Realm Sagas: Story 28: Revelations By: Chandra Rooney -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ~Legal stuff:~ Okay, looking back at this series I realize that I have left many an opportunity to get my @$$ sued off, so let's attempt to get it right this time. ~Corporation/Companies~ Sonic & Knuckles, and all related characters/likenesses/concepts are copy-right of Sega and Archie comics. Sephiroth and any other FFVII character/likeness/concept is copyright 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 copy-right K.T.E. Vampire Sephiroth is copy-right of Vampire Sephiroth. The Green Gibbon!/Midori Saru is copy-right of 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 copy-right of me, Chandra Rooney. Any concept or plot-line is also copyright of 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter One: Local: the 70th Floor of the former Robotnik's Citadel Realm Local: Guardian's Family Realm Sephiroth turned from Julie-su. "Very well, Guardian. If you wish to throw your life away, so be it." He tossed the silver Blade of the Guardian over to the boy. Ashrire caught it, and took up a fighting stance. "Oh, this brings back fond memories," Sephiroth told him. "Do you realize how you resemble your grandfather Ashrire-kuh? When I first saw you, I thought perhaps his soul had returned to this plane." "Did you have fun killing him? Was it fun to kill Tonia and Leslie? What about my sister, Star? Or how about poisoning Lirsage's mind?" Ash paused, his temper was just about to break. "If you ask me you seem like you've been having a whole lot of fun lately." "None of that was 'fun'. It was all business." Sephiroth swung the masamune down. Ash blocked it with his dagger. "Business of what?" he asked, breaking the blade lock, and moving back. "The business of returning the great goddess Akugou, Mother of all Darkness, to this plane. I've spent 1000 years undertaking this business of her resurrection." Ash blinked. "Whoa...hold on. Time out. You've been at this 1000 years, and the best you could do was *that*?" Sephiroth snarled. "Foolish brat! You have no idea the power of Akugou! You know nothing of her glory! You, child of Eien, could never comprehend the Children of Darkness and their plight! We've struggled for this since the dawn of time!" "Did you ever think, Sephy, that maybe if you hadn't succeed by now...you just might be out of your league?" Sephiroth drew back his hand and knocked Ashrire to the ground. Then, he stood, masamune drawn, looking down at him. "You pathetic wretch. Your arrogance has finally led to your downfall. Unlike your sister, who is simply naive to the reality of the worlds, you are too certain that your own judgments are absolutely correct. It's no wonder you cannot accept who your father really is, and who it makes you. You remain trapped in the past because your pride will not allow the blow to your ego it would cause to join us in the present!" Ash glared at him. Refusing to let any emotion be betrayed. Not that it mattered. "And because of this, you have never really been any sort of a threat to me. You may be the first born direct descendant of Eien," Sephiroth paused. "But you will never unlock the true power you possess. You didn't know that's who your mother really was, did you? No, no, of course not. I doubt even now you comprehend what it means." He raised the masamune, smiling. "It appears there will be two sacrifices to the Dark Mother." But instead of bringing the long sword down into Ash, he turned, and threw it so it pierced Julie-su. She screamed once, and fell to the floor. Something in Ashrire snapped. He stood up, and calmly brought the Blade in front of him. "Phoenix...Kantana!" Suddenly a bird's shrill cry echoed overhead, and a bird made entirely of fire appeared high in the air above him. As he watched, the bird circled, then dived, flying straight down into his dagger. The Blade glowed an eerie red color, then lengthened to a full- sized sword. While Sephiroth still had his back turned, Ash rushed forward, and leapt into the air bringing his sword down across Sephiroth's left shoulder. It pierced, and the sword stopped glowing as the Firebird exited it and entered the wound. Sephiroth grabbed the shoulder, and clenched his teeth in pain. "It seems I've underestimated you. That was a mistake." "No. Your mistake was to upset me." Ashrire told him, sword tip on the ground, eyes focused on Sephiroth. "So go on, finish what you've started then." "No," he shook his head. "Because I'm not going to make the mistake of underestimating you." The Firebird appeared in the air above Sephiroth, and screeched once again. Then it flew straight into Ashrire, knocking him on his back. "Whoa..." he hissed, looking over at the Blade. It had returned to its normal dagger length. "Where did that come from?" Sephiroth stood. "Fine. Consider yourself the victor of this round, Guardian Soul Fire," he grabbed the Black Materia. "But in my world...you will not be so lucky." Sephiroth vanished, and his masamune vaporized with him. Ash got up, and crawled over to where Julie-su lay. "Julie, can you hear me? Are you all right?" "What do you think, you idiot?" she hissed, seething in pain. "I just got stabbed!" "Well..." "If you make some smart-ass comment like 'now you know how it feels' I'll use every last breathe in my body to take you to the Great Beyond with me!" Her eyes were squeezed shut. Ash put an arm under her shoulders, and tried to lift her up. She screamed. "No, you moron! Leave me be! Dammit! Can't you see this a fatal wound? What the hell are you doing trying to move me?!" "I'm not going to let you die, Julie. I love you." She did open her eyes then, and smiled sadly. "I know you think you do, you big jerk. But I bet you thought you loved Setsuna, Tiara, Amy, and Eviva, didn't you?" Ash went pale at the names. Each of those girls had become involved with him at one time or another before Julie-su...and all of them had ended up dead. "Julie..." he closed his eyes. "Shh. I know. You think it's your fault they died. Just like you probably think it's your fault that I'm going to die." She paused. "And I am going to die. So you'd better listen close while you can. You're looking for someone very special, Ash. You're looking for someone who can make you a better person. But you know what? It isn't me, and it wasn't any of them. I hope one day you find her..." "You're wrong, Julie-" "Don't. Just stop right now. Listen to me. I want you to make me a promise, okay?" "Anything." "Promise me you'll stop trying to be a guardian. That you're not going to spend the rest of your life doing what you think your father would want you to do." She coughed. "You see where that got me? We're not our parents, Ash. We're our own people. I want you to find out who Ashrire is, okay? Get to know him. He can't be nearly as big an arrogant, stubborn jerk as you are. Will you do that for me?" Any other times the blows to his ego would have set him off, and he would have really let her have it. But this whole mortality thing had humbled him. "I promise Julie-su." "I wish I could stick around long enough to meet the real you," she whispered, her eyes shown with tears. "I have a feeling I'd like him...a lot." "I hope so," he told her softly. "I'll do my best for you, Julie. I won't let you down." "Ash..." "Yes?" "Do one last little thing for me?" "Yes?" "Kiss me." He did. Chapter Two: Local: Outside the elevator, 70th floor Gibbon looked over at Jack. The younger boy was having little trouble defending himself, but they were seriously outnumbered. It was taking too long to knock the bots down one by one. "Jack, get over here...behind me!" He yelled. "Why?" Jack asked. "Nevermind! Just get your butt over here!" He muttered something, but obeyed. "What is it?" "Keep your head down." "Heh?" Gibbon noted the position of each bot. Then he took out the Ring of Change. He threw it in the air. "Lightning Dragon...come forth!" The ring glowed bright green, and spun in the air above his head. It increased in size; creating a portal. A green, Oriental-style dragon came out of the portal, smoke drifting from its nostrils. Its sinewy, snake-like body twisted, and swirled in the air. It gathered its massive coils, opened its jaws and roared, then spat electrical flames at the bots. Each and every electrical device within a twenty-five foot radius shorted out. The dragon roared once more, in triumph, and then returned back through the center of the ring. The ring returned to normal size, and fell down into Gibbon's hand. "What the hell was that?!" Jack exclaimed. "The Lightning Dragon," he replied, a-matter-of-factly. "How'd you do that?" Gibbon shrugged. "I just did. Let's go. The way should be all clear." Local: The Citadel's Security Room, Lower Floor, Robotropolis "Dammit!" Blaise yelled. "What happened to the video feed, Sonya?" "I don't know!" Sonya exclaimed. "It's like there was a massive electrical impulse sent through the circuit board! Godammit!!!!! It's shorted out all the cameras! Five bloody months without a glitch and now this?!!!!" "What the hell could have caused it?" "I don't know! But I sure wish I did!" Local: Somewhere on the 70th floor Moon opened her eyes. Lir had his one hand on the back of her neck, and his other arm cradling her back. "Lir...?" "Hrmm?" "I think we should spend more time alone." "I'm not busy right now." "What about saving all existence as we know it?" "That could wait a while." "Selfish demon." "There's nothing wrong with being a little selfish. It's important to have time for yourself." "Hmm..." she nodded. "But if-" "You're ruining the moment, Moon," he told her softly, frowning. "I can't help it." "I know," he smiled. "It's just the way you are. I think I need to teach you how to play around a bit more." "You teach me something? I don't think so pal." She playfully hit him. "You seem to know me so well, Lir. I'm beginning to think I barely know anything about you. But I'd like to." "I'd hoped you would." He took her hand. "Let's find the others. I'll tell you all everything I know." "Everything?" He nodded. "About my father, and our people. About Gabriel. About the Game, and what my father has planned. Everything." They found Ash with Julie-su. He was still holding her body. "Ashrire?" Moon asked. "What happened?" "Goddess..." Lir whispered, looking around. "We're too late. Julie-su...Ember...and Star..." He went over to Sailor Evil's body, and knelt beside her. "I can bring her back..." he looked over at Moon. "Do I have your permission?" "You're weak, Lir." "I can managed the spell. But my...connection to her soul isn't as strong." He nodded. "I can't...restore her fully." "What does that mean?" Moon asked him, kneeling down. "She'll be alive...but she'll be human. And...she probably won't have any idea of who she is." "It would give her a second chance." "It would give us a chance against my father." "Lir...don't do it unless your motives are pure." Moon told him. "I'll take that as a permission granted," he placed the long sword on Sailor Evil's body. "Why do you do that?" She asked. "This sword is my Master Tool. It amplifies, and focuses my power. Without...I probably wouldn't live through the spell." "You might not live through the spell anyway," she warned him. Lir closed his eyes, and took a few deep breaths. He could hear Moon doing the same. "Oh source of all souls; spirit energy of the world; powers of life and death; powers of existence and breath; gather in me, and through this Holy Blade by my will return this soul to me." There was a flash. Chapter Three: Local: Unknown Lirsage found himself standing in a green area. Trees, flowers, sunshine, blue sky. "Is this what usually happens?" Moon asked from beside him. "Moon? What-" "I did the spell with you." She blushed a little. "I didn't want you to get hurt." "So, the two of you finally got around to paying me a visit?" They turned. "Sephiroth?!" Moon gasped. "Lir...what..." Lir put an arm around Moon. "It's all right, Moon. It's Gabriel." "What do you mean? How can it-" She demanded. "Shhh. I'll explain everything later. I promise. Just take me at my word, Moon. It's Gabe." "Of course it's me. Who else would it be?" Gabriel paused. "Oh...well I guess it *could* be Sephiroth, but that's a rather long shot, don't you think, Moonbeam?" "It's really you, Gabe?" "In the flesh...uh, so to speak." He frowned. "Speaking of Sephiroth. You'd better stop it right now with that thinking you can save him, Lirsage. That body is just a shell being used by Akugou to carry out her will." "Then it has to be killed," Lir mused. "It's come to that, yes." "You're not going to let us take Star back...are you, Gabe?" Moon asked him. " 'Fraid not, Moonbeam." He smirked. "I'm a selfish demon. Just like Lirsage." "It must run in the family or some damn thing," Lir muttered. "Is she at peace?" Moon asked. "She has her Soul Bond...why wouldn't she be?" "And you? Are you at peace?" "Well..." he looked thoughtful. "I have her. Finally, I might add; got awful tired of waiting. Almost thought about asking Lir to kill her for me..." he trailed off. "For Goddessake, Moon! Don't look at me like that! I was kidding! I'd say I'm pretty close to peaceful." "And what would do it?" Lir asked. "Well, there are a few things I didn't have a chance to tie up. But I see you two are finally going to recognize your Bond. There is the matter of your training, Lir. We never got a chance to finish it." He paused. "And about your brother..." "Brother?" Lir asked. "What brother?" "You were born a twin. Someone stole your brother from his crib when he was only a month old. It devastated your mother. But he can wait till after you deal with Akugou. She can be defeated, but only if you fight together." He turned away, and began to leave. The world began to fade. Gabriel looked over his shoulder. "Looks like your time is up. Good luck, kids. You're going to need it." Chapter Four: Local: The Citadel, 70th Floor By the time Moon came out of the trance, Lir was already up and demanding that Ash let him take Julie-su. "You've been sitting there for Goddess-knows-how-long holding her," Lir began shortly, then his expression softened. "Ash, you're covered with her blood." "I'm fine." Ash replied blankly. Lir sighed, and came back to Moon. "He's in shock." Moon nodded. "Is there anything we can do to bring him back to his senses?" "Short of knocking him over the head with a mallet? No. He needs time." He massaged his forehead. "We all need time." "Well, time is one thing we don't have." Moon looked up to see Gibbon coming into the room, and Jack following him. "Soup Broth's gonna bust that materia into a million pieces the first chance he gets now." "No he's not," Lir replied. "This isn't just something you go and do, Gibbon. He's going to take his time. There are certain ceremonial elements that have to be in place before he'll do it." "You," Jack spat, drawing his sword. "Didn't think a traitor like you would have the guts to stick around and face us. What'd you do to Ash?" Lir's hand when for his own sword. "Ash was like that when we came in here. Sephiroth killed Julie-su, not me." "You're lying!" Jack lunged forward. "Just like you lied about being on our side! Just like you lied to me and Dad about being my brother!" "I never lied to you!" Lir exclaimed. "I just-" "Traitor!" Jack cried, driving his sword down. "Stop it!" Moon screamed, and tried to run forward. Gibbon grabbed her arm and held her back. "Let me go, GG!! They're going to kill each other!" "No they're not," he replied calmly. "Lir's actions are defensive. He's blocking and dodging. And Jack's too angry to focus on what he's doing. Look at all the stupid mistakes he's making. Lir could've had the kid on the floor about five times already." "But we can't stand here! We don't have time for this, you said so yourself!" "I'd prefer they fought now and not when we face off against Sephiroth." Gibbon told her. "Let them get a couple more swings in at each other. It'll give us time to see what kind of shape Ash is in." They walked over to where Ashrire continued to sit on the floor. He didn't look up at them. "It's my fault she's dead. If I hadn't been screwing around...if I'd taken Sephiroth out when I had the chance, she'd still be alive. What the hell was I thinking?" he snarled. "I had the bastard and I let him walk away!" "For maybe the first goddamn time in your life you *were* thinking," Gibbon told him coldly. "You tell me what happened." Ash did. "We're out of time." Gibbon looked at Moon. "Sephiroth has to perform the Resurrection Ceremony at the time when Darkness tips the scales, and light is obscured. That's in three days in his home realm. If he misses this chance who knows how long he'll have to wait for the next opportunity." "What Resurrection Ceremony? What are you talking about?!" She demanded. "The Goddess Akugou. Sephiroth wants to return her to this plane," Ash said dejected. "Am I the only one who doesn't know what's going on?!" "Midioriiro Ryujiin." Gibbon said simply. "What does that mean to you, Moon?" "Midoriiro Ryujiin," Moon repeated with a gasp. "Oh my Goddess! Lir!!! Midoriiro Ryujiin!!" Lir cast her a desperate look. "What?!" "The Green Dragon God!!!" "I'm a little busy, Moonbeam..." he growled and dodged another blow from Jack. "What about it?!" "Goddess dammit..." Moon pulled out the long, golden Eternity rod, and then promptly bashed Jack over the head with it. "We don't have time for your stupid family feuds!" "Moon!" Jack winced. "Dammit! That hurt!" "You don't understand! This is more important!" she cast another desperate look at Lirsage. "Midoriiro Ryujiin!" "What about it?" he repeated. "Moon, honey, you're not going to suggest we start praying to the Ancient Ones, are you?" "No, no," she shook her head. "The Lightning Dragon! The legend of Midoriiro Denkou Ryu! I don't know all of it, but..." she trailed off. "Ashrire! Call Phoenix forth! The Phoenix can give you the story!" Ash looked at her. A trail of blood was running from the small cut on his cheek. He looked...defeated, broken. He'd lapsed back into silence, and was staring at Julie-su's body. "Call the what forth?" he asked finally. "The Phoenix!" She waved her hands frantically. "You know! Dad and his whole family has a connection to the Eternal Flame...the Phoenix! The Firebird! You just...call for it!" "I don't know what you're talking about," Ash replied shortly. He sank back into silence. "Ashrire!" she cried again. "Please? You're the only one that can! Ashrire it's important!" "Shrire..." Lir began. "I know it seems like there isn't any reason to go on anymore, but we can't give up now. Do you really want Sephiroth to win? I know that some part of you knows what Moon's talking about. Can't you just let it be in control for once?" "You called it forth when you attack Sephiroth," Gibbon said. "I felt it." "How the hell could you know about that?" Ash asked. "What do you mean, you felt it?" "Call it forth, and it'll tell you." Gibbon shrugged. Ash sighed. He closed his eyes, and folded his hands in prayer. The faint murmurings of the chant to call forth the wisdom of the Eternal Flame Spirit were the only reply he gave. "Oh great Phoenix," he continued, "Wise and Ancient Fire Spirit, I beg of you to speak to me, a humble guardian of your flame." They waited. "Tell us the legend of Midoriiro Ryujiin, and the Midoriiro Denkou Ryu. Tell us about the Forces of Creation," Moon asked. "Midoriiro Denkou Ryu," Ash's eyes opened. "Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time." Lir gasped. "Is it...speaking through Ashrire?" "What do you think it did?" Gibbon asked. "Well, I'd heard of the Guardian's link to the Eternal Flame but I didn't realize it was Soul Link." Lir shook his head. "Amazing. But what's the Green Dragon God?" "How does the Gibbon know about all this?" Jack asked, still shooting suspicious looks at Lir. "Amazing? Hardly." Ash frowned. "Midoriiro Ryujiin was one of the three Balancing Forces of Creation-" "Who were the other two?" Jack asked. "The Goddess Eien and the Goddess Akugou," Ash replied. "Eien...is Eternity and Existence. Akugou is bad karma...a dark force. Well she became one after her balance shifted to darkness." "I'm afraid I don't understand," he broke in again. "Everything in existence is in a balance," Moon began. "Depending on which way their balance shifts determines whether they become what we call 'good' or 'evil'." "Akugou became power-hungry and challenge Midoriiro Ryujiin for power over his realms," Ash continued. "The battle raged for many years with neither side giving or gaining any ground. Many Realms were destroyed in the process, and it appeared that there was no end in sight. Finally Akugou and Midoriiro Ryujiin had their last battle and nearly blew up all of Creation. Eien stepped in, and did the only thing she could to prevent the end of everything. She sealed Akugou's essence in a Nether Realm and then locked the realm away in a crystal sphere. The sphere became known as the Black Materia." "The Black Materia that Sephiroth has?" Moon asked. "Yes, the Black Materia...Akugou controls Sephiroth by having a subconscious link to his mind." Ash paused. "But you jump ahead. Because of Akugou the Balance of Creation was now off. Two of the Gods were more powerful, and the only way to fix this was to have Eien and Midoriiro Ryujiin lower their own status to offset the imbalance. Midoriiro Ryujiin sealed the majority of his powers in a crystal orb. But he was far from powerless. He remained an extremely strong warrior, and his ability to control the elements was still the highest of any being. This and his unusual form earned him the new name of Midoriiro Denkou Ryu. The Green Lightning Dragon." Jack looked up. "Waitaminute...I've heard of him. My Sensei used to tell me old legends. He was supposed to be an ancient warrior of unfathomable power who fought off dark forces. No one knew about his origins. He just appeared one day, and he disappeared the same way. I heard he died, but his son carried on his name." "How can a God die?" Lir asked. "Eien also made a life for herself in mortal realms, after sealing some of her power away." Ash paused. "Eien is the Sorceress Belladonna." There was a pause. Ash seemed to be coming out of the trance. "Damn," Moon hissed. "He's shocked himself out of it...quickly! We have to know what happened to Midoriiro Ryujiin!" "Midoriiro Ryujiin's powers," Ash was fading, mumbling the words. "Were locked away in the Neo crystal. As Eien's were in the Eternity crystal. The powers can only be used by the descendants..." He trailed off, and then after a few seconds shook his head and opened his eyes. "I can see why no one told me about that...whew. Takes a lot out of a guy." "The Neo crystal?" Moon gasped. "But that means...GG!...?" "You have got to be kidding me," Lir folded his arms. "The Gibbon? He's no dragon!" Gibbon remained silent, just smiling slightly. Ash was rubbing his head. "So Dad is descended from some sort of Fire Spirit Guardian-thingamajig, and Mom's a goddess?" He sighed. "Yes, let's make life more complicated!" Jack cast a look at him. "You got all that?" "Why wouldn't I? It ain't like it possesses me or anything. I have control over it." "Now I understand how I have the Eternity crystal if it's only to be used by descendants," Moon began. "And that means that GG! must be a descendant of Midoriiro Denkou Ryu." "Well, he's got the green part, and the lightning," Ash shrugged. "But I'm gonna have to side with Mr. Masked One here. The Gibbon is a gibbon; not a dragon." "Unless..." Moon tapped a finger against her chin. "Unless what?" "Unless dragon was the only way ancients could describe something like GG!. Think about it. They'd have a concept of a gibbon, one he didn't fit. And so anything that they couldn't make fit into a category was usually written off as something magical." "Something like...a dragon?" Jack suggested. "Hey...uh? Hello? I'm still here," Gibbon waved. "Don't talk about me like I'm not!" "Yes, something exactly like that." She trailed off. "But where do the Master Tools fit in then?" "Ah, I can field this one," Lir smiled. "The Master Tools are able to amplify their wielder's powers by connecting them directly to the Forces of Creation. That's all." "That's all?" Jack blinked. "Sheesh, Lir, don't under-emphasize that or anything." "But Sephiroth," Moon began. She looked at Lirsage and Jack. "I don't understand..." "All right," Lir rubbed his temples for a moment. "About one thousand years ago Akugou tapped into the mind of someone named Jarre. Jarre set out to do what Sephiroth is trying to do now, obtain the Neo and Eternity crystals as well as the Eclipse crystal. You see, the Eclipse crystal was created as a fail-safe. A gateway to the Nether Realm of the Black Materia can't be open unless the Eclipse crystal has been shattered. It's sort of a..." he trailed off searching for the word. "A triggering mechanism." "All right so as long as ol Sailor E has that crystal we still stand a chance!" Jack exclaimed. "If that's how it works than we're out of the game already," Gibbon replied. "Sephiroth's already smashed it. And as for Sailor E..." he gestured towards the other body on the ground. "Goddess...couldn't someone clean up after him?" Jack muttered. "Right, but we're not down for the count because that's not how it works," Gibbon continued. "Once the Eclipse crystal is broken the Master Tools have to be used to open the gateway. Another fail-safe." "Because the Protectors wouldn't do something like that," Moon added. "Right. But anyway, Jarre tried to free his Mistress Akugou, and the Protectors stopped him. There was..." Lir began. "Mamoru, an ancestor of K.T.E, who had the sword. Odessa who had the Ring Of Change, she was also an ancestor of K.T.E's. Through David, his father." "But I thought GG! said Sephiroth told him that he had the Ring of Change..." Moon interrupted. "Of course," Gibbon nodded. "But only to further the game. Sephiroth is a Shadow Demon-" "Gabriel Sephiroth-" Lir began cutting him off. "Gabriel Sephiroth?" Moon poked him. "You promised to explain." "I'll get to that in a moment...Gabriel Sephiroth had this," Lir unsheathed a masamune similar to Sephiroth's. "Of course he doesn't use it anymore because this is a Holy Weapon. It's very taboo for servants of malevolent dark forces to use Holy things." "And he says it so matter-of-factly," Ash muttered. "I know the rest," Moon spoke up. "There was Ashrire-kuh, our grandfather on our dad's side. He had the Blade of the Guardian. And then there was Mom. She had the Eternity rod of course." "So where do Tonia and Leslie fit into all this?" Jack asked. "And where'd that damn stick of yours come from Moon?" "They don't." Lir shrugged. "They were, pardon the expression, just pawns to Sephiroth. They were never to be players in Akugou's game." "This 'stick' as you put it," Moon began, "was created when I joined my Master Tool the Silver Crescent Moon Wand and the Eternity Crystal together." "And we assume this Jarre guy was beaten," Ash remarked. "And everything was wonderfully happy. And then, oh Akugou decides to screw with Creation again and the Psycho in the Trench coat...oh no offense Lir, drags us into it somehow....before we even know he's a part of this." "But...where do you fit into this, GG!?" Moon asked him. "My father was the Midoriiro Denkou Ryu." Gibbon replied. "I've been around a long time." He shrugged. "But I stopped going by the Green Lightning Dragon eons ago." "And Gabe," Moon poked Lir again. "Ow." He rubbed his side. "Gabriel Sephiroth was a Realm Protector. Shadow Demons are a race of demons that were created by Akugou. A Shadow Angel is a Shadow Demon that has renounced all ties to Akugou and pledges allegiance to Eien." He paused. "My grandmother, Lishia Sephiroth, came to the Silver Realm to become a Shadow Angel. When her son, Gabriel, was born he followed in her footsteps. But once he became controlled by the Black Materia he dropped the 'Gabriel', and started going as just Sephiroth. He also became a Shadow Demon once again." "And he's trying to do what this Jarre did?" Jack stood. "Well, we'd better do something about it." "This mean you're not going to kill me?" Lir asked. "I don't think we have the time right now." He paused. "Maybe later." Moon stood. "Can we stop Sephiroth, GG!?" "I hope so," he replied. "Hope isn't going to cut it," Lir replied. "We'll beat him because everyone is counting on us." "You're good with the dramatic one-liners," Gibbon muttered. "You get that from your father?" Lir smirked a little. "Maybe." "Get that from your father, too?" "So, we're off to stop Sephiroth?" Moon asked. "Yep," Gibbon nodded. "Count me in," Jack added. "I have no choice," Lir sighed. "It's a matter of family honor now." "You're starting to creep me out," Gibbon told him. "Knock it off, would ya?" "Knock what off?" Lir blinked. "Ash?" Moon asked. "I know it's hard for you but..." "I'm in," he replied. "A lot more people are going to die unless we do something. I don't want that on my mind when I try to go to sleep." "Agreed. Let's do it." Gibbon handed Ash the realm portal generator. "Try to get us in the right place this time." to be continued... first draft done November 23rd 10:13 p.m. final draft completed November 25th 4:50 p.m. ~Moon~