Author's note: Well here's the second chapter of the story I wrote. I'm not really good with battle scenes so sorry if the battle scenes here make you throw up. I could've uploaded this yesterday but alas, the monster called "Procrastination" got the better of me.
Disclaimer: I do not own Grand Chase or any of its Rights but I do own my OC's
Another note: I've been thinking of putting a hint of Romance here :O I don't know if I should add pairings though so you guys vote :D put in a review whether you want pairings or not. As a reference, here are my favorite pairings (but may not be the pairings I will use in the story. It all depends on what I think of when I right the chapters"
Elesis x Ronan
Lire x Ryan
Arme x Lass
Jin x Amy
Sieghart x Mari (Yes I know Mari isn't here... yet? (:o Spolier?))
Quagmire x I don't hell know.
"Gaikoz, have you succeeded in capturing the port of Kanavan?" Kazeaze, the Mistress of Darkness, asked the man in the black mist in front of her.
"Yes, Milady. I have successfully laid siege to the port of Kanavan and have halted all ships bound for Ellia." The Ghost Knight from the black mist said.
"Very good, now it is only a matter of time before these imbeciles who proclaim themselves to be the ones who will defeat me arrive there in a foolish attempt to sail to Ellia." Kazeaze said as an evil grin crept up on her face. "Of course when they arrive, I expect you to get the kid called Quagmire and bring him to me."
"Understood Milady." Gaikoz answered as the black mist faded.
"It'll only be a matter of time..." Kazeaze said as her physical form faded into darkness.
XXX
"He's been in a coma for three days now. Who's to say he's not already dead?"
"Elesis, you saw how he took out a hundred or so Anmons, not only that but he did it after he had just learned that his mother and little sister died. I wouldn't be so excited to wake up either if I was in his place."
"But, Ronan the more time we waste here, the more time Kazeaze can use to strengthen herself."
"I agree with Elesis, there's no point sitting here waiting for him."
"Here's the soup!"
"Careful with that Amy you might-"
"Aaah! Who put that stool there?"
"AAAAAAAAH!" Quagmire said as he sat up feeling the hot soup drench his chest all over.
"Look who finally decided to join the living." Jin said grinning.
"Good job Amy, you managed to wake up sleeping beauty here when the royal doctors failed to." Ronan said with a chuckle.
"All in a day's work!" Amy said as she composed herself from the fall.
"What the? Where am I?" Quagmire said as his vision started to adjust to the morning light.
"Well Mr. Gardener, you're in the Official Grand Chase cottage." Sieghart answered.
"I see, and I suppose you guys dragged me here?" Quagmire asked as he tried to clean off his shirt.
"Actually we tied you to a horse and had it drag you here." Arme said in a teasing tone.
"Haha, very funny shorty." Quagmire retorted as he stuck his tounge out.
Arme's face flushed red with anger and she whispered Lightning Bolt to herself. Quagmire then screamed in agony as a bolt of lightning went through his spine.
"What'd you do that for?" Quagmire yelled as he recovered from the pain.
"I have you know, I'm not a shorty I'm just a late bloomer is all." Arme pouted.
Quagmire couldn't help but laugh even through the pain at Arme's comment.
"Anyway, what am I doing here?" Quagmire said.
"Well you've been formally invited to join Grand Chase again, and as of now, you may either accept or decline it formally. Rather than causing another scene like that back in the throne room three days ago." Sieghart replied.
"Well now that I've thought about it, the fire in which my home, mother and sister perished was caused by Kazeaze..." Quagmire said in a depressed tone.
"I'm sorry about your family Quagmire, but think about all the other families Kazeaze has destroyed. We can't just sit here as she orphans more children." Lire said as she looked out the window.
"Alright, I understand. I accept the invitation to join Grand Chase." Quagmire said. "Although I would like to get my own clothes back since someone spilled soup all over me."
"Sorry! It was an accident I swear!" Amy shrieked at the top of her voice.
"It's alright, although it was a shame that this soup went to waste, although I'm happy that I'm awake again." Quagmire answered. "So I guess a 'Thank you' is in order. Thank you, Amy for waking me up." He said with a big smile on his face.
"You're welcome!" Amy said as she threw a wink.
"Oh and we brought your shears back with you, it's in the closet. I've never seen anything like it. Is it enchanted by any chance?" Arme said as she gestured towards the closet in the corner of the room.
"Well yes, my father, who it used to belong to, said that it would never harm the flesh of the innocent and it would never grow dull as long as it is in the hands of someone who has a good intention." Quagmire answered as he got up and walked to the closet to retrieve the shears.
"What was your father anyway? I doubt he's an ordinary gardener, and neither are you Quagmire." Elesis asked as she watched Quagmire take the shears out of the closet.
"Well I don't know much about my father because he left as a tracker when I was still young. Well not really young, the term 'ignorant' would most likely be the best word to describe it" Quagmire answered as he inspected the shears for any damage it may have sustained. "But I do know that he used to be the Serdin castle's royal gardener and he fought in the five year war Kazeaze waged a long time ago. He was only called 'The Gardener' if I'm not mistaken."
"I see. But don't think you've earned my respect just yet, just because you've beaten a battalion of Anmons with an oversized pair of scissors doesn't mean that your better than any of us." Elesis said in a confident tone.
"But I didn't say any-" Quagmire tried to answer but got cut off by Elesis.
"I don't want to hear it." Elesis said as she walked out of the room.
"Don't worry about her." Lire cut in. "She's not the easiest person to get along with."
"I see what you mean." Quagmire answered.
"Well it's about time you got up Quagmire," Ronan said. "We have battle practice. We'll leave you to change and meet us outside the cottage in a few minutes or so."
"Battle practice? And I thought I was done with all that... Knightmaster, you never do give any breaks do you?" Quagmire thought as he watched the others leave.
A few minutes later and Quagmire was walking outside when an arrow whizzed pass his head barely missing his forehead.
"What in the name of Gardosen was that?" Quagmire said as looked at where the arrow came from.
"I'm sorry Quagmire," Lire said as she jumped down from the tree where she was hidden. "But while you we're unconscious the rest of us had to pass tests to enter Grand Chase, and yours starts now. The rules are simple, you have to pin down or otherwise disarm the eight of us in duels. Of course we wouldn't really kill each other so try to hold back okay?"
"Fine." Quagmire said as he readied his giant shears.
"Well I'm your first opponent. So whenever you're ready." Lire said as she notched an arrow.
Quagmire dashed at Lire and she let loose the arrow only for it to be deflected by Quagmire's shears. Lire continued to strafe around Quagmire as she let loose an endless volley of arrows. Quagmire then threw the shears at Lire forcing her to climb a tree to dodge it. Quagmire sprinted at the tree, picking up his shears that have impaled themselves on the ground, and began to jump from branch to branch.
"I didn't expect you to run so fast Quagmire." Lire said as she jumped from branch to branch trying to avoid Quagmire and keeping him at bay with a barrage of arrows.
"I didn't expect you to be so accurate either, Lire. You seemed so quiet when I saw you." Quagmire said as he was chasing Lire.
Lire then jumped off the branch and landed a kick squarely on Quagmire's forehead causing him to fall out of the tree.
"Sorry!" Lire yelled as Quagmire hit the ground with a thud.
"It's alright, it was my fault for not blocking." Quagmire said as he got up. "Well then you better be prepared for what I have next." He said in a confident tone.
Quagmire then ran up the tree but instead of chasing Lire, he started to snip of branches of the tree as he went higher and higher in the tree's canopy leaving less and less room for Lire to move. Eventually he snipped off the branch Lire had her footing on causing her to lose balance and fall to the ground. As she hit the ground, she dropped her bow, but before she could reach out and rearm herself a pair of shears fell out of the tree, impaling it's blades on the ground on both sides of Lire's waist effectively pinning her down. Quagmire followed shortly after.
"Does this mean I win?" Quagmire asked as he went down the tree.
"Yes Quagmire, you've beaten me." Lire said as Quagmire was helping her up.
"Who's next?" Quagmire asked looking to the horizon.
"As far as I know, Ryan is waiting for you in the next area." Lire said as she was brushing dirt of her clothes. "Goodluck. Ryan has more strength than you can imagine."
"Thanks for the head's up." Quagmire said as he walked off to the next area of the training grounds.
After a few minutes of walking, Quagmire noticed there was a shadow above him. He looked up and dodged Ryan's battleaxe just in time to not get smashed by its overwhelming force. Ryan quickly recovered from the blow and dislodged his axe from the crack he had made in the ground and swung it at Quagmire again this time it was met with a pair of shears.
"I guess the second round starts now huh?" Quagmire said as he tried to overpower Ryan.
"Yes. I don't really want to do this but the Queen said that it's your initiation test." Ryan answered as he was holding his own against Quagmire's strength.
Quagmire then got an idea. "The last time I was in a sabre lock was with the Knightmaster, and I'm pretty sure I know how to end this." Quagmire thought to himself.
"Well then take this!" He said as he brought his weight down to the shears trying to force the hinge closed but to no avail. "What?" He said as he stood dumbfounded.
"I figured you would do something like that with your shears. It would've worked if I was holding onto a sword but since I'm using a battleaxe, they're much thicker and harder to cut through even with the sharpest weapons." Ryan said as he wriggled his battleaxe free from the shear's lock.
"I guess that won't work here." Quagmire thought to himself. "I need to think of a new strategy."
Before Quagmire could even finish his thoughts, he felt the blunt of the battleaxe hitting his side and throwing him to the floor. He screamed in agony as even though it was the blunt of the axe the force delivered to it was still painful. He stood up, supporting himself on his shears.
"That was painful." Quagmire said as he stood up.
"I honestly don't want to do this but if you want to be one of us then you have to pass." Ryan said as he prepared to swing his axe at Quagmire again.
Ryan swung his axe over his head and made it go crashing down on Quagmire. Once again Quagmire caught it in the hinge of his shears.
"I have an idea." Quagmire thought.
He then clamped the shears down on the battleaxe successfully locking it in place.
"Perfect..."
"I told you it won't work." Ryan said as he tried to get his battleaxe free. "It can't cut through my axe."
"Who said anything about cutting through it?" Quagmire said with a confident look on his face.
"What are you getting at?" Ryan said puzzled.
Quagmire didn't answer but instead twisted the shears around with the axe still locked in its blades and twisted Ryan's arm enough for him to let go of the axe to avoid injuries. After Quagmire successfully disarmed Ryan, he swung his shears counter clockwise and flung Ryan's axe five meters away. Ryan's eye followed his axe and was caught off-guard. Quagmire took this opportunity and hit Ryan's stomach with the shear's handle knocking him to the ground.
"I disarmed you." Quagmire said panting. "Does this mean I pass your test?"
"Indeed it does my friend." Ryan said as he was getting up.
"Who's next?" Quagmire said helping Ryan up.
"Lass I think." Ryan said as he pointed to the east. "He's in that direction. Careful though, you'll find that your eyes won't be of much use in the next fight."
"What do you mean?" Quagmire asked.
"You'll know soon enough, now don't keep the other's waiting." Ryan said as he was walked back to the cottage.
By the time Ryan disappeared over the horizon, the sun was on its highest. "
"Well I can't keep Lass waiting." Quagmire said, but before he could take his first step, a kunai impaled itself on the ground in front of him. Quagmire noticed it had a note on it. The note said:
I'm not allowed to use deadly force, so I shall use rocks in place of kunai.
Before Quagmire could even think about what this meant, a small rock hit the back of his head making him fall on his face.
"Ow!" He yelled as he stood up.
"You need to be faster than that." A disembodied voice said from the bushes. "You have no hope of beating me with that speed."
"I guess the third round starts now." Quagmire said as he composed himself and readied his shears.
Lass once again threw a stone but this time it was met with Quagmire's shears. Quagmire attempted to pinpoint where the stones we're coming from but could not hope to find out where Lass was. Quagmire attempted to cut down the bushes around him in an attempt to lessen Lass' hiding places. By the time he had made sure that no one was going to be able to hide effectively hide behind the bushes, Lass sprung up and kicked his back. Quagmire turned and by instinct and snapped his shears at Lass. Hi saw that his shears went right through Lass.
"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" Quagmire said as he looked in disbelief. Lass then disappeared before his very eyes.
"Oh don't worry. I didn't feel a thing." A disembodied voice said from behind Quagmire.
"After-images?" Quagmire thought as he took his bearings.
"The eyes are an easy thing to deceive." Lass said as he threw another stone which was quickly dodged by Quagmire.
"So this is what Ryan meant." Quagmire thought, still dodging and deflecting rocks.
Quagmire focused his eyes at where the rocks we're coming from and saw Lass running around him. He knew he couldn't possible match up his speed so he threw his shears at him. The shears once again went through the ghostly image of Lass and impaled itself on a tree. Quagmire ran as fast as he could to retrieve the shears only to be met by a fist which hit him in the gut a few feet away from the tree his shears were impaled in. Lass continued to bury his fist into Quagmire's diaphragm and twisted his arm to stop Quagmire's breathing and knock him out.
"This may be the only chance I get." Quagmire thought as he bit back the pain.
Quagmire then grabbed Lass' wrist and executed a throw to successfully break the deadlock that they we're in. As Lass flew through the air, he did a back flip and landed on his feet unharmed. This act bought Quagmire enough time to retrieve his shears from the tree in which it was stuck. By the time Quagmire retrieved the shears, Lass had already disappeared into the trees and bushes. Although Lass wasn't completely hidden because Quagmire trimmed the bushes enough so that nobody could hide effectively behind the bushes, he was still so fast that only after-images we're seen by Quagmire.
"I have an idea, although I hope it works 'cause I've only got one shot at this..." Quagmire said as he thought of his next move.
Quagmire took a step back and readied to throw his shears. He threw it with all his might into the bushes, but he wasn't aiming for Lass. Quagmire threw the shears a few meters in front of the after-image. Lass, running at full speed, was caught off-guard by this strange act, but before he could even think about it, he saw the shears flying towards him. The shears, being an enchanted item that does not harm innocent flesh, dulled itself before hitting Lass and it succeeded in sweeping him off his feet. Quagmire then ran at Lass who was still reeling from the fall and pinned him down.
"I win." Quagmire said panting.
"I guess speed isn't everything, but it does help." Lass said grinning.
Quagmire sat down beside Lass and took a deep breath. "Now's not the time to rest y'know. Arme is waiting in the next area." Lass said as he stood up and stretched.
"Oh the shorty is next?" Quagmire said jokingly.
"It's best you don't get on her nerves, Quagmire." Lass said in reply. "If you get on her bad side, even you're grandchildren will feel her wrath. I mean yeah, she's nice and all but if you tick her off, you'll be in a world of hurt."
"Okay, thanks for the warning. I'll lay off her. But it's about time I head out to the next area, can't keep the purple mage waiting." Quagmire said as he stood up.
"Goodluck!" Lass said as he disappeared back into the woods towards the cottage.
"Well, that's three down, five to go." Quagmire said as he walked to the next area.
A few minutes of walking on the path, Quagmire felt a strange presence. Almost as if he was being watched and being drained of his strength. He fell to his knees, supporting himself on the shears, when someone cried out Firebolt. A ball of fire made its way towards Quagmire but he didn't notice it in time to dodge it completely. The ball of fire managed to scorch off the tip of his sleeve. He stood up with all his might and took a battle stance.
"Show yourself Arme!" He cried out into the sky.
Arme then appeared behind him using a teleport spell and whacked his head with her wand. Quagmire took note that Arme was behind him and tried to use his elbow to hit Arme but by the time he processed what was going on Arme wasn't behind him anymore. For a moment the area went silent and Quagmire felt his strength being drained from him. A voice then broke the silence.
"Like the negative aura, Mr. Gardener?" Arme said as she teleported in front of a weak Quagmire. "It drains any warrior of his strength and leaves him vulnerable... Just as you are now..."
Arme then prepared to chant another spell when Quagmire stood up and tackled her. Quagmire tried to pin Arme down and disarm her but she chanted Stone Curse and made Quagmire encased in stone, unable to move. This bought Arme enough time to get away from Quagmire's tackle before Quagmire broke through the stone shell. Quagmire broke out of the stone and charged at Arme again. Arme threw multiple fireballs at him and he struggled to dodge everyone. As Arme was throwing fire at Quagmire, Quagmire noticed that after every fireball Arme took a step back he noticed that a tree was right behind her by the time she threw the sixth fireball.
"I hope this works." Quagmire thought as he felt the last of his strength draining from him.
Arme then raised her wand over her head and muttered the word Meteor but before she could wave her wand down to finish the spell she found that she could not. She looked at the hand which was holding the wand and found that a pair of shears impaled themselves on the tree behind her and pinned her arm down. The shears dulled itself, for it cannot draw the blood of the innocent and successfully disabled Arme to wave her wand. Arme tried to free her arm but the shears we're impaled deep enough to take some time to dislodge. Quagmire mustered the last of his strength and ran towards Arme. Arme managed to wriggle her hand free but Quagmire delivered a kick to her wrist which made her wand fly meters away from the mage. The moment the wand left Arme's hand the negative aura disappeared and Quagmire felt all his strength returning.
"I've disarmed you, this fight is over." Quagmire said.
"As much as I hate to say it, you beat me fair and square." Arme said with an angry look on her face. "I'll only hope that Jin beats you good." She said as she stuck her tongue out.
"Hey Arme." Quagmire said, starting a conversation.
"What?" Arme asked.
"I'm sorry about the 'Shorty' comment"
Arme almost didn't believe that Quagmire was apologizing.
"I hope that you can forgive me and that we can get along." Quagmire said looking down.
"Well, I guess I can forgive you, but don't call me that again." Arme replied.
"Okay I can do that." Quagmire said with a smile. "Truce?"
"Truce."
With that, Arme walked back to the cottage while Quagmire went in the opposite direction to the next area.
Quagmire walked down the path and saw Jin waiting for him at the top of the hill.
"What no surprise attacks?" Quagmire asked as he unstrapped the shears from his back.
"Surprise attacks are quite unprofessional and aren't my style." Jin said as he took a battle stance.
"You don't use any weapons?" Quagmire asked as they circled each other.
"None, only my gauntlets." Jin replied.
Jin concentrated for a moment and burst into flames.
"Oh my god! You're on fire! Stop Drop and Roll!" Quagmire said as he panicked.
Jin saw this opening and threw a shockwave which he created by clasping his hands at Quagmire knocking him down.
"What the?" Quagmire said dumbfounded.
"It's called Burning Mode. It's the specialty of the Silverknights." Jin said as he set himself ablaze again.
Jin then threw a barrage of kicks at Quagmire. Quagmire managed to dodge a few but most of them made their mark. The blaze around Jin started to die down and his kicks came less frequently, by the time the blaze disappeared completely, Jin took a step back and set himself ablaze again.
"When the blaze disappears, he's not that strong." Quagmire thought as he was reeling from the pain of the kicks. "When the blaze dies down is maybe my only chance."
Quagmire regained his composure and readied his shears he tried snipping at Jin but he was too fast and dodged the snips completely. Jin delivered a kick to Quagmire's stomach and sent him flying across the training area. Jin charged at Quagmire hoping to finish him off when Quagmire put the shears in front of him in a defensive manner. He braced himself for another kick which would connect with his body soon but it never came. He looked past the shears and saw that Jin was being blinded by the sun reflected off the shears. Quagmire took this opportunity and charged at Jin grabbing him by the stomach and pinning him down.
"I won." Quagmire said pinning Jin down.
"Indeed you have." Jin said as Quagmire got off him and they both stood up.
"So who's next?" Quagmire asked.
"Sieghart." Jin said as he pointed in the direction of the next training ground. "Be careful, Sieghart is a gladiator, and gladiators fight in an arena."
"I know that." Quagmire said.
"No I mean, in the arena, the only rules are to take the opponent down. Just because this is a test doesn't mean that Sieghart won't use cheap tricks to catch you off guard." Jin said in a cautious tone.
"Okay, thanks for the advice. You best be heading back to the cottage though, everyone's waiting." Quagmire said.
"Yeah, goodluck." Jin said as he walked back to the cottage.
XXX
Kazeaze was looking at her bowl of black mist again and was watching how Quagmire was progressing. "Interesting," She said "This kid has some fighting skills. Thanks to you Will, we sent those fake letters from the Queen saying that the Grand Chase needs to test him so I can perfectly gauge his strength."
Will kneeled at Kazeaze's feet and said "Yes, Milady. The Queen has been bound and gagged in the other room so that she may not interfere with our affairs."
"Now leave this room." Kazeaze ordered Will.
"I'll never forgive you for leaving like that Quagmire..." Will said as he walked out of Kazeaze's throne room.
I know I know, its a bit cliche'. The inspiration for this chapter was some Bruce Lee film where he had to fight his way through a tower of kung fu masters or something like that. I think it was called "enter the dragon" or something. Well that concludes our second chapter. Read and Review and tell me how I can improve the third if the battle scenes here we're unsatisfying.