Hey, guys! Sorry this took so long! I've been away from the house for a while, but I hope the length makes up for it! If it doesn't then I'll just be forced to put up another chappie, huh! Anyways, for those of you who aren't reviewing, but are reading, PLEASE at least let me know you're out there! Drop me a line or something! Email me! IM me! Something! Let me feel the love! I'm not feeling it!
In the Summoner's Shadow
Part II Chapter I
Once, together we were happy and we were so very young; sadly now we have been parted- leaving me quite broken hearted. So many love songs still unsung… So many things still left to say. I did not leave without a care and I hope we meet again some day. I turn around to see you there as though I had not gone away. Just listen to me my one and only should you hear a lonely sound. Drifting sweet secrets in the breeze; please feel that I am still around. I leave you sadly, deeply thinking, this is really not too fair… so very proud at having known you, finding such sweet love to share. We must bow to a higher power when He comes to call us home, leaving those we love behind us to join us later when they come. Try to think of me with kindness; try to think of me with Love. One day please do come and join me in a happy home above
(Frank Paylor, Shadow)
The monster stared her down. She stared it down. Some reason beyond her, it looked shorter than it did before, and she felt more energized than when the fight started. What was this power she felt surging through her veins? Why did she feel so… savage…?
The fiend roared at her. She countered with a snarling bark, which surprised her. Before she knew what she was doing, a furry arm shot out and grabbed the paw of the fiend that was being slammed towards her. Was that arm hers? Were the claws digging into the fiend's rock hard flesh part of her hand? Who was it ripping the limb off the fiend as if tearing paper in half? It couldn't possibly be her, could it?
Impossible! Unthinkable!
… Or was it?
What ever and who ever it was, the furry arms infront of her eyes destroyed the monster's arm completely, throwing the bloody bone and skin to the ground. A serious battle ensued, sparked by the rage of the fiend as it tore away at her. She watched as it attacked a furry torso, but felt it as it did so, also.
The monster tore at her throat with its claws on the still attached hand. A direct hit knocked her to the ground. She felt its heavy foot land firmly on her sternum and stomp down on it, causing her ribs to creak under the violent abuse. She yelped and sank white, sharp fangs into the leg, trying to get it off. The leg pulled back sharply, ignoring the fact that her teeth were still one with it. The yank to her jaws sent a dull pain through her head, relinquished when a surge of adrenaline caused her to burst up from the ground and tear at the fiend's chest. The fiend reacted with as much dynamism as her. It threw her against the ground and ripped at her chest with its claws while masticating her throat with its powerful and plenty fangs.
The air lunged from her throat and lungs as blood stained the ground beneath her. Pain ruled her nerves, ending to ending. She watched in horror as five claws the length of her arm dashed towards her face, threatening to end it all for her.
Sonja let out a small yelp of terror. She jolted up from her sleeping position, panting and sweating, looking around to assure herself she was still alive. Lights flashed on all around her, and the all too familiar voice rang out.
"Wake up, you maggots!" The holder of the voice stomped through the barracks in the middle of a secret underground base camp for training. Sonja yawned and stretched before jumping out of her bed on the top bunk and grabbing her white fur halter top and shorts, as well as the full skin wolf cape and putting them on, not paying attention to all the male recruits staring at her as she did so. She was the only female in the camp, yet received no special treatment. Not that she'd want it…
"Hey, Sonja… why don't you go around topless for now, huh?" asked her bunk mate. She rolled her eyes, pulling on her halter top and pulling it down to cover five nasty looking scar marks on her lower chest.
"Dude, that's statutory rape, ya?" another one of the recruits laughed. One other chuckled.
"Ah, she ain't got anything there anyways!" he shouted.
"Button your traps, maggots! We've got a busy day!" the sergeant shouted. Sonja rolled her eyes and ran to the front of the bunks, standing at attention. Almost no time later, the other fourteen inhabitants of the barrack were lined up beside her, she the only female and defiantly the smallest of any of them there.
"Right, Maggots! Guess what? Fresh Meat!" Sergeant Darsee nodded towards the doors and smirked as two Ronso were drug in by two commanders. They were both fighting against their captors, even going so far as to bite the hand that held them.
"Stupid creatures!" a commander shouted, tossing his to the ground infront of the line of recruits. Sonja blinked and tilted her head. She wasn't the only one surprised, though.
The Ronso infront of them was not only extremely small, he was also whiter than snow, as if he had been born in bleach. He had no horn, which raised the question- was he really a 'he?' He had the brightest red eyes ever seen, with absolutely no pupil. One would expect a creature such as this "monster" to have claws twice his size, but he actually had no claws whatsoever.
The other Ronso was thrown beside him. Nothing was unusual about this one, other than the fact that he had one white paw, as if he stepped in the bleach his brother was born in. The twins scooted closer to each other, the blue one hiding the white one behind his self.
"What's your names, sons?" Darsee asked. The blue one growled loudly.
"Rufio's name Rufio!" he snarled.
"Ark is Ark…" the white one muttered.
"Ark and Rufio, eh?" Darsee asked.
"They were supposed to be executed today, but we thought we could put them to better use than wandering the Farplane." One of the commanders explained.
"Oh, we sure defiantly can!" Darsee nodded, and then saluted as the commanders walked out. He turned to the Ronso. He then turned to the line of recruits. "Maggots! Make the fresh meat at home!" he ordered. Several of the recruits jumped forward to attack the Ronso and let them know who was ranked highest, until Sonja jumped forward and held her hands out at them.
"Stop! Now!" She demanded. They stopped and blinked at her.
"Move out the way, Sonja!" they shouted, but she stood there, still, not wanting to see the young ones, though older than her, hurt. They started to advance, willing to attack her, too, but stopped when the big wooden doors burst open. In walked a somewhat muscular, but rather skinny Ronso carrying a scroll of paper tied with a blood red ribbon, sealed with a pendant with a leather tie. The pendant was made of some sort of pale bone, engraved with three Pyreflies circling inward to another circle in the middle carrying the ancient emblems of Red Magic, a combination of White and Black magic that died out long ago, presumed over six hundred years before Zanarkand was destroyed.
All eyes were upon this Ronso as he walked to Sergeant Darsee and handed him the scroll, then saluted and walked out, flashing a grin at Sonja and blinking when he saw Ark hiding behind Rufio. He paused for a split second, giving a friendly nod to them before continuing out.
Tall, sleek, and well groomed, he had smooth blue fur that glinted in the sunlight, outlining each muscle when he flexed, or was fighting. White fangs were plentiful in his powerful jaws, under perfectly strait and silky whiskers while his short beard was the perfect frame to his face. His hair was long and flat and it trailed down his back, waving in even the slightest wind. His eyes were a deep shade of gold, as if the metal itself had been implanted into his oculars. No one really knew how old he was, or what he had been through. All anyone knew was that he was wise, strong, cunning, crafty, skillful, charismatic, ingenious, entertaining, swift, powerful, and above all, enigmatic.
Sonja knew this Ronso. He was Commander Rye, alias Shadence. He found her lying half dead in the outskirts of Bevelle a year or so ago and brought her here, nursed her back to health, and enrolled her as an Assassin in training. He was almost like her father, and she loved him as such.
"Well, what'd he bring? Whose it for? What is it?" the recruits asked, crowding around Sergeant Darsee to try and read what was on the scroll. Sergeant Darsee backed away from the group.
"Now, just hold on a moment!" he barked. When the recruits stepped back, he unrolled it and cleared his throat, reading it out loud.
"To Sergeant Darsee, from the Generals Respectively, concerning the advanced placement of Private Sonja…" he read. His eyes and the eyes of the others turned to her in amazement. She blinked, wondering exactly what everyone else was wondering.
"What did I do to deserve this?" she asked. Darsee looked back down to the scroll.
"Hmm…" he skimmed over it, then read some more. "For surpassing even her own Sergeant in all aspects of the Assassin, i.e. skill, patience, wit, form, grace, secrecy, and strength, the Private Sonja will advance in rank two steps to the position of Lieutenant Nightwish. Let it be known amongst the troupes and entire organization of this replacement. Should any concerns arise, feel free to consult the Generals Respectively on the matter. They shall be glad to defend their decision."
"She surpassed Sergeant Darsee?" one of the recruits asked. Silence fell upon the group. Sonja was the first to speak.
"So… what do I do?" She asked. Sergeant Darsee ignored her, stomping off to his office to sulk that a child an eighth of his age advanced not one place ahead of him, but two places. This was a disgrace, he thought. With indignation to its fullest, he slammed the door and left the recruits alone.
"Maybe you should go see the Generals Respectively, ya?" asked the recruit from earlier, placing his hand on her shoulder. She blinked.
"Yeah…" she nodded. She grabbed the scroll and walked out, waving to the others as they shouted their congratulations and the like.
"Well, Lieutenant…" the deep, calm and soothing voice of Rye sounded at her back. She turned around, seeing the old Ronso leaning against the door of the Private's hall. She smiled.
"Hey, Rye…" she nodded her greeting. He smiled and opened his eyes, staring down at her as he walked over and placed his paw on her shoulder while walking with her.
"You're first big promotion… you worked hard, I assume?" he chuckled slightly. She rolled her eyes.
"I guess you could say that… although, I know it was you using your connections with the Generals Respectively," she punched him playfully in the side. He laughed lightly.
"No, I did no such thing… well, I did mention you to them every now and then, and they did the rest. They are actually impressed with you, and apparently see you as someone who could make us all very, very proud."
"I guess… but… 'Nightwish' as my alias? What the crap?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. He shrugged.
"Our names are all revealed as we develop as Assassins, Sonja, you know that. I, for example, was given the name Shadence and quite frankly, I didn't understand, until I realized over ninety percent of my kills were due to the fact that I relied on the shadows to hide me as I attacked and killed my targets. You, perhaps night will be your time of peak, or perhaps your name is a warning to you. You never know until you find out for yourself. Remember, we are named from Lord Sashibhat, the ancient Red Mage who funded our organization long ago to get revenge for his fallen familymurdered as innocent stander-bys in the first assassination attempt."
"Yes, I know, Rye, I know!" she rolled her eyes and sighed. He smiled.
"Just making sure…" he patted her shoulder affectionately as she approached the large steel doors that lead to the dark room where the Generals were sat in meeting, discussing all the targets they received. She knocked thrice on the door, paused, then knocked twice, paused for twice as long, then knocked once. The doors opened with a loud groan of exertion and a voice beckoned Sonja to enter, which she did.
"Lieutenant Nightwish…" a voice called cheerfully, or as cheerfully as the Generals could call. "Thy name and deeds precede you,"
She smiled and bowed before them.
"Generals, I speak the title Respectively, I come to ask you for advice, my lords…" she requested. A small murmur waved through the Generals, who could be seen as no more than brown cloaks under the light of nine candles, one for each General.
"Speak, young child…" the voice encouraged.
"Respectively, my Generals… I ask thee… in my new line of duty as a Lieutenant under you… what do I do now?" she bowed, her question asked. Another murmur flickered through the Generals until one in the middle stood and raised his clawed hand, speaking to her.
"Young Lieutenant Nightwish… a fine question you hold. We answer you now… you must take the two young Ronso, the white Ark and the blue Rufio, and train them. Make them better, if not as good, as you. The organization needs more like yourself… you may be able to help increase the number of these well-bodied assassins in more ways than just training them, but that is a discussion for a much later, much more mature time, especially for you…" he spoke slowly and gently, as if she wasn't wise enough to understand, or something like that, she thought.
"Yes, Respected Generals. I understand. Thank you for your time and effort," she bowed and walked out upon her dismissal. She smiled when the doors closed and she ran and embraced Rye, who chuckled and pried her off.
"I'm so excited!" she giggled. He smiled.
"Apparently," he then pulled a leather necklace out of his sash and hung it around her neck. Out of another pocket, he pulled an exact replica of what was on the scroll. She smiled.
"You got that for me?" she asked. He smiled, his wise eyes glinting.
"No, more like made it for you. I have a lot of time on my hands," he explained, then hugged her to his side as he dropped the emblem on the necklace and walked with her back to the Private's hall where she saved the two Ronso twins from the bored Privates, who strangely and immediately bowed to her presence and saluted. She smiled.
"Oh, how I love this power!" she giggled while leading the twins to her newly appointed private room in the Lieutenant's Wing of their under-seafloor base.
"Yes, but don't let it go to your young head. That would be bad…" Rye advised, pulling out his large ring of keys and unlocking her door, giving her a replica of the door key.
"Oh, but what fun would it be if I didn't?" she joked, only to have Rye glare at her from the corner of his wise, golden eyes.
"Do. Not." He reiterated.
"Okay! Okay! For the love of Yevon, don't bite my head off!" she held her hands up defensively. He just raised an eyebrow at her and opened her door, walking in and sitting in a chair.
"Well, guys, come on in… make yourselves at home, because that's where you're gonna be staying for a long while!" she smiled, pushing the two Ronso twins in the door. They stood in the door way, as if frightened. She sighed and walked past them, shutting the door and sitting in a chair next to Rye. Rye turned to them with a smile on his furry face. He held his hand out to them and motioned towards a chair, which they both sat in. Sonja blinked and stared at them for a short while.
"So, uh… where you from?" she asked, playing with her new necklace.
"Same place I'm from, most likely…" Rye smiled and turned to them. "What's Mount Gagazet like? I have not been there in so long," he asked.
"Gagazet? Ark not know Gagazet…" Ark shrugged. Rye blinked.
"Rufio and Ark rejected at birth. Ark and Rufio grow up at temple. Temple workers catch Rufio and Ark playing tag. Ark and Rufio tried and sentenced to death. Ark and Rufio prayed and prayed and prayed, then saved by mens who say they looking for workers in job. Ark and Rufio set free with man," Rufio explained.
"Hmm…" Sonja stared off at the wall as if lost in thought. Rye looked surprised, then nodded and answered a knock at the door. He came back soon after and handed a scroll with a purple ribbon tied around it to Sonja. She looked at the ribbon.
"Ah, a job, eh?" she asked, untying it and rolling it out to read it. She smiled and nodded. After writing on it a bit, she whistled, calling a silver wolf out from a corner in the room.
"SkahZev, me lad!" she greeted, patting his head. "Do me a favor and take this to the Generals!" she slipped it under his collar, then watched him run out the door.
"What that?" Ark asked curiously. Sonja smiled.
"We, well, I just got a Call To Action. It means I have to go track someone down, plot their demise, and destroy them!" she looked quite joyful to do this. Of course, with a sum of Gil like she'd be getting, who wouldn't be, she wondered.
Soon, SkahZev ran back in, a blue bound book in his jaws. Sonja took it and loosened a tie from his collar and read the note underneath. She nodded and smiled at Rye.
"Well, take care of the boys, would you? I gotta go! I have until First, the moon, to get rid of this guy," she stuffed her belt full of knives and throwing stars.
"And if you shouldn't return?" Rye's worried voice asked kindly. She rolled her eyes.
"I'm standing here, talking to you. That should be proof enough that I've never not returned!" she held her hands out to the side. He sighed and walked over to her, placing his giant paw on her shoulder and kneeling down, still having to squat after that to reach her stature.
"Sonja, remember. You're only four. Most children your age have barely begun to speak,"
"Yeah, but I'm something' special! You said so yourself! So did dad, when he was alive…" she sighed sadly and lowered her head respectfully.
"Yes, well, I'm quite sure he did. However- you are still very small and rather amateurish in this sport, understand?"
"Hey- I've taken down fiends six times your size and completely annihilated entire cults and pacts! Taking down a simple Summoner and their guardians will be nothing!" She backed away.
"You forget the power the Summoners possess…" he reminded her.
"Oh, I know! Don't worry, though! They'll be dead before they can even get half way through the summoning! I promise! Rye, stop worrying about me! I'm a big girl; I can take care of myself! I can wipe my own butt and everything!" she assured him.
He blinked at the last sentence and let out a small chuckle. Rye patted her shoulder lovingly and escorted her to the door of the undersea-floor base and watched her climb the long stairwell to the small hut where their secret door was hidden carefully.
Sonja stepped foot into the warm sunlight and took in a deep breath.
"Ahh, yes! The sweet sight of day, the gentle smell of wind, the thrill of the hunt, the call of the wild, the relish of the kill!" she purred to herself, then pulled a piece of cloth out of her book that she kept under her belt. She was special, indeed, known for tracking her targets using nothing but her senses and what was given to her to determine where they were now and where they were headed next.
The scent on the cloth smelled somewhat familiar. She shrugged it off and took a few sniffs of the air. They had recently been to the nearest temple.
"Excellent…" she smiled and ran towards the next aeon's respected temple, already plotting the death of the apparently hated by someone Summoner.
Okay! Either next chapter, or chapter next next, I'll reveal who it is she's supposed to kill... >.> few already know who it is. > curse my not-able-to-hold-in-a-plotness! Anyhow! If you have any ideas of how she could kill some one, email them all to me, and I'll randomly pick a few to do! Have a little audience/author interaction here... Love ya'll! Review for me, pwease! (o)(o) upside down puppy eyes!