Realm Legends: Legend 10: Or Just the End of One of Us? By: Chandra Rooney ___________________________________________________________________________ Legal stuff: Sephiroth and all other FFVII characters/likenesses are copy-right of Squaresoft. Used without permission. Natalie Howard is copyright of herself. Sarah Aylward and Lazuli are copyright of Sarah. K.T.E./Jack Mamoru is copyright of KTE. The Green Gibbon!/Midori Saru! is copyright of GG!. Moon Guardian, Ashrire Guardian, Lirsage, Vance, Zephyr, Xiayou, Gabriel, Nova, Cosma, Erebus and all other original Realm Legends characters/likenesses/concepts are copy-right of Chandra Rooney. All the characters and ideas presented are my own, unless otherwise noted. ___________________________________________________________________________ "Surely somewhere there lies "the answer", The answer which was born That is what all people wish for Facing the dreary dream that they can't let go" -- "Give A Reason", "The Slayers Next" opening theme "Goodbye my friend. I know you're gone, you said you're gone, but I can still feel you here" -- "Goodbye", the Spice Girls ___________________________________________________________________________ Chapter One: The Seraphian Feather Blade gleamed as it sliced through the air. Clang! It meet once more the cold metal of Masamune. "You've improved," Nexus admitted. "But it doesn't matter." The blade lock was shattered, and Sephiroth went back to blocking his opponent. "You haven't improved," he told Nexus. "You still fight the same way you did almost a thousand years ago. What exactly did you come here to accomplish?" "To reclaim the Scrolls of Heaven...and if need be, see to your death," Nexus smiled. "I doubt that Erebus would morn long for you. Not now that he has Xiayou." The last remark caught Sephiroth off-guard. It gave Nexus the opening to knock Masamune from his hands and pin him to the ground with the tip of the Feather Blade. "I've looked forward to this for a very long time..." Nexus smiled coldly. "Nexus stop!" General Nova materialized. "Lord Erebus has changed his mind. We are to bring the traitor and his companion to the Palace. Cosma has secured the boy." Companion? Sephiroth cast a quick glance from the Nev'aehian to where General Cosma held Ashrire. Where was Van? Nexus muttered something, and then roughly hauled Sephiroth to his feet. "Come along then, traitor. I can kill you after Lord Erebus has finished interrogating you." A Heaven's Gate transportation spell was cast and the five of them vanished. Chapter Two: Van peeked out from the tree he'd been hiding behind. "Awful lucky that they didn't find me..." "Peekaboo! I see you!" a cheery voice called. Another one? Van wondered. Hadn't there just been the three? Who was this fourth person? The person turned out to be a young looking girl. Maybe 12 or 13. She had pale blue skin and long white hair. Her little bikini top and skirt appeared to be made of clouds. She wasn't wearing any shoes. "Who are you?" Van asked. "I'm Fuun," she giggled. "This is Chibichibi-chan!" Fuun held up a small plush doll of Chibi Chibi from Sailormoon. "Do you want to play with Fuun and Chibichibi-chan?" "No." Van replied. "That's not very nice, Mr. Vance Kage," Fuun's child-like expression vanished. "Chibichibi-chan likes to play. You've upset Chibichibi-chan. That wasn't nice to do." "How did you know my name?" Fuun's innocent appearance altered. Her pale skin darken to a indigo blue color, and her fluffy white hair turned into long, black-blue strands that fell below her hips. She grew in size, and her fluffy cloud outfit became a tight-fitting black gown. "*He* wants you dead," Fuun replied, sounding now like a grown woman and no longer like a child. "And what the Master wants, the Master gets." "Kill me? Why?" Van demanded, looking around for somewhere to run to. "By unwriting you, this story becomes weaker. I shall unwrite you all one by one. Then the Priest of Chaos's powers will grow weak enough for us to destroy him. One he is dead, Chaos shall be without guardian or protector to aid Her. My Master shall destroy Her so He may rule all, as He was meant to." Van laughed shakily. "Lady, I have no idea what you're talking about..." "Now to destroy the weaker creation first," Fuun gathered her hands before her. "Kaze mo Sora mo Kitto!" Van felt daggers of pain slice through his being, tearing him apart from the inside out. Gut-wrenching pain and terror gripped him until...he simply faded away. Lirsage remained in his place. Dazed, but recovering quickly and seeing the danger before him. It was a fight for survival. His survival. "Masamune!" he called the ancient sword forward, and then rushed Fuun. Once stab, right through her heart...just like Sephiroth had taught him. The sword slid clean through her flesh. "You think your little toy can help you?" She laughed, and grabbed the blade that protruded from her. "Katsu!" Masamune shattered into jagged fragments and dropped to the ground. Lir gawked. Masamune...the most powerful weapon of Nev'aeh...the ancient sword of the Kage family who bore the very power of the Tree of Life was destroyed without her even breaking into a sweat. And she wasn't even scratched! "Want to try one of your little 'spells' on me?" Fuun asked. "I assure you, little creation, the Priest has not given you the strength it requires to defeat me. You cannot hope to harm me." "But I can." Another voice said. From the corner of his eye, Lirsage saw the boy his own height with the dark purple- black hair. Dark violet eyes shown with a blue tint, as the boy smiled. There was no warmth or joy in the expression. It was one of pure malice. His blue pants, white shirt, and dark red cloak were reminiscent of priest's robes; Lirsage doubted very much a missionary of Eien had come to his rescue. "You! How can you be here?! You...he...they told us you weren't ready to come here!" Fuun looked back at Lirsage. "Of course. You've come to save your precious creation. Well, Priest of Chaos, you're too late!" Fuun gathered her hands before her. "Kaze mo...Sora mo...Kitto!" The ball of energy slammed into Lirsage as it had Van. As if the cold steal of Masamune had turned on him, a large wound appeared in his chest as he was thrown to the ground. Blood began to pour from the wound, running through his fingers as he clenched his stomach in pain. The blood ran onto the ground, and soaked the emerald-colored grass. The ground began to drink it up as if it were a nourishing rain. He lay there, unable to move, and struggling to breath. The numbing sensation that comes to a dying person threatened to over take him. He fought it, as long as he could feel the pain he knew he was still alive. In some sort of detached trance he watched the events unfold. "I still had plans for him!" the other boy, this 'priest of chaos' yelled. "Plans have changed," Fuun smiled evilly. "You're right...they have." The boy cupped his hands together, and began to chant. A circle of light burned around him and a ever-shifting power began to gather in his hands. "Black as the blackest abyss Anger beyond Hatred, Destruction beyond Death, and All you other evils that live in the souls of Men, Come forth and do my bidding..." The circle burned into the ground as the power in his hands turned first crimson, and then black like a hole in space. "...Cast this soul back into the fire from which you all came Where she may be tormented in eternal damnation... Jigoku Rakka!" Fuun screamed in pain as the ball of energy turned into a focused flare which cut through her stomach as it threw her backwards. "We...haven't...finished, Priest," she hissed, eyes narrowed into small slits. "You and I shall face off again and victory shall be mine!" She whipped a small drop of black blood away from the corner of her mouth. "It doesn't matter, you cannot save him." "Funny...of the 1,482 times you've said you'll win next time, it hasn't happened yet." The Priest of Chaos's smug grin grew as Fuun vanished. He turned to Lirsage. "I still have plans for you." "You'll...have to change...them," Lir hissed, struggling to talk through the pain. "I'm...not going to make it..." "Bah," the other waved this remark away, smiling happily with both eyes closed. "You'll live because I demand it of you. You always do what I demand of you. There really isn't a choice in the matter." "Maybe you could help me!" Lir managed. "Get a doctor or something!" The careless smile vanished, as those violet eyes peeked open again. "Why are you still wounded? I told you to live." Lir couldn't reply, it was getting hard to concentrate. He'd lost so much blood. "Indeed," the Priest nodded. "It seems that you're either going to drown by choking on your own blood or simply from the general lack of it caused by the nasty little cut you've got. More so, I cannot heal you. What an interesting turn of events. Chaos certainly does throw us little curve-balls in life, doesn't she?" "You bastard!" Lirsage yelled. "You can't just let me die!" "You shouldn't yell. It would be wisest to conserve your strength, after all." "I am dying...and you don't care?" "Well, one's got to make the best of what She gives us," replied the Priest in a cheery voice. "Can't go letting Life get you down, or Death for that matter. It's just a natural cycle of Chaos, y'know." "Who the hell are you?" Lir gasped. "Hmmmmmmmm? Well, since you are going to die and everything, I can't see any reason why not to tell you." the priest sat down and proceeded to polish a golden staff that had appeared from nowhere. "But remember, this is our little secret. "I, my friend, am The Priest of Chaos, The Messenger of Chance, The Knower of Destinies, and The Deliever of Fates," the jovial fellow extended a hand. "But since we're such dear friends, you may call me Lirsage." Lir coughed a little. "I'm Lirsage..." "Not for long. Soon, unfortunately, you'll be no one. It looks like the drowning option is going to win out. I'm so disappointed too. I had hoped to talk to you some more. I bet we've got time for one last question. So, hit me!" "What do you want?" Lirsage managed. His eyelids were so heavy. "Why, I'm here to set things right," the voice said. "I'll start with you." The last thing he saw was The Priest raising the golden staff. He felt a sharp pain in his forehead...and then nothing. Chapter Three: Messy, messy business this dying is. Messy in the fact that it's gotten blood all over my staff, and messy in the business that's it created a lot of problems for me. You see, now I have to decide what can be done with this new development. What I told Lirsage was true, dear reader, one's got to make the best of what She gives us. Not that I think my patron had anything to do with Fuun. No, Fuun is some sort of little glitch that operates beyond my Mistress's control. Speaking of my Mistress... "Well, well, little priest," Chaos materialized beside me. "This is a mess, isn't it?" She looks with disgust at the body. "He was one of your finer creations...but I am glad it was him." "Ne, Mistress? Why?" I ask. "He'd become rather flat and predictable as of late. I worry that you were focusing too much on Zephyr. You do tend to fixate on your current favorite and leave the rest of them without any fresh reactions." "I'll try to work on correcting that, Mistress." A pause. "It was Fuun." "It's really too bad you spent all the time you had playing with the boy, and didn't bother to find out what Fuun wanted." "I knew that you would." Chaos pauses. She looks at the body then at me. "You spent much of your power on this project, didn't you?" "They still aren't strong enough to battle Fuun." I pause. "I must find the scrolls at once. The steaks have increased in the game. If *He* is involved, then it's gone beyond my little worlds." "You have my blessings," Chaos replies. "But do be careful. Remember that you are not of this world. Don't allow yourself to become too attached to it. If you become a part of this story, there is no guarantee that you can return from it." I pause, and smile. "You worry too much, Lady C. I took your oath, did I not?" She pats me on the cheek softly. "We'll keep in touch. I want to hear the moment you learn anything new of Fuun. We cannot afford to let *Him* get the advantage over us." She vanishes. I look down at the body. "So you're becoming flat, ne? Well, I can guarantee that's going to stop right now..." Fuun dropped to her knees before the throne. She had returned to her younger child form. "Master, the Priest arrived and I was injured by his Hell Fall spell-" "Did you kill the character as I instructed?" The man with the dark brown hair asked. "Yes, Master. The Priest was unable to save him." "Very good, Fuun. You have pleased me. Because of this I will let you play with your toys for an extra hour before bedtime tonight." Fuun's eyes shown. "Really Master? Oh thank you!" She clapped her hands and jumped up and down. "After," the man smiled coldly, "you take care of another of the characters." "Another one?" Fuun groaned. "But what if the Priest shows up again?" "He won't. He wouldn't dare come near this character." Chapter Three: The Palace of Nev'aeh Moon stood out in the courtyard staring at the marble fountain. Sephiroth and Ashrire had been brought back; it had caused a little change in Erebus's plans. Apparently talking to Sephiroth was more important than talking to the other "guests". From the look on Sephiroth's face as he'd been "escorted" into the throne room, she doubted it would be a pleasant conversation. Since they were "guests" as they kept being told, there wasn't much restriction on their movements. Sure, they couldn't leave the palace, but beside that minute detail there wasn't many restrictions at all. Zephyr had some how gotten around the house arrest, and had gone back to look for Lirsage. Moon thought his extra pull might have something to do with his being Erebus's grandson, or something. She wasn't exactly what was going on, but Zephyr was Sephiroth's son and Erebus sure looked like Sephiroth. Hours of waiting to be drug in to talk to Erebus, or for Lirsage and Zephyr to return had finally brought Moon out here. The rest were scattered about the palace. Jack and Ash had convinced Gibbon to go exploring with them; Moon doubted very much that "convinced" was the right word, maybe "forced" or "kidnapped". Natalie had gone with them in hopes of finding Sarah. The cold marble of the courtyard and fountain borrowed the night lights for its shine. Like the rest of the palace, and the people that lived in it, it was beautiful. There was no denying this 'Nev'aeh' had been an incredible civilization at one point. It was still quite a marvel, but it seemed cold and fake. The courtesy and politeness that the people showed them seemed strained and forced. Moon couldn't help thinking of the story of the wolf in the sheep's clothing; were these gentle-seeming people really sinister at heart? It wasn't like her to be this suspicious; she was trusting by nature and practice. But then again, no one seemed to be quite themselves lately. Ash and Jack were acting like a complete of idiots, well...that wasn't true. Jack was acting forgetful and slow, and Ash was acting stupid. Maybe he was in love. He usually seemed to drop several IQ levels when he fell for someone. It happened often. Probably why no one else thought he was acting weird. They'd never seen Ash when he was focused. GG! was....well GG! was GG!, that would never change. "Moon?" a voice behind her asked. It sounded feminine and vaguely familiar. She turned. A girl with black hair was coming towards her. The girl resembled Gabriel a great deal; she had the same glossy black hair and mischievous green eyes. Right now the eyes weren't mischievous, though. They were teary, and troubled. "I..." the girl took a moment to compose herself. "I came to tell you first because he was closest to you. It seems right that you don't have to hear it from some other source." "I'm sorry," Moon blinked, "I don't believe we've met." "I'm Xiayou," the girl replied. "Please, I have news for you about Lirsage." "Tell me," Moon urged. Of all the people they'd been introduced to today, Xiayou seemed like the first one who was sincere. Well, in that untouchable way that reminded her of someone...why couldn't she think of who? "Maybe we should sit," Xiayou gestured to a stone bench. They sat. "Zephyr wanted me to do this," she explained. "He's not very confident when it comes to comforting people." Moon felt the cold of the bench seeping into her bones. A heavy weight settled in her heart. "Tell me, please." "Zephyr found Lirsage's body," Xia looked across at the fountain. Her eyes didn't look at Moon while she talked. Another annoying trait that Moon couldn't attribute to the person that first had annoyed her by displaying it. "What do you mean?" Moon asked. "He's all right, isn't he? You mean that he was just knocked or a little hurt, right?" "I'm sorry, Moon," Xia's gaze stayed fixed on the fountain. "Lirsage is dead." "No," Moon shook her head, and began to try to rub some warmth back into the cold flesh of her bare arms. "No, you're wrong. This is some sort of mistake." "Don't make this harder on yourself. He's passed on. His body is laying in the mourning room as we speak." The reply was in the same detached tone. Xiayou spoke as if this entire conversation had no effect on her. It made it even easier for Moon to delude herself. "No, he can't be dead! He was going to meet us and we were going to find the rest of the scrolls together! I just saw Ashrire and Sephiroth! He was just with them! He isn't dead! He *can't* be dead! You've made a mistake. This is all a very big mistake. Lirsage is alive and he'll be here soon. He wouldn't leave me. He promised he'd never leave me!" She turned away and burst into tears. "This is so mean! How can you play this kind of joke on me?!" "I am not joking," Xia stood and looked at Moon. "I am serious. Lirsage is dead. Get a hold of yourself. We're going to go tell the others now." Moon shook her head. "No! I'm not going to help you lie to them like this!" "I told you I'm not lying, dammit, listen to me you little-" Xia exclaimed. "Hey where are you going?!" Moon ran away into the gardens. Xia sighed. "Looks like neither of us is cut out for this comforting bit," she said. "I guess it's your turn, Zephyr." Out amongst the towering holly bushes that composed the garden wall, the faint smell of evening blooming flowers drifted through the darkened garden. Making elemental music as it dances across the stones, a small brook ran through the garden; Moon stopped running and sank to her knees on the bridge that crossed it. For a few moments, her sobs were the only sounds. "Aw, why is the pretty lady crying?" a childish voice asked. "Chibichibi-chan is sad for this pretty lady." Moon raised her tear-streaked face to see the small girl standing on the other side of the bridge. The child had snow-white hair, and pale blue skin. She appeared to be wearing a little outfit made of clouds. "Who..who are you?" Moon asked. "I'm Fuun, and this is Chibichibi-chan," Fuun said, holding up a small plush doll. "Would you like to play with Fuun and Chibichibi-chan?" "I'm sorry, I'm not really in the mood to play right now," she said softly. "Maybe some other time." "Oooooooh? But Fuun wants to play now! Why won't you play with Fuun and Chibichibi-chan?" "I..." Moon sniffled. How to explain this to a child without risking the impending temper trantum? "I'm very sad right now, Fuun. People don't feel like playing when they're very sad." "And why are you so sad, pretty lady?" Fuun asked. "I...I...lost someone very close to me. Would you be sad if you lost Chibichibi-chan?" Fuun's eyes doubled in size. "That would be awful! But Fuun doesn't have to worry. Chibichibi-chan would never ever leave Fuun and Fuun would never ever lose Chibichibi-chan!" "That's what I thought," Moon looked up at the stars. Fuun chewed her lip. "Well...you aren't very much fun, pretty lady. You're making Fuun think about bad things like losing Chibichibi-chan...and that makes Chibichibi-chan upset! It's not nice to upset Chibichibi-chan!" She held the little plush doll up to her ear. "What's that Chibichibi-chan?" Fuun paused and listened as if the doll was whispering something to her. "Yes, the bad pretty lady upset Chibichibi-chan! The bad lady must be punished for making Chibichibi-chan sad!" Fuun gathered her hands before her. "Kaze mo Sora mo Kitto!" An explosion of power surged from the small girl's hands towards Moon. She stared at it. Time seemed to slow for her. She watched the malevolent power twist and warp the reality it crossed on its way to her. Her breath caught; any moment now it would hit her. But it didn't. An arm grabbed her and she was whisked away from the energy before it hit. It hit the bridge and exploded. Where the bridge had once been was a horrible black hole. No ash, no vapor, no remains...even the very fabric of reality seemed to have been destroyed. "You again?!" Fuun screamed in outrage, shattering the trance Moon was in. Someone was holding her in a one-armed embrace. She looked down and realized that she was dangling from a thick branch of one of the trees. Whoever it was that had grabbed her, leapt up here and was standing on the branch. "Me?" the figure asked holding Moon in mock surprise. "Oh, gosh-golly-gee, Fuun, were you expecting someone else?" "You...you...bastard priest!" Fuun screamed, tearing at her hair. "Why must you ruin all my fun?! WHY?!!!!" "Now, now," Moon saw the other arm come forward and the guy holding her proceeded to waggle a finger at Fuun. "That sort of language is not becoming of a young lady like yourself, Fuunie-chan." Moon started to slip from his hold on her. Imagine her surprise, when instead of trying to help her regain her footing, her savior just let her go. She fell from the branch and landed painfully on the ground below. Some ground-covering ivy might have helped to break her fall, but it didn't fell like it made a difference. "You! BIG MEANIE!!!" Fuun screamed, and gathered her hands together again. "Kaze mo..." "Look out!" Moon yelled. "She's going to-" "Black as the blackest abyss Anger beyond Hatred, Destruction beyond Death, and All you other evils that live in the souls of Men, Come forth and do my bidding; Cast this soul back into the fire from which you all came Where she may be tormented in eternal damnation... Jigoku Rakka!" A focused flare of energy slammed into Fuun, and cut a hole clean in her stomach. "NOT AGAIN!" She screamed. "YOU'RE GOING TO PAY FOR THIS, PRIEST!!" Fuun screamed one last time in agony and then disappeared. Moon looked up and saw her savior for the first time. The boy, for he didn't appear to be any older than Moon, had dark purple-black hair. It was hard to gauge the color of his eyes because they were closed as he smiled. His blue pants, white shirt, and dark red cloak were reminiscent of priest's robes; Moon could see that maybe it was why Fuun had called him one. Was he a Nev'aehian priest? Had Fuun been some sort of lower caste demon that he had exorcised? "Shouldn't take walks all alone," the Priest told her, grinning. "All sorts of unsavory characters in these woods. Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! You're all right." "No thanks to you," Moon snapped, rubbing her arm. "I could have broken my neck with you dropping me like that!" "Ah," the grin grew, "but you *didn't*. Don't always assume the worst is going to happen. Besides, it was the best option." "How is me landing on my butt the best option? You get a good laugh out of it?" "Why of course, but that was just a fringe benefit," the boy said, casually sitting on the tree branch, "it wasn't the reason I let you go." "And just what, praytell, *was* the reason?" "How would I have been able to direct the incantation with my hands full?" was the reply. "Who are you?" Moon demanded. "You? Well, You differs from situation to situation. Sometimes You is Me or He or She or even It..." "What do they call you?" she tried. "Oh? Well many things. Most of them we shouldn't repeat in polite company." "Don't you ever give a straight answer?" "Not to crooked questions." Moon groaned. "Can you please be serious?" "Only in my un-serious way," he grinned. "Why are you smiling at me like that?" she demanded. "Like what?" "Like *that*!" "Like *what*?" "*That* way!" The grin grew. "*What* way?" "Stop it! You're scaring me!" "I am?" a gasp. "Begging the lady's pardon." "Now," Moon put her hands on her hips, "what should I call you?" "What ever the lady pleases will suit me fine." "How about 'aggravating'?" He laughed. "Very well, if it so pleases the lady." "No it does *not* please me! I am asking you your name so I can thank you!" "You're welcome." "Dammit!" she yelled. "Moon?" GG! came up behind her. "Zephyr asked me to come and see if you were all right." "No, I'm not all right!" Moon exclaimed. She went to point to the guy in the tree and yell 'and he's not helping', but the boy had vanished. "It's okay," GG! said softly. "Give things time to get back to normal-" "It's not okay, GG!," Moon began to cry. "Lir's dead. Things will never be normal again." Tears streamed down her cheeks. GG! knew that there wasn't anything he could say. So he just let her cry on his shoulder. To be continued in Legend 11 First Draft completed 10:22 pm, March 2nd 1999 Final Draft completed 8:33 pm March 4th 1999 Well, to answer the title it is the end of one of us. I must say Lirsage was certainly a very fun character to create and I enjoyed writing him. And no, before you ask, I did NOT kill him off just to get a response out of you people. You don't understand now, and maybe neither do I, but Lir's death is important to the development of the characters. So if you want to email me about this, go ahead, but the chance of him returning is non-existant at the moment. Second note: What do you think of the Priest of Chaos? I've realized he's very Xelloss-like (if you don't know who Xelloss is email me and I'll tell you. Or you can go visit any decent Slayers page.), and yeah that is kinda of intentional. I can't think of anything else to say right now. ~ Moon~