
"Yes… Eiko would have much to say to them… Many things." Zidane smiled.
"Then we must send for Freya to bring her." Garnet moved to leave.
"All this will take little time. Please, sit and rest… For the journey ahead is about to become more dangerous." Zidane nodded to a guard.
"Come this way… Heroes from distant worlds."
Another chapter ended... So... r/r... please? smiles