Realm Legends: Legend 5: Monsters of a Different Sort By: Chandra Rooney __________________________________________________________________________ Legal stuff: Sephiroth, Vincent Valentine, and all related FFVII characters/likenesses are copy-right of Squaresoft. Used without permission. Sarah Aylward copyright and appears courtesy of herself. The Green Gibbon!/Midori Saru copyright of GG!. K.T.E/Jack Mamoru also copyright of himself. Used with permission. Moon Guardian, Ashrire Guardian, Lirsage Sephiroth, Gabriel Sephiroth, Zephyr, 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. __________________________________________________________________________ "I don't want the world to see me Because I don't think that they'd understand When everything's made to be broken I just want you to know who I am" -- "Iris", Goo Goo Dolls "That's just the way I am"-- Vincent Valentine, FFVII __________________________________________________________________________ Prologue: Local: Nibel, the Sephiroth family Home Realm The man got out of the box of the old truck, and thanked the elderly man for the ride. The truck drove off. The man let his red eyes search the buildings. Nibel had changed more in the three years he'd been away from it than in the 30 he'd spent in it. He pushed his ink-black hair behind his shoulders with the metal claw that served as a left hand and arm for him. There'd been reasons to stay away from Nibel. It was close to becoming a Neo- Midgar. No other town was growing as fast. He wondered why. Nibel was close to the mountains, but away from rivers or the oceans. Transportation through the mountains was far from easy. How trade routes could build in such an area baffled him. But neither economics nor politics had never been his area of expertise. Three years, he thought. It's been at least that long since I've seen any of them. I wonder where they are. Wouldn't it be something if he ran into them? People could change a lot in three years. He might not even recognize them. But of course they'd know him. He never changed. It was his curse. His punishment. The man who couldn't age sighed softly, and began walking towards the town. He'd been searching non-stop this past three years. He'd searched so hard that he'd forgotten what he was looking for. Maybe this old town could remind him why he had kept going. If it couldn't...then there was no reason not to just go back to sleep. Chapter One: Ash and Gibbon had gone off to find something more interesting to do than look at a bunch of old books. They'd gone outside, and Gibbon was in the middle of explaining to Ash why he should be thrilled to be in Nibelheim when the sounds of a battle had reached them. They'd split up, with Ash going to see what was happening and Gibbon going to find the others. The sounds of fighting had stopped, but Ash thought he was only a few yards away so he kept going. He rounded the corner of the massive mansion, and saw the two females. The one in the blue sweater was dragging a sword at least seven feet long. She tripped and fell. "What the hell?" Ash hissed. He ran to where she had fallen. The pale stars and half moon may not have been the best light amongst these deep shadows behind the mansion, but Ash didn't need any more light than that to see. See, he did, and he was having a hard time accepting what his eyes were telling him. She, the girl lying there, moaned and pushed herself up to her knees with obvious effort. He recognized the blue sweater, and the black cargo pants she wore. He knew the long sword that lay on the ground beside her. But she shouldn't be...well, a *she*. Worry about it later, Ash told himself. He knelt down beside her. "Well, am I glad *I* didn't drink that punch. It must have been spiked by someone with a degree in biological engineering." "It wasn't the punch," came the groggy reply. The voice was wrong, but the words were right. "No kidding, Lir." He paused. "Have you always been a girl?" A gun pressed against the back of his head. "Get away from Lirsage." "And people wonder what's happened to chivalry." Ash muttered. "I blame the working class-" "Zeph, it's all right. This is Ashrire, a friend of mine. Ash, that's my twin Zephyr holding the gun on you," Lir told him. The mirror image dropped down on the other side of him. "I don't understand. *I* feel fine." "You're a girl, and you have a twin?" Ash blinked. "Goddess, I wasn't even gone an hour-" "A lot can happen in 45 minutes," Lir replied. "My father's back too." "Sephiroth?!" Ash's eyes widened. "But how?" "I don't know. He taught Zephyr the spell that did this." "That's enough for me," Ash lifted Lir's arm around his shoulder. "C'mon, let's go kick his ass. Well, I can kick his ass, you can watch." Lir leant on Ash. "He seems to be on our side, Ash." "People don't usually pull something like this on you when they're on your side." Sarah ran. She hadn't been able to find anyone. Where were they? She rounded the corner and ran into the tall man in the red cape. "Hey! Watch where I'm going!" She yelled as she hit the pavement. "My apologizes, miss," the man replied. He extended a hand down to her. Sarah let him help her up. Not many guys did things like that. "Where is the fire?" the man asked. "Fire?" Sarah glared at him. "Oh...no fire. I'm just trying to find someone. I really don't have time to chat." "I've not seen anyone this way," he told her. "Are they in danger, miss?" "Why would you say that?" He didn't reply. Sarah snapped. "Look, it's really important that I find someone to help. This guy I know is about to get killed!" He didn't say anything. "Look, Erik Black is one of those Jenova things! You know the things they tell stories about? We'll he turned into one!" She paused. "You probably think I'm lying, but I swear I'm not stoned, drunk, or playing any sort of trick. I know what I saw." "A Jenova?" Something flared in those odd-colored eyes of his. "Take me to it. I'll help your friends, miss." She almost laughed. "You'll help them? What are you going to do?" "Please lead the way, miss." Chapter Two: They were waiting for Lirsage and Zephyr. Moon and Natalie were trying to tell Gibbon what had happened. There was no sign of Sephiroth. He'd vanished. Good, Lir thought bitterly. Maybe he went back to the Abyss. Ash stopped around the corner, out of sight of the others. "Zephyr, I need you to get Natalie to go home. Then come back to Lir's place. You know where that is, don't you?" Lir started to say no but Zephyr nodded. "I know where it is." Zephyr replied. "I've been there." When? Lir wondered. "But what about you?" Zephyr asked. "I'm going to get Lir back there now, before the girls see him. Take Gibbon and Moon with you, all right?" Ash asked. "Or do you want Moon to come with us now?" Lir shook his head. "Okay, I didn't think so, but I thought I'd ask just to make sure." "You're sure you can get him back safely?" Zephyr asked, looking doubtful. "I've done this sort of thing before," Ash shrugged. "Well not maybe exactly this sort of thing but similar things." "What should I tell them?" "Um..." "Tell them I didn't feel good so I went home," Lir said. "Then tell Natalie we'll see her tomorrow. Once she's gone tell Moon and Gibbon you want to go find Sarah. Tell them she ran and you're worried she got hurt." "If Moon asks about you?" Lir was silent. "Why would she ask about me?" Zephyr stared. "For the usual reason girls ask about boys." "Oh, you know about those sort of things, do you?" "Should I tell her the truth of why you don't feel so well, maybe?" Zephyr snapped. "You think I care?!" Lir snarled back. "Whoa, ladies, please control yourselves," Ash said. "Zeph, go tell them. C'mon, Lir, we'll have to go around the back so they don't see us." Gibbon looked up as Zephyr made her way over to them. "Hellloooooooooooooo-" he got out before Moon elbowed him. "Lirsage isn't feeling very well, so Ash took him back home," Zephyr said quietly. "He asked me if I'd go find out what happened to Sarah. Will you help me please?" "She wasn't with that Erik boy?" Moon asked. Zephyr seemed to think for a long time before answering. "No, she got away from him and ran to find some help." "Which way did she go?" Natalie asked. "Oh, she went...awards...no, towards, yes she went towards the center of town." Gibbon had a puzzled look on his face. "English isn't your first language, miss...?" "My name is Zephyr," Zephyr replied. "No, that language is not." "Oh, well, there are other ways of communicating," Gibbon smiled. "Oh, yes, I like the gun very much," Zephyr nodded. "It speaks much louder than I can." Gibbon gave her another weird look. "How are you related to Lirsage again?" "I am his...half? No, the word is..." "Zephyr and Lir are twins," Moon told him. "Oh, yes! Twin," Zephyr nodded, hair swishing back and forth. "Since when does he have a twin?!" Gibbon demanded. "Let's go find, Sarah," she smiled. Natalie just stared at all three of them, then shook her head. "It's this way," Sarah told the guy. "Um, what did you say your name was?" "Vincent," he replied. "I see no signs of a battle." Sarah looked down the alley. No one was there. Vincent knelt down and inspected the ground. A crater had somehow been created, but there wasn't any debris or sign of what might have caused it. "Perhaps you should go home now, miss, it's rather late." Sarah felt stupid. "I'm not lying, Vincent. I know what I saw." He didn't say anything. She bit her lip. "I'm not lying." "I didn't say you were," he said finally. "Well, sorry to have bothered you," Sarah muttered. She turned and walked away. As she rounded the corner she bumped into Natalie. "Hey, guys! I found her!" Natalie called. "Sarah! Where have you been everyone's been worried sick." "I-" "Oh, good, everyone's safe," Moon smiled happily. "Now we can all go home. I don't know about you, but this has just been too weird a night." She laughed a little. "Halloween, huh? Wow." "Ohmigod!" Natalie smacked herself in the head. "What time is it?" "11:23," Gibbon replied, looking down at his Sonic watch. "We're gonna be late!" Natalie yelled. "C'mon, Sarah, if we go back now and get the car we might back to my house in time to get everything set up. It was really nice meeting all you guys, but we have to run." "Drive safe," Gibbon waved. "Maybe we can get together some time again," Moon smiled. She's so sweet, Sarah thought. This night hasn't made one bit of sense and she's still smiling and being pleasant. Unreal. "We'll probably see you tomorrow at the Anniversary Celebrations," Natalie said. "Anniversary?" Zephyr asked. "You know? Meteor's anniversary?" "Oh, right," Gibbon nodded. "I guess we might make it." "But I wanted to ask Lir's Sephiroth friend more-" Sarah began. Natalie was dragging her off. Moon waved again. Chapter Three: Sephiroth hovered a few inches off the roof's cement watching the red-caped figure in the alley-way below. "He seems rather familiar," he muttered. "I don't like the way he's inspecting that crater. Almost as if he knows what to look for." He stepped easily off the roof, and stopped his descent a few inches off the ground. He hadn't even been noticed. "And just what might you be looking for?" he asked after watching for a moment or two. The man with the black hair whirled around, a gun drawn. As soon as his red eyes meet Sephiroth's green one's something clicked. "Why, you're Vincent Valentine, aren't you?" Sephiroth asked, dropping to the ground and walking over. "Yes, I remember your face now. It took a few moments. Sometimes my memories don't pass from the abyss as quickly as I'd like. Friend or Foe, Mr. Valentine?" "Sephiroth?!" Shock played across Vincent's usually somber features. "No, it cannot be! We saw you defeated! You went into the Lifestream!" "Ah...a foe then. A friend would call me by my first name." He glanced at the gun. "Hrm, I don't really feel like fighting, Mr. Valentine. Perhaps another day." "How can you be alive?" Sephiroth turned. Looked at Vincent. "I know you...but not like this." Vincent didn't reply. Sephiroth withdrew a faded photograph from his pocket. "Yes. I see now. You look like him. The hair is longer and the eyes are not the right color, but the resemblance is there." Pain flooded his senses, something was clawing at him from deep within his mind; it was trying to gain control. It was best to leave now before it surfaced. "Good night, Mr. Valentine." He vanished. "Well, we found Sarah," Moon began, "so what now?" "We go home I guess," Gibbon shrugged. He started to walk away. Zephyr followed. "But...I'm worried about Lir and Ash," Moon said. "With Gabriel back and-" Gibbon stopped walking. Very slowly he turned around. "What did you say?" "I said that I'm worried about Lir and Ash, with Gabriel-" "Gabriel?!" He grabbed her shoulders. "Are you telling me that Soup Broth is alive?!!!" She bit her lip. "I..." Anger flared in his eyes, and his tone was deadly serious. "What did you do, Moon?" "I didn't do anything, honest." From overheard thunder rolled, and clouds began to cover the pale stars. A storm was brewing. The wind began to pick up strength, and trees swayed across the street. "Moon." "I'm as surprised as you are..." "Surprised?!" He snapped. "Surprised?! I'm outraged! I'm furious! I am not *surprised*! This is a slap in the face! An insult at the highest level! Who would dare to bring back Sephiroth?! They'll answer to me!" "Midori-chan, I think you might be over-reacting-" "Over-reacting?! He *killed* you Moon! How can you just welcome him back?!" Moon shook him off. She walked away, arms wrapped around herself. "Things are different." "Things are different?! How the hell can things be different?! People don't change, Moon! Especially not people like *him*!" "I do not understand what is being said," Zephyr began. "And I do not like using this awkward language." Gibbon stopped. "If you're his twin that means..." Zephyr withdrew the gun. "That means...?" "It means I've got one more of you to hate with every fiber of my being." "Why exactly?" Gibbon glared. "None of your damn business, girl." Zephyr snarled. "You listen good. You think I don't know your type? You want to hate me because of my father? Stop wasting my time, and hate him. Leave me alone. You don't even know me. You know nothing about who I am." "I know I don't like you," Gibbon snapped. "I should have known by the look of you. Last time I let some pretty face-" "Oh you think I'm pretty, do you?" Zephyr smirked. "Pretty to look at? Maybe you'd like to take me somewhere and show me off?" "Don't think so highly of yourself," Gibbon snapped. "You're not my type." "Oh you got that right. You have no idea how not your type I am." Lightening struck somewhere outside the city. Rain began to pour down. In minutes Moon was soaked to the skin, but she didn't care. She left Zephyr and Gibbon to argue in the storm, and started walking. "Hey, Moon! Where are you going?!" Ash and Lir got inside just before the down-pour began. "That's unusual," Ash muttered. "Usually I can feel rain in the air. This just came from nowhere." "It came from the Gibbon," Lir said softly. "Oh. Well, that makes sense." Ash shifted his weight. "I'm going to move you to my other shoulder, okay, Lir?" The girl nodded. Ash did, and then looked around the building's lobby. "There's no elevator and you're on the top floor?" A nod. "Perfect." He started for the stairs. "I draw the line at carrying you, just so you know." The rain had lessened, but it still didn't affect the figure on the roof at all. The safety of isolation never failed to amaze Gabriel. By cutting oneself off from the world one didn't have to worry about anyone letting you down. And you didn't have to think about the past. But he had regained contact with this world, and now he had people that counted on him. People that he could disappoint, and be disappointed by. Stupid. Very stupid. He'd been an idiot to let himself slip like this. It was totally unacceptable. How that "Sephiroth" part of himself could managed to gain control again was frightening. He couldn't control himself during those moments and it enrage him. Hesitantly he brought out the faded photograph. What if it triggered another black out? "I'm Sephiroth at times, and I'm Gabriel at others," he muttered. "But I don't want to be Sephiroth anymore." The way he'd treated Lirsage...that part of him had loved it. Relished the frustration and anger it had caused. He'd find some way to kill that part for good, but the truth was he needed it. Sephiroth knew things he didn't, and he needed the knowledge. However, it sure made his vow to stay sane difficult. You don't have to be sane, you just have to be in control. Someone sane wouldn't have under-taken this task. Can't argue there. The two faces in the photograph smiled back at him. His mother with her silver hair, and emerald green eyes. His father with his ink-black hair, and dark somber eyes. His parents. Lishia Sephiroth, and...what had his father's name been? Vincent? Yes, Vincent something. His own middle name was Vincent, and his mother had told him it was his father's. Vincent Valentine. The name came from the depth of his mind. The fellow that Sephiroth had encountered earlier that night. The one that had awaken him. "But how can he still be alive?" He laughed softly. "A ridiculous question. Of course the time in this world moves so much slower than in the others." He sighed. "I can't go to him, can I mother? We were never to be part of his life, or this Planet." "Ahem." Gabriel looked up. The young man before him had spiky white-blond hair and brightly lit eyes. As he watched they flashed from green to blue to green to violet then back to dark twilight blue again. He hastily put the photo down. "Can I help you, Ashrire?" The other shifted from one foot to the other. "Lirsage walks to talk to you. I hope for Goddess' sake you didn't know that it was going to happen." It took him a moment to catch on. "No, I didn't know it was going to happen." He stood and moved past Ashrire. After a few steps down the hall he was called back. "Wait!" Ash caught up to him. "You dropped this." Gabriel looked back to see Ash holding the photo. "They look happy," Ash remarked. He took the picture back and pocketed it. "They were. But that's the problem of happiness, isn't it? It just doesn't last." "How would you know?" "You live as I have and you see enough to know." He turned and began to walk away again. "I...don't hate you, Gabriel," Ash said suddenly. "I don't pretend to understand you, but I don't hate you." Gabriel turned and stared at him, shocked into silence. "You were an ally at one time," the younger boy rubbed his neck. "I'd like to think we could be allies again. Maybe even friends." "I am your ally," Gabriel nodded. "But as for Sephiroth? I can't control what he does. I want you to understand that." Chapter Four: Gabriel found Lir lying on the bed in the loft. Aside from the fact that he looked female and was clearly weak he seemed all right. "It's dead," Lir muttered. He sounded like Zephyr now. Looked like her too. Actually, they both bore a striking resemblance to their grandmother Lishia. But now was probably not a good time to mention that. "That's good. Did it give you any trouble?" "No, we just used the GEMINI spell because we were bored." "I am really sorry about that," Gabriel replied. "I didn't view the possibilities; I didn't have time." "Did you know what it was?" "I had my suspicious that it would be some sort of lesser demon. Possibly a monster." "Does the name 'Jenova' mean anything to you, Gabriel? If not, leave. I'll talk to my father about it." "Jenova?" "Do you know it?" Gabriel sat on the bed, and reached for the Book of Shadows. As he flipped, Lir leaned over his shoulder and watched. Well, perhaps leaned on his shoulder was more correct. Minutes passed in silence. "Jenova? Wabishii family I believe..." He continued to flip until he found the entry. "Ah, here it is. Wabishii, Jenova. Parasitic demon. In the time of Falis threatened Tree of Life and was cursed to be trapped in whatever realm they entered from the Abyss. Can be killed by high energy spells, but the easiest way of dealing with a Jenova is to contain them. I imagine the GEMINI made the attack you used powerful enough. What did you cast?" Lir yawned. " 'Angel's Wraith' mean anything to you?" "Angel's Wraith?!" Gabriel flipped madly to another page. "Angel's Wraith is the most powerful spell that a Sephiroth can master. It draws forth the spirit energy of the entire Sephiroth line and the Tree of Life. Nothing can survive it. It...it's more dangerous than the Meteor summon or Super Nova. If the caster lost control of Angel's Wraith he would destroy not only himself but the world he was in." He paused. There was no response from Lir. "Maybe you cast Angel's Wrath. Lir?" He looked over. Lir had fallen asleep against his arm. Sleeping like an angel. Looking at that face one would never guess that innocent look was just hiding what Lirsage was capable of. Gabriel sighed. He could only access some of Sephiroth's memories, but he knew that Lirsage had spent a great deal of time in this realm. Sephiroth used to bring the boy along on missions with him. Goddess only knew the things Lir had done, and now had no memory of. He slid Lir back onto the bed, and then covered him with the black over-coat. Then he put on a gray shirt, and focused on making himself look like he had those many years ago. The soft, short, black hair seemed both right and wrong to him. "You can do this," he hissed. "All you have to do is go in there and face them. All you have to do is tell them what's going on. It's simple. It's easy." Then why was he standing here talking to himself? They were scattered around the apartment. Gibbon and Ash were arguing about something or other. Zephyr leaned against the window, staring outside at the rain. Moon sat on the couch with a cup of tea, staring down at it. Gabriel cleared his throat. "I've contacted Jack. If he agrees to assist us, then he should be here by morning." Zephyr looked up. "Who are you?" "Gabriel. I'll be joining you sometimes from now on." He replied. "I want you all to know what is in store for anyone who agrees to the new Game. It's a quest. A treasure hunt if you like. The objects to seek are the 12 Dragon Scrolls." He paused. "The dangers are quite clearly all sorts of wonderful oddities that are searching for the scrolls as well. So, are you in or not?" "The Dragon Scrolls were lost eons ago. How do *you* expect to find them?" Gibbon asked hostily. "On my last visit to this world-" "Which you spent trying to destroy it with a meteor," Gibbon added. "-I brought the 5 scrolls my mother, Lishia Sephiroth, had found here. They've been hidden in 5 separate locations on this world." He paused. "*I* personally don't have access to the memories of where those locations are, but Lirsage does." "Why does he know where they are?" Moon asked softly. "He hid them while he was in this world," Gabriel replied. "Well, amongst other things." "Lir's...been to this place before?" "He grew up here." Gabe paused. "You have till morning to decided if you want to be a part of this Game. Anyone who says no has to leave this world then. You see, the window of travel between this world and the others closes tomorrow morning. Once it does close it will take another 15 years to open." "What?" Ash stood. "You mean by agreeing to this Game we're trapped here?" "Time moves differently in this world. 15 years to its inhabitants is only a few months." He paused. "What's a few years to you, Ash? Aren't the three of you immortals?" "But Jack isn't..." "It's a risk he'd have to take, isn't it?" Gabriel turned, and began to walk up the stairs. "You have till sunrise to make up your minds. Good night, everyone." End of Legend 5 To be continued in Legend 6 First draft complete 3:37 pm Jan 17th, 1999 Final draft completed at 8:47 pm Jan 18th 1999 Well, I started my messing up of FF7 as you can see. Is Vincent Valentine Gabriel's father? Well at first I was going to say yes...but now I'm not so sure. I think I've got something bigger and stranger in mind. I still haven't figured out all the details yet. Oh and does anyone have a good suggestion for a prince's name? I'm in the search for two of them. As promised Jack is in #6. And damn has that fic been giving me problems with the writing. I'll warn you right now...it might end up being a long one. Are you out there? I can hear you breathing. ~Moon~