Author's Note: I don't own the White Knight Chronicles series, ergo; I don't own any of the characters, settings, plots and so on. The concepts such as the Crystalis and some characters that will feature in this work are my own creations, however.
Enjoy chapter 2!
White Knight Chronicles – A tale of a Crystalis scorned
Chapter 2: The Planning
Location: Unknown
Time: 20:37
Inside what looked like a large briefing room, around a round table, were nine individuals wearing differently coloured suits, 8 of which being a plain one of their colour, which, in circular order from where the Ninth was, the colours were as follows: Red, Blue, Brown, Green, Gray with a tinge of blue, yellow, black, and white. They also wore masks of their respective colours, which covered their entire head. They represented the elements, fire, water, earth, wind, ice, thunder, darkness and light, respectively.
The ninth individual wore a white gown with gold decorations on it, and had long white hair that reached halfway down his back. He looked to be in his mid-40s, with golden eyes. He had an air about him that made him seem like he was none of the elements, yet all of them at once.
Seated beside him was a woman in her early 20s, clad in a similar gown to the ninth individual, her face masked by a white veil, obscuring everything, save for her long brown hair that reached down her back. She too had the same air as him, but hers was less noticeable than the white haired male who held the most commanding presence of the 10 figures present.
An armoured figure stepped into the room soon after. The same armoured figure that had been sighted in Vellgander by Cronic.
"Report, Captain. Why did you not return with the Arks in hand?" The flame suited individual said, as the captain bowed before he spoke.
"The situation was… Not what our intelligence claimed to say the least. We advanced into Vellgander. We were met with no hostility. There were no monsters at all. It was as if nothing had ever occupied Vellgander. We advanced on despite this. As we reached the end of section 1, a figure appeared before us. Brown haired, blue eyed. The man dressed like a Mage, with staff in hand. At first, we assumed him to be the emperor of ancient Yshrenia, Madoras. He replied by saying we'd missed him by about three months. My men and I drew closer to him, but our advance was stopped by a ring of… Eclipse gates, was it? I never was any good with memorizing magic spells. This brings me onto my next point. He then said the following." The captain said, before he coughed a little, then resumed speaking.
"Your armour looks very familiar… Where have I seen it before…?" The captain said, mimicking the brown haired individual's voice to the letter, before returning to his own voice.
"I then mentioned the impossibility of it, but a realization struck me part way through. The man stood before us was none other than the man we exiled two years ago."
The ninth individual's eyes widened at the mentioning of the exile, before returning to normal, while a quiet gasp was heard from the woman sat next to him.
"How can you be sure it was him?" The darkness-clad individual spoke with the voice of a female.
"He confirmed it himself. He knew we were Crystalis knights once I bought up the whole 'Exile' thing. We tried to flee, but he blocked our path with another circle of Eclipse Gates, before issuing a threat that if we returned, he would not be so merciful. Once he'd said that, he teleported out. We would have pursued him, but the teleporter would not activate."
The white haired figure slammed his fist on the table in frustration.
"That damn brat…! The Long Fall is supposed to be a death sentence! So then how was it he survived?!" The white haired figure said, clenching his fists tightly.
"Master Zion, please calm down!" The captain said to him.
Zion said nothing, but with a motion of his hands, the Captain was impaled through the chest by the very ground he was stood upon.
"M…Master… Why…?" The captain said, before his head tilted back, and his movements ceased. The ground that had impaled him then returned to its normal state.
Zion calmed down soon after. The other eight individuals were debating between one another.
"Have someone notify the next of kin. And prepare the captain's body for burial." Zion said, still sounding somewhat furious, but on a much calmer level. The woman sat beside him stood up and proceeded to leave the room. Before she could open the door, however, Zion spoke to her.
"And where are you going, Serena?" Zion said to her, causing her to stop in her tracks.
"I am going to my room. I need to clear my thoughts." Serena said, as she then left the conference room, closing the door behind her as she left. Zion took a deep breath to rid himself of the rest of his anger.
"Okay. I'm calm now. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how we should deal with this Exile?" Zion said, as in turn, each of the masked individuals spoke.
Meanwhile…
Time: 20:56
Serena sat on a chair besides a desk in her room. Her room's walls and ceilings were the colour of the ocean, and was lit by an elegant lantern hanging from the ceiling. Her furniture itself was made from a brown wood with golden flower-like markings across their surfaces, and consisted of a set of drawers, a wardrobe, the aforementioned desk and chair which was placed between the drawers and wardrobe, and her bed, which was a typical four poster bed, and the colours of the curtains and the bedding itself matched those of her bedroom's walls. At the far side of the room was a door leading out to a balcony, in which she could see for miles.
She had since removed her veil, and placed it on the desk in front of her, her fair white skin and blue eyes much like those of Cronic showing through.
"Crobalt… You are alive… I was pretty certain you would not survive the fall… But here you are, alive..." Serena said, as she stood up and walked open to her wardrobe. She then opened it, and pulled out an outfit that looked more like an outfit befitting a commoner consisting of a black jacket and trousers and gloves, with a white shirt, along with a black cloak. Setting them onto her bed, she pulled a matching pair of black boots out of the wardrobe before closing the door to it. She then began to remove the dress she was wearing, and once she was done, folded it up and placed it onto the bed.
Serena herself was of average physical build with an hourglass figure and a moderate bust size. She took pride in keeping herself in shape, and loved nothing more than to do just that without distraction. She then removed her heeled shoes and placed those beside her bed. After that, she removed the white elbow-length gloves on her arms and placed those on top of her dress, before doing the same with the stockings she wore underneath it, leaving her in just her underwear.
She then took the shirt from the outfit she'd taken out from the wardrobe and put it on; buttoning it up once she'd got her arms in the sleeves, before taking the trousers and slipping her legs into it, making sure her shirt was tucked in correctly before putting on the jacket and buttoning it up part way, as she then put her boots on and made sure the laces were securely tied. She couldn't stand high heeled shoes, no matter how much they made her look more regal.
With the main part of her outfit on, she then slipped on her black gloves, making sure they were securely in place, before she slipped on the black cloak and fastened it into place. With this done, she then stepped over to the balcony doors and opened them, closing them behind her.
She then walked over to the railings opposite the door, and sat down upon them, her feet hanging over the edge, as she looked down at the moving world below. At this point, they were over Frass Chasm, but also high enough to be just above above the cloud layer as well.
"Please, magic. Don't fail me now. Let me see him again." Serena said, as she pushed herself off the Balcony, and began to fall down to the world below, turning in mid fall to take a look at the floating city she called home, before turning back and proceeding into a bullet dive.
Location: Sinca Village
Time: 23:06
Cronic, looking somewhat exhausted, sat beside a Campfire, the same one that had been lit when he and Leonard first passed through Sinca to go to the Dogma Ruins. His mind flashed back to that point in time.
"That's right… Setti was with us then, but his mind was that of Grazel. He tried to drive a wedge between us and Eldore. Shows how well that turned out. Had it not been for Caesar's observations, we probably would've been playing right into Grazel's hands…" Cronic said to himself, as he let out a yawn.
"…I'm beat… Getting all those monsters to obey me was a lot tougher than I thought… First thing tomorrow, when I wake up, I'll transform and fly as far as I can. I won't chance flying over the ocean though. Don't want to end up having to swim the rest of the way… I wish I could teleport there like I can in Vellgander…" Cronic said, as he then folded his arms.
"I might have to stop by Greede. I seriously doubt I'll be able to cover the entire distance between here and Balandor in a single transformation without overdoing it in my current condition." He said to himself, as he stood up, then extinguished the campfire with a basic water spell, and walked over to a small tent he'd pitched nearby.
"It's probably for the better if I do. The Crystalis might use Caesar and Kara to try and get to me." Cronic said to himself, as he rubbed his eyes, and prepared to sleep. Before he closed his eyes, however, he took out the picture of himself, Animus, Snow and Allen.
"I wonder what those guys are up to these days. Probably off on another grand adventure, I bet." Cronic said to himself, as he put the picture away, turned over, and closed his eyes, drifting off into sleep's peaceful embrace.
The Next day…
Time: 6:34
The sound of birds awoke Cronic from his slumber, as he crawled out of his tent, stood up and stretched, yawning as he did so. As he looked to the stone he was sat on before, he saw a blue Bigelow quietly waiting.
"…Ah, right. I forgot I sent one to Faria before I left Vellgander." Cronic said, as the Bigelow's eyes began to shimmer, and the holographic figure of the ruler of Faria, Archduchess Miu, appeared.
"Hello, Cronic. To what do I owe the pleasure of speaking to you right now?" Miu said to Cronic, as he cleared his throat once Miu had finished speaking.
"I wish it were pleasant news. A faction from my past appeared in Vellgander yesterday. I can't go into details just yet, however. I need to get to Balandor to inform Cisna and the others, and I don't have time to go into explanations just yet. But the bottom line about the whole situation is that I think they may be after the Yshrenian Knights. I can't say for certain what their intent is, but I plan to find out."
"You mean they seek to use the knight's powers for their own ends?" Miu asked, sounding somewhat concerned.
"You don't need me to tell you what'll happen if they fall into the wrong hands. As long as the seals I placed on them remain in effect, that won't happen. But I'm more concerned they may use you and Faria to get to me. That's why I want you to keep an eye on the skies above. I'll explain more when I get to Balandor. I will probably end up stopping by Greede to explain the situation to Caesar and Kara as well. I've had to do a little bit of work to ensure that the monsters I trapped within the Abyss guard Vellgander and do not leave, so I won't be able to sustain my Incorruptus form long enough to get to Balandor in a single transformation, and I really don't want to risk sleeping out in the wild." Cronic said, as he folded his arms.
"I understand. I will wait for you to contact me again. Remain safe, Cronic." Miu said, as she smiled.
"And to you as well." Cronic said, as he ended the communication to Miu. He then turned around and packed away his camping equipment into a waiting backpack, pulling out a flask of water and taking a long drink from it, before putting the flask back, taking his staff off his back, and proceeded to put said backpack on, before turning to the Bigelow on the Rock.
"We fly in the direction of Greede. Meet me there, okay?" Cronic said, as the Bigelow seemed to understand that, and took flight.
"Well then, let's get to it." he said to himself, as he raised his staff in front of him, holding it so that the white wing was facing him, and the black one facing away.
"O Reijva, Slumbering Guardian, watcher of Crystalline Children, grant me your power…" He said, before he turned his staff so that the white wing was facing to his left, and the black to his right.
"VERTO!" He shouted out loud, as the wings shifted upward, so that the ends of each wing rose above the sunset coloured orb, which shone with a blinding light of the same colour. When the light faded, the winged Knight that was Cronic's Incorruptus shot up into the skies above Sinca, and headed in the direction of Greede.
Well, that about covers chapter two without going on all day. Once again, I ask that you point out things I did well, and areas that I can improve upon. See you next time for Chapter 3!
Cronic out!