Sever All Ties
Chapter Forty: Ascent
Disclaimer: I dont own Radiata Stories or any of the characters in the game; they are the property of the brilliant minds at Square Enix.
Authors Note(s): Words in indicate a thought. Words in indicate spoken words. This story will proceed based on the assumption that Jack has joined Ridley on the path of the non-human. This path would inevitably lead him to face his former friends and allies in combat. It is these fights I will illustrate in this story. Some creative liberties will be taken regarding who they face (i.e. Jack will face opponents in this fic that you dont get to face in the game). I hope you enjoy.
Jack had only taken a couple of steps into the City of White Nights when he looked in front of him at the path they would have to take to reach the top. The towering outline of the structure in front of him was daunting. The columns seemed to rise without end into the sky. A single path led into the City, and Jack followed it to a stone pillar rising up to the second level. The column was fashioned so that it could be used as a ladder, and Jack immediately began his ascent. Ganz followed right behind him, while Gil simply flew. When they had all made it to the second level, the group scanned their surroundings. The entire city was made up of pillars that were identical to the one they had just scaled. In its prime, they would have been able to climb any one of the supports to reach the next level, but it was immediately apparent that this was no longer possible. The pillars were crumbling in several places, and certain sections of the upper levels were destroyed or inaccessible. Jack hated the idea of their progress being slowed by having to figure out a path to the top.
"What if we split up and try to find a path, it'll be faster that way," he asked.
"We'd soon be too far away to communicate with one another," Gil said, shaking his head.
"There's only one way to do this, Master Jack," Ganz began. "We must be methodical and thorough. Time is absolutely of the essence, but we mustn't allow our haste to cloud our judgment."
"All right," Jack nodded. "You're both right. Let's get started."
After looking to the right and left, Jack decided that they should proceed to the right. As they approached the pillars, he was scanning the upper levels in an attempt to determine which path they should follow. The men continued to walk until the path in front of them had broken, forcing them to turn back. Walking back, Jack suddenly stopped in front of one of the stone pillars. He took a deep breath and placed an unsteady hand on the rough stone. Upon reaching the third level, he gestured for the others to join him. While they made their way to him, Jack began to examine the next level they would need to attain to continue their ascent. He was walking to the right and studying the pillars that would take them closer to the top.
'Closer to Ridley,' Jack couldn't keep the thought out of his mind. 'We have to hurry.'
As soon as Ganz and Gil had reached his level Jack raced to the nearest pillar that led to the next level. Jack grabbed onto the stone and pulled himself up. He was almost halfway up the pillar when it suddenly crumbled. The stone gave way beneath him, and he was falling; Jack grasped desperately, trying to find something solid to hold onto. Instead, the young warrior felt a shock as his body hit the path where he had just been standing. His arm stretched out as he felt the momentum of the fall carrying him over the edge of the path. Though Jack's fingers clutched at the path, he could not stop himself from falling over the side of the path. He fell through the gap in the path on the level below him, and landed two stages below with a sickening thud. Broken pieces of the unstable pillar rained down on him and he tried to shield himself. Jack cried out in pain, staring up at the height from which he had fallen. Gritting his teeth, the boy tried to rise, but he immediately collapsed back to the ground. While he was trying to retrieve a Herb Extract to treat his wounds, Gil landed beside him.
"Jack, are you all right," the light elf's voice remained level as he spoke.
"I," Jack winced in pain as he tried to speak. He gestured to his bag, which contained the healing items he needed.
Gil obliged, bringing forth a vial that helped partially revive Jack. He tried to force himself to stand, but he was still shaky as he got to his feet. Looking up, Jack saw that Ganz was looking down at him anxiously. Jack gave his friend a wave to let him know that everything was all right. Despite this reassurance, he still felt a wave of pain rush over him as he started to walk, and had to lean on a pillar for support. Jack gazed upward once more, trying to determine how he was going to regain the height he had previously reached. After studying the upper levels for a few minutes, he turned his gaze to the light elf standing next to him.
"Is there anyway you can fly me back up to where we were," Jack asked Gil. He received a look of incredulity for his query.
"I wouldn't count on it," Gil replied. "I'd be more than happy to search for a path to the top, but I can't carry you there."
"All right," Jack said. "We need to get back to the Captain and get to the top. You'll probably have to guide both of us. Can you let the Captain know?"
Gil nodded his agreement and began his flight back to where Ganz had been left. Jack walked down the path he was currently on, intending to find a pillar that would safely take him to the next level. As he approached the end of the walkway, he saw a wooden chest in front of him. Kneeling to examine it closer, Jack lifted the lid to the chest and looked inside. There was a large sword inside, which he carefully extracted. The blade and the hilt were one piece, and made of dark obsidian. The sword's blade was etched with letters that Jack immediately recognized as the old Elven language; the blade seemed too short and narrow for the hilt, which puzzled Jack. He was further troubled by the fact that the blade wasn't sharpened. The hilt of the blade was set on either side with a single emerald. The two jewels shone in the twilight, and they reminded him of Ridley;s eyes.
'Ridley,' Jack was brought back to the present by this thought. Other than its ornate nature, there didn't seem to be anything special about the sword, but he decided to take it with him.
Gil returned only a few moments later, and pointed Jack to a pillar and indicated that he should climb. While he was ascending, Gil moved to direct Ganz, before returning to Jack. In this manner, the three were able to work their way upward through the City of White Nights. It wasn't long before the entire party was together again. They carefully navigated the pillars as they steadily made their way to the top. The City seemed to rise forever into the night sky, and Jack felt as though he was lost in the middle. Looking down, he was unable to see the place where their climb had started, and looking up, he was unable to see where it would end. Jack tried to force down the feeling of hopelessness that was working its way into his conscious. Silence had overtaken the group, and they continued to make their way toward the top. Jack tried not to think of what would be waiting for them when they reached the summit, and remained focused on reaching their destination.
'Where is this castle,' Jack asked himself. 'How much further do we have to go?'
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Jack looked up and saw that his view was obstructed. In the center of the City, hovering over everything, was a great castle of gold. Jack was scanning the area all around, trying to determine what they would have to do to get inside. It didn't look as though the landing where the castle stood was connected to the circular structure they were ascending. His companions were now also occupied with studying the towering citadel that loomed over them. Finally, Gil pointed to a point where the circular path they were on reached out and connected to the castle. Encouraged by this, they moved toward the columns that would take them upward to the Gold Dragon's Castle. With their objective finally in sight, Jack felt a renewed sense of urgency and resolved to get to the Castle as quickly as possible.
Scrambling up the column in front of him, Jack raced ahead in an attempt to get to the top as quickly as possible. Gil was forced to use his wings to fly upward and keep up with the young swordsman, and his former captain was struggling to maintain the quickened pace. The dirt crunched under Jack's feet as he ran, and sweat was forming around his brow. As the Castle grew larger in front of him, he quickened his pace even further. At last, he reached the pinnacle and could see the Castle in front of him. A sense of anxiousness swept over him and his heartbeat increased as he sprinted toward the gate. Gil shouted something, but Jack paid no heed as he charged toward to the place where he knew he would find Ridley. It didn't occur to Jack that he might be in danger until he felt himself hit from behind.
Gil pushed Jack from behind knocking him onto the ground and falling on top of him. An instant later, Jack saw crumbling rock and debris falling from the Castle all around them. Rocks and sand were raining down on them, and Jack began to panic. The crashing debris was deafening, and he was struggling to remain calm. Maintaining his composure was difficult; he was hanging over the edge of the path, looking down at a seemingly infinite drop, and rubble continued to fall all around he and Gil. When the debris finally stopped falling, he quickly scrambled to his feet. Dusting himself off, Jack was thankful that the rubble hadn't blocked the path and that it was still possible to approach the Castle. Gil was giving him a look of frustration as he cleaned himself off as well.
"I tried to warn you," Gil said, exhaling. "You're letting your urgency cloud your judgment."
"I know," Jack began, shaking his head. "But I have to get to her. Thanks Gil, you saved me."
"Don't worry about it, let's go," said Gil. Jack had been unsure why Gil had joined them, but he was now certain that the elf was there to help.
"Master Jack, Master Gil, are you all right," Ganz was breathing heavily as he finally rejoined his companions in front of the Gold Dragon Castle.
"We're all right, thanks to Gil," Jack answered. He turned toward the gate to the Castle and his gaze became deeper and more serious. "Ridley's in there. It's time to go."
Calmly, he and his companions strode toward the Castle. The exterior shone a bright golden color that seemed to glow in the twilight. Jack was much more alert and cautious as they approached. The bridge was down already, and the great door was open, allowing them immediate entry. The interior was gloomy in comparison to the outside; it was dimly lit and very plain, without the aesthetic designs that the exterior boasted. In fact, beyond the torches, the only thing inside was a spiral staircase that led to the second level of the Castle. After the three of them had determined that the stairs were the only way to continue through the Castle, Jack began to walk toward them. However, Ganz stopped him before he was able to begin his ascent.
"Master Jack, perhaps you should take a moment before we continue and make sure you're quite prepared," Ganz suggested.
Looking down, Jack saw that his armor had worked itself loose, and that his bag was half open, threatening to spill his supplies everywhere. Hurriedly, he set about preparing himself for whatever would come next. He checked his armor and attempted to get all of his equipment to fit into the bag he was carrying; he wasn't sure whether or not he would be able to carry everything. In the process of doing this, he removed the strange sword that he had found on the lower level of the City of White Nights. He was considering leaving it behind when Gil reached out his hand.
"What is that," the light elf asked.
"It's a sword I found when we were in the City," Jack replied. "It doesn't seem very functional, so I think I'll just leave it here."
"I'd hold onto it," Gil said, examining the blade. "The writing on the blade says that this is Falvern, one of the four legendary weapons of Tottaus."
"It doesn't really look like a legendary weapon," said Jack. Nevertheless, he put the sword back with the rest of his equipment. "We've wasted enough time here, let's get going."
Vegeta26: Another one done. We really are getting close to the end. I'm toying with the idea of continuing this little project after the end of the game's storyline. Let me know what you think.
Zeyro: Thanks for the review, and I'm glad you continue to enjoy the story. I was tempted to re-write Cross' death, but I decided that the way the game does it is fine.
kinetic-cataclysm: Its nice to hear from you. The action sequences and character development are my strong suits, and its good to know they're effective. I hope to hear from you again.
Weasel Debater: The real fun is absolutely still yet to come. Cross was holding his sword when he was killed, so it was destroyed as well. See you next time.
The Flying Frog: Thanks for reviewing. The Hatred Edge made for a fun plot device, and I thought it worked well. I look forward to hearing from you again.
aguyuno: Thanks again for the kind words; this is the only site where I post. I thought the chapter tied together well, but I can see where a little bit more development might have helped. Both storylines were somewhat established already, so I was really just trying to bring them to a head. Hope to hear from you.
Radiatafan: Chapter 40 is here, as promised. Its good to know youre enjoying the story, and rest assured that it will continue. I hope you'll stick around.