Realm Sagas: Story 29: Resurrection By: Chandra Rooney -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ~Legal stuff:~ Once again the long version cuz I've decided I like it ^_^ ~Corporation/Companies~ Sonic & Knuckles, and all related characters/likenesses/concepts © of Sega and Archie comics. Sephiroth and any other FFVII character/likeness/concept © of Squaresoft. Any reference to FFVII or Sonic/Knuckles has been made with the knowledge that these characters are used without permission. ~Guest Characters~ K.T.E/Jack Mamoru is © K.T.E. Vampire Sephiroth is © Vampire Sephiroth. The Green Gibbon!/Midori Saru © GG!. All three are used with the knowledge and permission of their creators/players. ~My Characters~ Moon Guardian, Ashrire Guardian, Lirsage Sephiroth, and all other original Realm Sagas characters including Goddesses Eien and Akugou and the God Midoriiro Ryujiin are © me, Chandra Rooney. Any concept or plot-line is also © myself. So, naturally, all the characters/ideas presented are my own unless otherwise noted. No Realm Sagas character/likeness/concept/event can be used or made reference to without my expressed permission. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The Materia Shatters....the Resurrection is complete...Our Mother is restored to our world and the Eclipse of Eien's Light begins...From this day on Darkness shall rein forevermore..." --Writings from the Shadow Demon's Prophecies "What is done cannot be undone" -- Macbeth --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter One: Local: A city, The Sephiroth Family Home Realm The tall man dressed in black wandered down the empty streets. His over-coat flapped slightly in the evening breeze. Faint starlight reflected off of his silver hair. Anyone who looked out of the window at him would find him a mystery. He wandered as a drifter might for he seemed to have no clear destination in mind. Yet his eyes were cold and determined, and he wore a look of superiority. No one who saw him dared to call out to him. No one inquired as to who he was, or why he was there. The look in those emerald jewels and the constant quiet mutterings keep them at bay. "So nice to be home, isn't it?" he asked himself. The conversation had been carried on for the past several blocks. "Do you like it back here? I know you are there not here. You are safe, you think? Hrmph. I can still curse you. I can still destroy those you love that remain. You are connected to this shell, yes? You can still see through its dead eyes. So what do you see? Do you know what you will soon see? It's been a while since you returned here. Since before I took you. Maybe you think once your little ones have defeated me you will return here? Defeat. Defeat." He stopped and laughed out loud. "How those words amuse me. Your little ones...little ...so meek, powerless. Defeat me? Never!" He stumbled on. Up ahead a long-forgotten mansion stood on a hill. "So nice to be home, yes? Very nice. You are home? Yes. And soon your little ones will join you there." Chapter Two: Reality warped and shifted. A doorway from endless possibilities opened, and the five travelers' forms solidified. Two boys about 17 or 18, a younger one of 16, a still younger one of 14, and a girl of 16 stood there. The one 17-year-old had silver hair, and emerald green eyes. He was dressed in indigo blue cargo pants and a black sweater. The other had spiky white-blond hair and dark twilight blue eyes. He wore a green sweater and similar cargo pants. Both wore black boots. The 16-year-old male wore a green T-shirt, and jeans with runners. He was shorter than the other boys, with green eyes and brown hair, but if the light hit it just right it seemed to be green. The fourth boy was dressed completely in red. A brown hat rested on his head, and a brown sword-sheath at his side. He had longish red hair, and slightly dimmer green eyes. A sprinkle of freckles dotted his nose. The girl was wearing a white pleated skirt, a blue sleeveless shirt, and white knee-high boots. She had dark blue eyes, and silver hair pulled into two loops with pony tails woven through them. "And that is how you operate a Realm Portal generator properly," Lirsage Sephiroth concluded, closing the small calculator-shaped device in his hand. "Understand, Ashrire?" Ashrire Guardian blinked dark blue eyes, and scratched his head. "Well, that's what I did!" Lir resisted rolling his emerald colored eyes, and sighed. "Of course, Shrire." "Don't start already you two," Moon told them. "It's early yet." "Well, we're here," Jack said. "What now? I mean does anyone really know where to start looking?" "We should have arrived in the exact same spot Sephiroth did," Lir replied. "But we're behind him. He's already gotten a head start towards wherever he's going. I guess we just ask around and see if someone can't point us in the right direction." "The bad RPG experience just does not end," Gibbon muttered. "I will be so glad to get back to the nonsense of the Green Hill Zone. If it still exists. What was I not-thinking leaving my brother Spam in charge?" "I don't think you really left him in charge," Moon told him. "I think he just kinda had to assume control after you took off." "I don't even see anyone around to ask," Jack said. "I mean look...where is everyone?" "Maybe it's a ghost town," Lir suggested. "Oh, that's a pleasant thought." "Hey, miss!" Gibbon called when he spotted a young woman walking across the street. "Miss! Wait up!" He managed to catch up to her. She had curly brown hair, and green eyes behind glasses. She was wearing a school uniform of a navy sweater, skirt and a white blouse. Uncomfortable black dress shoes were on her feet. "Can I help you?" she asked, pushing her glasses up. "Yeah, you didn't happen to see a guy come by here lately?" She gave him an odd look. "A lot of people come by here everyday. You have to be more specific." "Okay," Gibbon pointed to Lir. "He looks pretty much like that." "Oh that guy," she switched her bag from shoulder to shoulder. "Yeah. Last night there was someone like that. He went up that street towards the old abandoned house." "Thanks," Gibbon told her, and walked back over to the others. "You hear that?" They nodded. "Hey," the girl called. "Yeah?" He asked, turning back around. "Be careful. He didn't seem all there. He was muttering to himself." "Yeah. Thanks." She switched shoulders again, and then walked away. "Nice girl," Ash remarked. "Or it's a set up," Lir muttered. "I guess we find out," Jack said. Moon watched the girl walk away. "What's up?" Gibbon asked, noticing. "I just had this funny feeling that this isn't the last time we'll see her..." Chapter Three: Local: Inside the abandoned house Lir looked around the house. "All I see is a whole bunch of nothing," Jack announced. "And some killer dust bunnies," Ash added. "There's footprints in the dust, look," Lir pointed. "Those belong to Sephiroth," Gibbon muttered. "But there's more than one path they take. It seems he walked around a bit." "So we split up and follow a path," Ash replied. "There's three paths...so in two pairs and a single." "Is that safest?" Moon asked. "It's fastest," Gibbon admitted. "And we need fast right now. The time for the Resurrection Ceremony is almost at hand. At least I think it is." "You think it is? You mean you don't know?" Jack glared at him. "Gibbon...we've been follow your orders for the past three weeks!" "I got us here, didn't I?" Gibbon asked. "Actually, Lir did," Ash replied. "Shut up," Gibbon replied. "I'll take the path that goes upstairs." Lir gestured. "Moon, you want to come with me?" "Yeah." She nodded. Gibbon got an odd look on his face. "All right...I'll take that one. On my own. There probably isn't anything too dangerous on this floor." "Are you sure?" Moon asked. "Hey, I can take care of myself if there is. I'm a big gibbon." He walked off. "I guess that leave us," Ash muttered. "And that path. It looks like it leads to the basement." "Oh the joys of this job," Jack began sarcastically. "Stuff it," Ash told him. "You're not my dream date either." Lir and Moon climbed the stairs. She had the Eternity rod out. It glinted and the Eternity crystal glowed a faint blue, lighting their way. Lir carried his masamune with little difficulty despite the length of the weapon. "So, you're prepared for this?" he asked finally. "You know what happens if we find Sephiroth." "I don't know." Moon replied finally. "I'm scared, Lir." "There's nothing wrong with being scared," he told her. "Truth is...I thought I was okay with this. I had myself convinced that when the time came I could do my job. But now, I don't know. I don't know if I have what it takes to kill my own father." "I wish Gabe was here," she said softly. "He'd know what to do." Lir stopped, and turned. His eyes were glowing brightly. "Gabe couldn't stop Sephiroth because he didn't know what to do." "Lir...why are you mad at me?" "I'm not mad at you, dammit! This isn't about you!" They'd reached the top of the stairs. He sank down on the top step, and put his head in his hands. "I...I'm sorry, Moon. I shouldn't have yelled. I just..." he trailed off, sighing. "I just want...Goddess. I don't know what I want." "You want it all to be over." Moon and Lir looked up. Sephiroth stood before them. In his hand, the Black Materia glowed and pulsed with a life of its own. "And soon it will be," he continued. "One way or the other. Your voluntary surrender or your deaths." "Is that an ultimatum?" Lir asked, standing. "I hope you didn't come here expecting to *reason* with me, Lirsage." "Nai. I gave up on that after you killed Star." "You think you can just disregard what you are?" Sephiroth smirked. "You are my son. My own demonic flesh and blood." "Somehow I doubt that would make any difference when it comes to your reluctance to kill me." "Of course not. It's really nothing personal, son." "I guess it comes down to this." Lir stood. "Lir-" Moon began. He waved her back. "The girl stays out of it. It's between you and me, *Dad*." "As you like it, son." Jack sneezed. "Goddess what the hell is this place?" "Beats me." Ash pushed at a cobweb. "You think Sephiroth is really down here?" "How the hell would I know?" "Well..." Ash scratched at the back of his neck. "Remind to ask Lir if he knows what this place is." "Why would he?" Jack asked, slashing at another cobweb. "He just seems to know about weird stuff." He shrugged. "This is a waste of time. Sephiroth isn't-" "Ahem. Looking for me?" Jack and Ash turned. Sephiroth stood behind them, at the base of the stairs. The two drew their weapons. "Oh is there really a need for such dramatics?" he asked. "You really want to fight me? Aren't you going to ask me what my plan is?" "We know your plan," Jack snapped. "You told me what you were up to, you idiot," Ash reminded him. "You're slipping up, Sephy." "Oh well, such lapses can allowed since it's nearing the end of the Game and we're going to win." He smiled. Not smirked, actually smiled. "I think he's lost what little grip on reality he had," Jack whispered to Ash. "Well that depends on which reality you mean." "Eh?" Ash raised an eyebrow. "Oh, come, come," Sephiroth waved a hand at them. "Don't you realize what's happening here? While you're fighting me, your little friends are fighting another me, and the real me is conducting the Resurrection Ceremony. Do you understand?" "What...come again?" "I'm not your Sephiroth!" The figure told them. "Oh, you're a couple of idiots! I'm a Sephiroth from some meaningless experiment Realm that was brought here to keep you distracted while the *real* Sephiroth awakens Akugou! I'm a clone! Just like your two other little travelers on the upstairs level have another meaningless Sephiroth clone to fight. I must admit the true Sephiroth devised a very good plan. I'm only happy to partake in it." "What the hell..." Ash blinked. "You mean...what the hell?!" The Sephiroth giggled and waved his hand again. "You were really convinced I was the real one! You're so silly!" Jack sheathed his sword. "C'mon, Ash. This guy is obviously harmless. He's wasting our time. We have to go find the *real* Sephiroth." Ash nodded. "Harmless and...girlie." The Sephiroth's jovial expression vanished. "No one calls me 'girlie'..." Chapter Four: The black alter stood amid the three circles drawn in blood on the old wooden floor. Sephiroth circled it, staring down at the black orb resting on it. "Soon Mother," he told it. "Soon you will be free. And all your children will rejoice your return." He pulled out the masamune and inspected the spiderweb of cracks along the Materia's surface. "Yes, I shall shatter your prison and free you. The time has come, hasn't it? The Balance tips to darkness soon. It is time." He raised the masamune high above him. "The Resurrection begins." "I wouldn't do that if I was you," Gibbon called, stepping into the room. "We'd have a whole big mess of darkness if you did. Frankly, I don't care for the dark. So let's just leave the Materia as it is." "I like the dark," Sephiroth replied. "You're being difficult," Gibbon said after a pause. "I really had hopped you weren't going to make me beat you senseless." He laughed. "A weakling like you cannot stop one such as me!" "Yeah. I bet you told my father that too," Gibbon folded his arms. "It's not a very nice thing, you know, to grow up without a dad." "Your father was an idealistic fool, and so are you." "Hey, now you're getting personal. It just so happens I know you can't awaken Akugou without supplying her a physical form to inhabit. I can tell you she isn't going to be too happy spending the rest of eternity in yours." "I have one," Sephiroth gestured to the alter. Sailor Evil's body lay on it. "Oh. Well...shit." He pulled out the Ring of Change. "I guess I really have to kill you now." Sephiroth raised the masamune. "Sure. Just let me finish this." He plunged the long sword into the Black Materia, shattering it. Darkness and shadows enveloped the body on the alter. Sephiroth stepped up towards Gibbon. "So you wish to kill me, eh?" Gibbon cursed. "You just *HAD* to go and smash that didn't you?!" "I'm afraid you won't get to kill me..." he stumbled. "For...I'm already dead." "What?" He blinked. "I am but an empty shell. Akugou animates this body with her power and will. Any link that Sephiroth's spirit had to this shell vanished when you attacked his family and gave into the darkness completely. Tell me, does your vengeance soothe the empty void you feel inside? Perhaps you should ask the boy Lirsage how he feels about growing up without a father." "I...Sephiroth killed the woman I loved!" Gibbon fumed. "He destroyed my life! How could I just let him get away with it?!" "But then, you destroyed his life. Do you know the whole scenario drove that poor girl Lillian insane?" "Don't you try to make me out to be the villain here! She got involved with a psychopath! She wrote her own end." "Perhaps not. But I guess you'll never know." The fiend's ever-present smirk never vanished. "Have fun with the Dark Mother." Sephiroth dropped to the floor. The body on the alter sat up. "This is not a good sign," Gibbon muttered. "This is definitely not a good sign." Sephiroth blocked Lir's sword with his own. He was being matched move by move, and neither of them seemed to be gaining any ground. "It's time to turn the tables," Lir muttered. "Shadow...Mist!" A dark mass of shadows, much like a fog descended over Sephiroth. Unable to see he couldn't defend himself. Lir turned and lunged. His masamune slid easily through Sephiroth. The shadows cleared. "So...it appears you've got me," Sephiroth smiled. "Well...bravo." He vanished in a swirl of black dust leaving only a greasy smear on the floor. "Lir, you did it." Moon looked up at him. "What's wrong?" "That wasn't my father." Lir bent down and touched the dust. "This is image dust. It's used in Shadow Magic. We've been had, Moon. That wasn't the *real* Sephiroth." "You're sure?" "Positive. I know Shadow Magic. This is very powerful. It's beyond any illusion I've ever seen." He stood. "Someone put a lot of effort into keeping us up here." "But why?" He looked at the fistful of image dust, and then stood, grabbing her hand. "We've got to hurry!" "But Lir..." she gasped as he drug her down the stairs. "Where are we going?!" Ash folded his arms. "C'mon, Sephy. Get out of our way..." The figure on the stairs continued to sob. "No! You hurt my feelings!" Ash looked at Jack. "We're really sorry we called you 'girlie'," Jack said, deadpan. "Now move." "No. You don't mean it!" Ash growled slightly. "Move...or we'll make you!" There was no response. "Step aside, Ash." Jack unsheathed his sword. "We'll do this the hard way." Jack gripped the sword. "Demon..." It began to glow a bright green. "...Slash!" There was a brilliant flash of light, and the sword blade seemed to vanish. It reformed into a green demonic creature, and attacked the figure on the steps. Within seconds Sephiroth vanished in a swirl of dark colored dust. Jack's sword blade reappeared, and he sheathed it at his side. "What was that?" Ash asked, gawking. "It looked like dust. Or maybe ashes. Yeah, black ashes." Jack replied. "I meant that move." "Oh. That was the Demon Slash. Let's go find the others. Something's up." Jack stepped over the black smear on the stair and started climbing. Ash blinked, then shrugged and followed. Chapter Five: "Gibbon!" Lir and Moon ran into the chamber on the main floor. "You have to stop it from breaking the Materia!" "You're a LITTLE late!!" Gibbon told him. He stuck a thumb at the alter. "Sailor Evil?!" Moon shrieked. "But I thought Sephiroth killed you!" "He did." Gibbon frowned. "That's not your sister, Moon." "Well who is it?" Ash and Jack ran in from the other entrance. "Guys! Someone's trying to delay us from getting to the *real* Sephiroth!" Ash yelled. "Yet another brilliant restating of what we ALREADY knew!" Gibbon yelled. "Nani?" Ash asked. "Hey are you insulting- What the hell?! Sailor Evil!?" "Whoa!" Jack blinked. "When she get to be...uh...not dead?!" "That's not Sailor Evil, baka!" Gibbon sighed. "Why do I bother?" "Don't be stupid! It looks just like her!" Jack argued. "I can fix that," Lir muttered. He held up a clenched fist. "Blessed eyes of Chaos, who see all as it is; infuse the power of disillusion in these grains of sand and lend your sight to us...Reality View!" He tossed a handful of the blackish dust they'd found on the stairs at Sailor Evil. She vanished. Gibbon looked at him. "You never told us you knew Shadow Magic." Lir smirked. "What self-respecting Shadow Angel wouldn't learn Akugou's Lores as well as Eien's and Midoriiro Ryujiin's?" "There is just one small matter you over-looked, Angel," a voice said. "You attempted to use my own power against me." "Nani?" Jack turned slowly. "Who's there?" "I don't see anyone," Ash told him. Gibbon looked at Moon. "I was afraid of this," he told her. "What's going on?" She asked. "It appears that Akugou has been resurrected." Ash looked thoughtful. "That's a bad thing, right?" Everyone glared at him as the ominous laughter echoed through the room. Chapter Six: An apartment The girl looked up from her keyboard. She brushed a brown curl off her face, and pushed up her glasses. For the umpteenth time that day, she thought about him again. "I wonder where they came from," she mused out loud. "I mean, I've never seen anyone like that before." The guy that had talked to her had looked like he had *green* hair. But he wasn't the one her mind kept coming back to. It was the blond one. With those dark blue eyes. The one that had seemed so familiar. Did she know him from somewhere? "He looked like he felt the same way..." "Who are you talking to, Sarah?" her roommate asked, coming in from the other room. "Just myself, Tonia." She looked away before the other could see her turn red. Why was she blushing? Tonia rolled her eyes, and opened a window. "God, it's really hot. Hey, Sarah, come look outside. There's some weird light show going on at the old 'haunted' house." "It's graduation time," Sarah replied. "There's probably somebody having a party in it. And there's no proof that it's really-" The lights snapped off. The computer's screen went blank. "Dammit! I forgot to save!" Sarah exclaimed. She smacked the CPU. "Stupid machine! Everytime we blow a fuse..." "I don't think it's just us," Tonia said softly. "Sarah...you should really come see this. The lights went off all over the city. Except the ones in that house! There's something not right going on..." Local: The Silver Realm Dimitrius sighed as he walked back into the palace. Lara-le had refused to listen to him, and he only felt worse now about having left her. "Bella?" he called. "I'm back. Are you here?" A rumbled echoed throughout the hall. Tremors raced along the floor, and tossed him to the ground. He got to his knees only to be knocked back as another earthquake raged. Then the blackness came. A dark fog seemed to drift through the passageway. He got up and cast a look outside the window. The stars had been obscured. Every light had gone out. Fog hung in the air. He'd seen this kind of only once before when he was just a little younger than Ashrire, before Bella had come. They called it 'Demon's Breath'. It signaled Unbalance. But Unbalance had not threatened this realm in a thousand years. What could possibly be causing this upset now? Then he felt the change in himself. Soft white-blond strands of hair tumbled down into his face. He brushed them away with a human hand. Something was deadly wrong and it wasn't just affecting the weaker forces. No, because for the first time in his life, he'd fallen into his immortal form against his will. And if it was doing this to him... Little sounds of pain echoed in his mind. "Bella." He ran. She was standing before the window looking out at the darkness. He started to say 'Belladonna', but stopped. She wasn't Bella anymore. She appeared human and mortal, but she was something else. Long silver hair fell down past her waist; it swirled and caught the soft glow from her bare arms. "Dimitrius," she began softly. "Eien." He came up beside her. "What's happened?" Her silver eyes looked so sad. "She's returned." "Aku-" "Don't say it." "Hai. Hai. I know." He paused. "Can they stop her?" "I...I don't know." She fingered a silver rod. "I should be there, Dimitrius. And where is Midoriiro Ryujiin in all of this? What happened to him?" "He's stayed away because he knows it isn't your fight anymore." He put an arm around her. "It's their battle now. We have to have faith in them." "But they're not ready!" She whispered. "They're not ready yet! Do you have any idea what's she going to do to them?" There were tears in her eyes. "They're our children! She's going to destroy them just to punish us!" "She can try." Dimitrius looked out the window and narrowed his eyes. "But that doesn't mean she's going to succeed." "But you don't know her like I do. You don't know how she-" "Shhhh." He put a finger to her lips. "Have faith." "Faith is a luxury for mortals," she said softly, turning away. "And Faith alone can't defend us against Chaos." to be concluded... first draft finished 10:35 pm December 2nd 1998 finalized 6:09 pm December 3rd 1998 ~Moon~