Chapter X : Flight of the Phoenix
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SpoilerEarly-Year - Fourteen Years after the Invasion
"Master...our guests have arrived..."
"Ah...thus the time of the prophecy is upon us...The dawning of a new age is within our grasp...Mmm...Send out the welcome party..."
"Of course...Master..."
The camp was vast and wide, wooden walls towered over the perimeter in all directions. Hooded soldiers swarmed the camp, humming incoherent chants, as they wandered to and fro in a trance-like state. In the center of the encampment, a large stronghold stood looming over the camp, casting an ominous shadow over the forces below.
The trio stood before the gates of the massive encampment, as Loc looked to the Elder. "Well...this is it..."
The Elder nodded at Loc, keeping his eyes firmly focused on the gates, "Yes...The time has finally come, that our vengeance will be had..."
Loc looked back to the gates, "He manipulated the tribes to believe him to be some sort of saint...Once he had their trust...It was just a matter of timing to move his forced in to assassinate the leaders and blame it on the city-states..."
Ellia nodded, "Yeah...with the leaders out of the picture, there was no one standing in his way."
The Elder shook his head, "He brought shame and corruption to the Tribes...Using them as pawns in his twisted scheme for domination over the four nations...The only way that we are to ever reclaim our heritage, in it's former glory, is to take out the Shade..."
Loc quirks an eyebrow, "I'm still not certain where exactly we play into all of this...But, you gave us purpose...something to live for. You trained us well, old-timer...If this is something that you feel you need to do...then we are with you until the end, it's the least we can do..."
The Elder smiled, as he briefly reminisced of the past two years he'd spent training the twins. He'd watched them grow from petty criminals, with no direction or purpose, to courageous fighters and leaders. He'd only hoped that they would have the resolve to face what was soon to come. "Come...Let us make our entrance."
At that moment, the sound of the Shade's voice echoed over the encampment. "Come, my Followers, our guests of honor have arrived! Open the gates and let the festivities begin! Hahaha!"
Loc furrowed his brow, "So much for a grand entrance..."
The trio stepped from their chocobo and charged forward, weapons at hand, as the massive gates slowly crept open and revealed the fanatic mass of followers charging for them. They were swarmed by Followers from all directions, fighting frantically to keep them at bay. The Followers over came them, as the trio slowly vanished in the masses.
"You...." The ground began to tremble beneath the mass of Followers. "...shall...not..." A large force erupted from within the dog pile, as the Elder lifted with all his might, shouting, at the top of his lungs, with a ravenous tone. "PREVAIL!!!†he shouted, as he sent Followers flying violently in all directions.
The Followers fell back, as five stood in a circle and began conjuring an elemental force. Several waves formed in front of the conjurers, as they continued their chanting and humming. A dark shadow formed at the center of the conjuring circle, as it slowly began to expand.
Loc snapped his eyes to the conjurers, "What the hell are they doing?!"
The Elder narrowed his eyes, "The Ritual of the Shade...Anything that is caught in its shadow will dissolve from reality, if they do not bare the Rune of Shadows that these Followers bare within their soul..."
Ellia quirked her brow, "Rune of Shades?"
The Elder swiftly nodded, "It's a seal that is placed on their soul by the Shade...its how he keeps them under his command...We have to take out those conjurers before this whole area is consumed!"
The trio fought for hours, combating wave after wave of Followers. They worked diligently to take down the conjurers, before their sadistic ritual infected the whole area. In the end, they stood in the middle of the encampment and looked on at the stronghold; the bodies of the Follower legion littered the ground around them.
The Shade's voice echoed over the encampment once again, "Bravo! Your perseverance never ceases to impress me! You are everything that the Prophecy spoke of! But, the show must go on...Take this time to reacquaint yourselves with some familiar faces! Hahahaha!"
The massive gate of the stronghold creaked and cracked as it slowly opened, before it slammed to the ground, sending a dust cloud bellowing to the skies. Through the cloud of dust, three sets of eyes appeared, as the Three Shadows slowly emerged from the veil of dust. The White Shadow spoke out to the trio, "It has been awhile...Master has heard our prayers...and...I assure you...things will be much different, than when last we met..."
The White Shadow stretched his arms to either side of his body, as he held his head to the skies. He opened his palms, out stretching his hands, as he began to chant and hum. After several moments of chanting, his shadow began to rapidly grow into a menacing darkness and advanced towards the trio.
Loc watched with a wide-eyed expression, "That can't be good..."
The Elder furrowed his brow, as he slowly turned his body, keeping his eyes locked on the White Shadow and the ever advancing darkness, "Get to the chocobo....Now!!"
The trio turned and quickly mounted their chocobo, as the darkness continued to spread behind them. The Red and Grey took off, quickly sprinting after the trio. Loc turned and noticed the advancing Shadows closing in behind them, "We've got company!"
The Elder kept his eyes forward, as the three weaved through the forest, the darkness mere yards behind them, "We've got to keep moving...There's no telling what will happen if we get caught in that shit behind us!"
The Grey Shadow leaped towards the fleeing trio, flying high into the air. Loc stood up, as his chocobo continued forwards, he drew his daggers. "Alright...Let's dance..."
In a flash, the Red Shadow appeared and collided with Loc, knocking him off his chocobo, as the Grey landed from his decent, replacing Loc on the vacant chocobo. Loc and the Red rolled down a large embankment, as the darkness continued past them in pursuit of Ellia and the Elder. The Red drew his own blades and circled around Loc, like a starving wolf, "Now...Let's see how much you learned from your beloved mentor..."
The Grey Shadow drew his blade and brought it down upon the Elder, before the Elder promptly blocked the attack with his one of his battle axes. The chocobo continued to charge on, as the Elder and the Grey Shadow exchanged attacks, in a tug-o-war styled fashion. Ellia glared at the Grey Shadow, as she stood and leaped from her chocobo, roaring with ferocious vigor while in mid-flight.
Loc and the Red Shadow charged at one another, clashing their blades in a sort of choreographed dance. In the middle of the blade dance, Loc swiftly lifted his leg and sent a forceful kick driving into the Shadows abdomen, sending him flying backwards, into a tree. Loc charged at the Shadow, with his blade forward, but the Shadow quickly grabbed a branch of the tree and propelled himself into the air, causing Loc to dig his dagger into the tree.
Ellia descended upon the Grey Shadow, twirling her blades with vicious force. The Grey Shadow broke his fray with the Elder and steered the chocobo out of the Elder's melee range, turning his attention to franticly fend off Ellia's attacks, before she took hold on the other side of the chocobo. The Grey Shadow delivered a swift boot to Ellia's face, knocking her from the chocobo, as she fell to the ground. She struggled to keep her grip on the reins, as the chocobo continued forward, dragging her in its wake. The Grey Shadow leaped over the Elder and landed on the opposite chocobo, that Ellia had formerly commandeered.
Loc struggled to remove his firmly lodged dagger from the tree, as the Red Shadow hurtled back towards him, with blades drawn. Loc left his dagger embedded in the tree side, as he rolled nimbly out of the way of the Shadow's onslaught. The Shadow landed, with a thud, as Loc rose, with a growl, and charged forward.
Ellia pulled herself back atop the chocobo, as she immediately leaped back towards the Grey Shadow. The Shadow leaped and met Ellia in the middle of her jump, as he readied his blades for his next assault. Before he could strike, he felt a strong grip around his ankle, as the Elder pulled him from the air and commenced to drag him along the ground. Ellia fell from her descent and landed on the Shadow's chest, sheathing her daggers in flight, and began to pummel the Shadow's face relentlessly with her first, "You picked the wrong girl to kick in the face. I’ll break every bone in your body!"
The Red Shadow dropped to his back, planting his foot firmly into Loc's chest, as he began to flip Loc over his body. Before the Shadow could successfully flip him, Loc swiftly lodged his dagger firmly into the Shadow's eye, while he was at the mid-point of the flip, directly over the Shadow's body. The Shadow shrieked with pain, as Loc flew over him and landed harshly on his back, leaving his dagger jutting from the Shadow's eye.
Ellia screamed at the Grey Shadow, as she continued to beat into his face, "I’ve wasted enough time on you, suffer and die!" She unsheathed her daggers, her hands decorated with the Shadow's blood and flesh, that was collected upon her knuckles during her assault. Ellia brought her arm across her chest, before striking down and dragging her dagger across his throat, as blood sprayed from the wound.
Despite the breath being knocked out of him, from his landing, Loc lifted himself to his feet. The Red Shadow struggled back to his feet and blindly staggered towards Loc in an adrenaline induced rage, still screaming from the pain of the dagger that rested in his eye. Loc rushed forward and maneuvered himself behind the Shadow, dropping his foot to the Shadow's knee. The knee cap snapped. with a loud crack, as bone fragments splintered from the backside of his leg explosively, dropping the Shadow to his knees.
Ellia drove her second dagger firmly into his chest, and gave it a forceful twist. With a second push, she drove the dagger deeper into his heart, before she withdrew and leaped from his body back to a chocobo. The Elder released his grip on the Shadow's ankle, sending his bloody, battered, body rolling and bouncing into the darkness behind them. The Elder called out to Ellia "We have to get back to Loc!" They turned they chocobo to head back towards Loc's location, the darkness bellowing violently behind them, homing in on their every motion.
Loc stood over the Red Shadow, glaring down on him, as he continued to scream. Loc slowly placed a hand under the incapacitated Shadow's chin, as his screams grew silent, now replaced with muffled gargles. Loc placed his other hand atop the Shadow's head, providing the tension. The Shadow tried to struggle, sensing his impending doom. Loc whispered to the Shadow, "Ashes...to ashes..." as he swiftly pulled his hands in opposite directions, breaking his neck with a loud snap, as his body fell lifelessly to the ground.
Loc reached down and dislodged his dagger from the dead Shadow's eye socket, before sheathing it at his side, with a twirl. He turned, as he heard the Elder yelling at him from a distance. He saw the three chocobo advancing quickly towards him, the darkness following close behind. Loc took one final glance at the Red Shadow, before sprinting off into the woods, in the direction of the Elder's calls.
Loc halted his sprint, as he saw the Elder and Ellia rushing towards him on the horizon. He stood his ground, as they rushed passed him, grasping the Elder's outstretched hand. The Elder slung Loc up onto the vacant chocobo, as they rode back towards the stronghold.
The White Shadow called out to the trio, as the rod up to the stronghold, "You may have bested my counterparts, but you stand no chance against the darkness!"
The trio split of into three different directions, as the darkness continued to follow the Elder. The Elder stood upright on his chocobo, as he charged towards the White Shadow's front. Ellia and Loc turned their chocobo back towards the Shadow, as they charged in from the flanks.
Just before impact, the Elder leaped to Ellia's chocobo, sending his own continuing towards the Shadow. The chocobo collided with the Shadow as the darkness consumed it in a fiery death. The Shadow fell on his back, slightly dazed by the explosive impact of the chocobo.
With his focus broken, the darkness dissipated, as he staggered back to his feet to find the trio standing in a line, a few yards in front of him. He glared as he stretched his hands back to his sides, "You will fall to the Master's will. You will be consumed and baptized in his spirit!"
The Elder leveled his gaze with the White Shadow, "Not today..." He flung one of his battle axes at the Shadow, planting it firmly into his chest. The Shadow's arms immediately dropped to his side, as his eyes grew wide. The Elder gave a swift tug on the chain, attached to his battle axe, jerking the Shadow towards them. He quickly produced his second battle axe and brought it across the Shadow, as his body flew past them.
The Elder gave the chain of the lodged axe a strong yank, as the Shadow's body barreled past them, sending his body bouncing back towards them. His severed head continued onward, before bouncing and rolling to its settling point. The Elder dislodged his axe, dropping the body to the dirt, as he turned to face the stronghold. "...and then there was one..."
The three advanced towards the ominous stronghold, breathing heavily from exhaustion and sweat dripping from their brow. The climax of their efforts would soon come to fruition, but the events that would unfold would change them forever. From the bowels of the stronghold, the Shade taunted them, "...And thus the curtain closes on act two and we prepare ourselves for the third and final act...Enter...my guests....Ha-ha-haaa..."
They entered, as the gate of the stronghold slowly creaked shut behind them, sealing their fates forever...
"Master...our guests have arrived..."
"Ah...thus the time of the prophecy is upon us...The dawning of a new age is within our grasp...Mmm...Send out the welcome party..."
"Of course...Master..."
The camp was vast and wide, wooden walls towered over the perimeter in all directions. Hooded soldiers swarmed the camp, humming incoherent chants, as they wandered to and fro in a trance-like state. In the center of the encampment, a large stronghold stood looming over the camp, casting an ominous shadow over the forces below.
The trio stood before the gates of the massive encampment, as Loc looked to the Elder. "Well...this is it..."
The Elder nodded at Loc, keeping his eyes firmly focused on the gates, "Yes...The time has finally come, that our vengeance will be had..."
Loc looked back to the gates, "He manipulated the tribes to believe him to be some sort of saint...Once he had their trust...It was just a matter of timing to move his forced in to assassinate the leaders and blame it on the city-states..."
Ellia nodded, "Yeah...with the leaders out of the picture, there was no one standing in his way."
The Elder shook his head, "He brought shame and corruption to the Tribes...Using them as pawns in his twisted scheme for domination over the four nations...The only way that we are to ever reclaim our heritage, in it's former glory, is to take out the Shade..."
Loc quirks an eyebrow, "I'm still not certain where exactly we play into all of this...But, you gave us purpose...something to live for. You trained us well, old-timer...If this is something that you feel you need to do...then we are with you until the end, it's the least we can do..."
The Elder smiled, as he briefly reminisced of the past two years he'd spent training the twins. He'd watched them grow from petty criminals, with no direction or purpose, to courageous fighters and leaders. He'd only hoped that they would have the resolve to face what was soon to come. "Come...Let us make our entrance."
At that moment, the sound of the Shade's voice echoed over the encampment. "Come, my Followers, our guests of honor have arrived! Open the gates and let the festivities begin! Hahaha!"
Loc furrowed his brow, "So much for a grand entrance..."
The trio stepped from their chocobo and charged forward, weapons at hand, as the massive gates slowly crept open and revealed the fanatic mass of followers charging for them. They were swarmed by Followers from all directions, fighting frantically to keep them at bay. The Followers over came them, as the trio slowly vanished in the masses.
"You...." The ground began to tremble beneath the mass of Followers. "...shall...not..." A large force erupted from within the dog pile, as the Elder lifted with all his might, shouting, at the top of his lungs, with a ravenous tone. "PREVAIL!!!†he shouted, as he sent Followers flying violently in all directions.
The Followers fell back, as five stood in a circle and began conjuring an elemental force. Several waves formed in front of the conjurers, as they continued their chanting and humming. A dark shadow formed at the center of the conjuring circle, as it slowly began to expand.
Loc snapped his eyes to the conjurers, "What the hell are they doing?!"
The Elder narrowed his eyes, "The Ritual of the Shade...Anything that is caught in its shadow will dissolve from reality, if they do not bare the Rune of Shadows that these Followers bare within their soul..."
Ellia quirked her brow, "Rune of Shades?"
The Elder swiftly nodded, "It's a seal that is placed on their soul by the Shade...its how he keeps them under his command...We have to take out those conjurers before this whole area is consumed!"
The trio fought for hours, combating wave after wave of Followers. They worked diligently to take down the conjurers, before their sadistic ritual infected the whole area. In the end, they stood in the middle of the encampment and looked on at the stronghold; the bodies of the Follower legion littered the ground around them.
The Shade's voice echoed over the encampment once again, "Bravo! Your perseverance never ceases to impress me! You are everything that the Prophecy spoke of! But, the show must go on...Take this time to reacquaint yourselves with some familiar faces! Hahahaha!"
The massive gate of the stronghold creaked and cracked as it slowly opened, before it slammed to the ground, sending a dust cloud bellowing to the skies. Through the cloud of dust, three sets of eyes appeared, as the Three Shadows slowly emerged from the veil of dust. The White Shadow spoke out to the trio, "It has been awhile...Master has heard our prayers...and...I assure you...things will be much different, than when last we met..."
The White Shadow stretched his arms to either side of his body, as he held his head to the skies. He opened his palms, out stretching his hands, as he began to chant and hum. After several moments of chanting, his shadow began to rapidly grow into a menacing darkness and advanced towards the trio.
Loc watched with a wide-eyed expression, "That can't be good..."
The Elder furrowed his brow, as he slowly turned his body, keeping his eyes locked on the White Shadow and the ever advancing darkness, "Get to the chocobo....Now!!"
The trio turned and quickly mounted their chocobo, as the darkness continued to spread behind them. The Red and Grey took off, quickly sprinting after the trio. Loc turned and noticed the advancing Shadows closing in behind them, "We've got company!"
The Elder kept his eyes forward, as the three weaved through the forest, the darkness mere yards behind them, "We've got to keep moving...There's no telling what will happen if we get caught in that shit behind us!"
The Grey Shadow leaped towards the fleeing trio, flying high into the air. Loc stood up, as his chocobo continued forwards, he drew his daggers. "Alright...Let's dance..."
In a flash, the Red Shadow appeared and collided with Loc, knocking him off his chocobo, as the Grey landed from his decent, replacing Loc on the vacant chocobo. Loc and the Red rolled down a large embankment, as the darkness continued past them in pursuit of Ellia and the Elder. The Red drew his own blades and circled around Loc, like a starving wolf, "Now...Let's see how much you learned from your beloved mentor..."
The Grey Shadow drew his blade and brought it down upon the Elder, before the Elder promptly blocked the attack with his one of his battle axes. The chocobo continued to charge on, as the Elder and the Grey Shadow exchanged attacks, in a tug-o-war styled fashion. Ellia glared at the Grey Shadow, as she stood and leaped from her chocobo, roaring with ferocious vigor while in mid-flight.
Loc and the Red Shadow charged at one another, clashing their blades in a sort of choreographed dance. In the middle of the blade dance, Loc swiftly lifted his leg and sent a forceful kick driving into the Shadows abdomen, sending him flying backwards, into a tree. Loc charged at the Shadow, with his blade forward, but the Shadow quickly grabbed a branch of the tree and propelled himself into the air, causing Loc to dig his dagger into the tree.
Ellia descended upon the Grey Shadow, twirling her blades with vicious force. The Grey Shadow broke his fray with the Elder and steered the chocobo out of the Elder's melee range, turning his attention to franticly fend off Ellia's attacks, before she took hold on the other side of the chocobo. The Grey Shadow delivered a swift boot to Ellia's face, knocking her from the chocobo, as she fell to the ground. She struggled to keep her grip on the reins, as the chocobo continued forward, dragging her in its wake. The Grey Shadow leaped over the Elder and landed on the opposite chocobo, that Ellia had formerly commandeered.
Loc struggled to remove his firmly lodged dagger from the tree, as the Red Shadow hurtled back towards him, with blades drawn. Loc left his dagger embedded in the tree side, as he rolled nimbly out of the way of the Shadow's onslaught. The Shadow landed, with a thud, as Loc rose, with a growl, and charged forward.
Ellia pulled herself back atop the chocobo, as she immediately leaped back towards the Grey Shadow. The Shadow leaped and met Ellia in the middle of her jump, as he readied his blades for his next assault. Before he could strike, he felt a strong grip around his ankle, as the Elder pulled him from the air and commenced to drag him along the ground. Ellia fell from her descent and landed on the Shadow's chest, sheathing her daggers in flight, and began to pummel the Shadow's face relentlessly with her first, "You picked the wrong girl to kick in the face. I’ll break every bone in your body!"
The Red Shadow dropped to his back, planting his foot firmly into Loc's chest, as he began to flip Loc over his body. Before the Shadow could successfully flip him, Loc swiftly lodged his dagger firmly into the Shadow's eye, while he was at the mid-point of the flip, directly over the Shadow's body. The Shadow shrieked with pain, as Loc flew over him and landed harshly on his back, leaving his dagger jutting from the Shadow's eye.
Ellia screamed at the Grey Shadow, as she continued to beat into his face, "I’ve wasted enough time on you, suffer and die!" She unsheathed her daggers, her hands decorated with the Shadow's blood and flesh, that was collected upon her knuckles during her assault. Ellia brought her arm across her chest, before striking down and dragging her dagger across his throat, as blood sprayed from the wound.
Despite the breath being knocked out of him, from his landing, Loc lifted himself to his feet. The Red Shadow struggled back to his feet and blindly staggered towards Loc in an adrenaline induced rage, still screaming from the pain of the dagger that rested in his eye. Loc rushed forward and maneuvered himself behind the Shadow, dropping his foot to the Shadow's knee. The knee cap snapped. with a loud crack, as bone fragments splintered from the backside of his leg explosively, dropping the Shadow to his knees.
Ellia drove her second dagger firmly into his chest, and gave it a forceful twist. With a second push, she drove the dagger deeper into his heart, before she withdrew and leaped from his body back to a chocobo. The Elder released his grip on the Shadow's ankle, sending his bloody, battered, body rolling and bouncing into the darkness behind them. The Elder called out to Ellia "We have to get back to Loc!" They turned they chocobo to head back towards Loc's location, the darkness bellowing violently behind them, homing in on their every motion.
Loc stood over the Red Shadow, glaring down on him, as he continued to scream. Loc slowly placed a hand under the incapacitated Shadow's chin, as his screams grew silent, now replaced with muffled gargles. Loc placed his other hand atop the Shadow's head, providing the tension. The Shadow tried to struggle, sensing his impending doom. Loc whispered to the Shadow, "Ashes...to ashes..." as he swiftly pulled his hands in opposite directions, breaking his neck with a loud snap, as his body fell lifelessly to the ground.
Loc reached down and dislodged his dagger from the dead Shadow's eye socket, before sheathing it at his side, with a twirl. He turned, as he heard the Elder yelling at him from a distance. He saw the three chocobo advancing quickly towards him, the darkness following close behind. Loc took one final glance at the Red Shadow, before sprinting off into the woods, in the direction of the Elder's calls.
Loc halted his sprint, as he saw the Elder and Ellia rushing towards him on the horizon. He stood his ground, as they rushed passed him, grasping the Elder's outstretched hand. The Elder slung Loc up onto the vacant chocobo, as they rode back towards the stronghold.
The White Shadow called out to the trio, as the rod up to the stronghold, "You may have bested my counterparts, but you stand no chance against the darkness!"
The trio split of into three different directions, as the darkness continued to follow the Elder. The Elder stood upright on his chocobo, as he charged towards the White Shadow's front. Ellia and Loc turned their chocobo back towards the Shadow, as they charged in from the flanks.
Just before impact, the Elder leaped to Ellia's chocobo, sending his own continuing towards the Shadow. The chocobo collided with the Shadow as the darkness consumed it in a fiery death. The Shadow fell on his back, slightly dazed by the explosive impact of the chocobo.
With his focus broken, the darkness dissipated, as he staggered back to his feet to find the trio standing in a line, a few yards in front of him. He glared as he stretched his hands back to his sides, "You will fall to the Master's will. You will be consumed and baptized in his spirit!"
The Elder leveled his gaze with the White Shadow, "Not today..." He flung one of his battle axes at the Shadow, planting it firmly into his chest. The Shadow's arms immediately dropped to his side, as his eyes grew wide. The Elder gave a swift tug on the chain, attached to his battle axe, jerking the Shadow towards them. He quickly produced his second battle axe and brought it across the Shadow, as his body flew past them.
The Elder gave the chain of the lodged axe a strong yank, as the Shadow's body barreled past them, sending his body bouncing back towards them. His severed head continued onward, before bouncing and rolling to its settling point. The Elder dislodged his axe, dropping the body to the dirt, as he turned to face the stronghold. "...and then there was one..."
The three advanced towards the ominous stronghold, breathing heavily from exhaustion and sweat dripping from their brow. The climax of their efforts would soon come to fruition, but the events that would unfold would change them forever. From the bowels of the stronghold, the Shade taunted them, "...And thus the curtain closes on act two and we prepare ourselves for the third and final act...Enter...my guests....Ha-ha-haaa..."
They entered, as the gate of the stronghold slowly creaked shut behind them, sealing their fates forever...
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