Final Stand

It all seemed so peaceful. The sun had disappeared under the veil of night,

and the sea was a dazzling brilliance of blue. The world of Vana'diel was a marvel

to behold. Players roamed freely, gaining experience, traveling to distant lands,

fighting monsters, making gil, and just having a good time. But these days started

to come to an end as the sky grew darker and darker with each passing day. The

world of Vana'diel would never be the same.

"Do you see that, Hitomo?" a Hume Warrior asked a Tarutaru White

Mage.

"I do, Drel." responded Hitomo, gazing up at the sky. "Something is just not

right. The sky has never been this black, and it is well into the afternoon."

Both players walked outside from the west gate of Southern San d'Oria.

They walked down the trail, further into West Ronfaure. No sooner did they leave

the safety of San d'Oria they heard a cry for help. Running to the where the noise

was from, they stumbled upon a fleeing Mithra Black Mage. She looked at them

and panicked.

"You have to get outa here!" she cried. "You are too low leveled!"

"But we are both at level thirty, why would we flee from here?"

But she continued to run for San d'Oria. After she fled there were other

cries for help further down the path. And like last time the two ran to find out

what was going on. When they arrived, they found several player corpses. Hitomo

started casting Raise on them while Drel looked around. Soon Drel vanished while

Hitomo was still reviving most of the fallen players.

Some of the dead players were between levels twenty to sixty. There were

Mages of every kind, and a few Warriors and Monks. When they woke, they all

said the same thing.

"There is a monster in this region, we must get outa here before it comes

back!"

"Before what comes back." said Hitomo to a Mithra red mage.

"There was a Shadow Dragon here not too long ago. It killed everyone in its

path and the slain players can't go to their home point for some reason." responded

the Red Mage.

Then a shout came from Drel, even further down the path. The Red Mage

and Hitomo ran to where Drel was, but he was found in the middle of the path. He

had fallen. As Hitomo ran toward Drel to revive him, a giant black dragon jumped

from the sky, in between Hitomo and Drel. It roared with intense fury, and the

Mithra and Hitomo both cast Dia on it. The magical energies reflected of the

Shadow Dragon, and it attacked the Red Mage. She was slain instantly by its

charge, and it started to come for Hitomo. Hitomo grasped his staff hard, facing

bravely against the beast. But as it drew closer, he couldn't help but stare in

complete fear.

But from the tree tops a voice rang out.

"Stop beast!" it shouted.

From the trees fell a player, heavily armored and wielded a Save the Queen

long sword and an Espadon bastard sword at the same time. His armor was of the

Iron Musketeer's class. He was an Elvaan Paladin Ninja. Diving from the trees he

slashed at the Shadow Dragon. It stopped its charge and looked back at the

attacker. They gave each other a stare of destructive hate.

"Start reviving those players, mage." he said.

Hitomo obeyed and ran for Drel. The dragon then attacked and the mystery

player countered. After Hitomo revived everyone safely, he and Drel ran for the

player. When they arrived the dragon had been slain, but the player was on the

brink of death. Hitomo healed him with his healing magic. The Elvaan then began

to walk away, but was stopped by Drel's voice.

"What was that Shadow Dragon doing here? They do not belong here, they

are only found in the Xarcabard area." he said.

The Elvaan turned around. He gazed at Drel and Hitomo's curious faces.

"It was no normal Shadow Dragon." he said. "It was a hacker's Shadow

Dragon."

"But hackers are nullified in Vana'diel." remarked Hitomo. "It would be

impossible for a hacker to exist here."

"But every system has a loop hole." continued the player. "The hacker who

controlled this monster is a very powerful one. You will be hearing much more of

his works."

"But if a hacker can make a monster and send it here, beginners and noobs

won't be able to progress." said Drel.

"That is his idea." said the Elvaan. "He wants only powerful players to exist.

He thinks of Vana'diel as more of a game then we make it to be. He enjoys the

misery of other players, so he hacked into Vana'diel. But he has a weakness. That

dragon was not created by him, but manipulated by him. And he has made it so

that if a player falls to one of his monsters, they cannot go back to Home Point."

"So he is like an advanced Beastmaster?" asked Hitomo.

"That would be his Sub Job. But his true class is a Dark Paladin."

"Figures." said Drel.

"He also has the ability to fight other players, and other players can fight

him." continued the player. "So even a hacker like him has his limitations."

"Before you go, what is your name?" asked Hitomo.

"My name is Darithal." said the player. "And the hackers name is Drium. If

his plans come into effect, you may see more of me."

And with that Darithal used Tonko: Ni to fade away into the shadows. With

a hacker on the loose and powerful monsters all about, playing in Vana'diel may

never be the same again.

To be continued...

(Please send me a review on this story. If the reviews are good I may continue this

story with a shocking ending in mind. But you have to review this story!)