Realm Legends: Legend 3: Of Demons and Angels By: Chandra Rooney _________________________________________________________________________ Legal stuff: Sephiroth 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!. Used with permission. Moon Guardian, Ashrire Guardian, Lirsage Sephiroth, Nexus Jarre, 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. _________________________________________________________________________ "Everyone has got to face down the demons"-- "Jumper", Third Eye Blind _________________________________________________________________________ Chapter One: Local: The Mansion, Sephiroth Family Realm "Well, well," Nexus smiled. "Here I was just speaking about you, Zephyr, and you appear. Talk about timing. You've always had a good sense for that. Good to see nothing's changed." "Nothing?" Moon's ears pricked at the voice. It was female. From the name 'Zephyr', she would have guessed that the other figure was male. The female walked forward. She was dressed in a black leather skirt, white tank top, and a white knee-length over-coat. Her green eyes gleamed with a light of their own, and her shoulder-length hair was a silver color. "I wouldn't say that," Zephyr continued. A gun was in her left hand, hanging down at her side. "You killed Seta, my dear," Nexus returned to puffing on his cigarette. "Well, bravo. I never thought you capable of something like that." As Zephyr passed Moon, she saw the other girl had pale silver skin, and demon ears. "Now," Zephyr leveled the gun with Nexus's head. "You cure me...or I kill you. What's it going to be, Nex?" "I can't cure you, Zephy. It just isn't possible. I really thought you were going to grow up and adjust." Nexus tapped some ash off of his cigarette. "Don't tell me you're going to waste the rest of your existence hating me. We could be happy together, you do realize. We were happy before." "Before was different. *I* was different." "I doubt that. You've always been a lost little girl." Nexus exhaled. "Goddess, I don't know why they'd ever let you return to this world again. You make a wasted mess of every life you've ever been incarnated into. I suppose it's that dammed fact that one just can't seem to kill a Sephiroth." The gun lowered slightly. "What are you talking about?" "Oh, don't tell me..." Nexus trailed off and smiled coldly. "You really don't know, do you? How amusing..." Moon watched this exchange for a few seconds, then slowly cupped her hands together. "Angel Guardian who watches over the Light of Balance, keeper of the Sacred Words, I beseech you to come forth and grant me your blessing. Let your power become my power..." As she said it a spirit image of a tall woman with long silver braids and translucent silver angel wings covered Moon. In her cupped hands a ball of light formed, glowing brighter and brighter. She brought her hands to her lips, and blew gently. "...Blessed Kiss!" Nexus did turn at these words. "What in the name of the Dark Mother is going on-" He was cut short as the ball of light slammed into him, knocking him backwards. The light swelled till it swallowed him. He actually screamed. It must have been painful. That complete and total light was the most effective weapon against any demon, any being of darkness and shadows. "You really didn't think you could kill him with a gun, did you?" Moon asked Zephyr. "That, in case you didn't notice, was a Kurai; one of the Darkest Shadow Demons in existence." Zephyr gawked at her. "You...what are you?" Moon gave her a very analytical look. "Hmmmm." She nodded. "You're kuh, aren't you?" "'Kuh'?" "Kuh means 'half'." Moon waved. "You'd better get out of here fast, he's not going to be happy when he wakes up." Zephyr watched the girl walk away, the translucent wings shimmering as she turned the corner. "Wings...?" Chapter Two: "So why didn't you come to school today?" Sarah asked Lir. "Nani?" He blinked, then shrugged. "Oh, that. I didn't really see the point of it." "Well, I guess it was just a work period and all," Sarah agreed. "You must've been happy to see your friends again." "Yeah, something like that." "So, Lir...where are you from?" "That's a secret, Sarah," he told her, smiling. "Is it someplace I've been?" She asked, a little miffed by the game. "I doubt it. Not very many people have." They continued to dance for a while. Sarah tried to think of another way to ask the question. "Is it far from here?" she decided on. "Nani? Far..." he looked thoughtful. "It's far away...and it's right here." Ash shot him a warning look from across the dance floor. "What is it?" Natalie asked him. "Lir's being stupid again," he told her. "So...your costume is...?" "I'm a witch," Natalie told him. "Tonight's an important night for witches." "That depends on which type of witch you are," he told her. "Some types see no point in celebrating set date ceremonies because they change. They're never at a consistent time." She looked intrigued. "That's an interesting theory." "No, really. Time isn't a singular, linear system. It moves in many different rates. I mean how do we know that it is *really* All Hallow's Eve tonight? What proof do we have that it's not December or January?" "You're a philosophy buff, aren't you?" He shrugged. "Philosophy, occultism...it just all kinda blurs together. You need philosophy to be able to comprehend metaphysical concepts. If you can't conceive beyond what is seen then...Sorry. I didn't mean to..." "It's okay." Natalie smiled. "I'm always fascinated by what I don't immediately understand." "Really? I just get frustrated..." Moon found Gibbon hooked to a Playstation with Jenn and Steve on one side, and Leslie and Tonia on the other. "You’re pretty good at this game," Tonia remarked. "I’ve played it before." Gibbon pointed to the screen. "Holy is going to come and save the Planet from Sephiroth." "I mean wasn’t living through the whole ‘Meteor-scare’ once enough? Why would anyone make a game about it?! Who wants to be put through it again and again?" Tonia waved her arms. "People are so insensitive! Cashing in on other’s tradgies!" Gibbon looked up from the game briefly. "Live through it...?" "The worst thing is that I heard a rumor that after AVALANCHE came back from the crater Cloud Strife told a news reporter that the whole experience would have made a great movie," Tonia continued. "Okay, okay. I understand that he just saved the whole world, but he could have at least had some tact..." "But Sephiroth is so good-looking," Steve protested. "Why didn’t Aeris just go out with him?" "Because she was dating Cloud, Steviekins," Jenn told him. "But isn’t Cloud great? What is he doing with a woman?" "What guys usually do with women..." Gibbon muttered. "I hate Clod. Almost as much as I hate Soup Broth." Leslie fell off her chair. "Soup Broth! That's funny!" "But why?" Steve asked. "Why hate Sephiroth?! He has such great hair..." Gibbon grit his teeth. "Because Soup Broth kills Aeris!" "Not to mention he *did* try to destroy the whole world..." Tonia threw her hands up in disgust. "See?! This is what I mean! All this cashing in has desensitized us! I mean people are like laughing about it! And then those friends of yours come dressed as Cloud and Sephiroth..." "Soup Broth is an ‘acquaintance’," Gibbon corrected her. "A friend of a friend and mutual acquaintance. Don’t pull any guilt-by-association tricks with me." "Whatever. I still can’t believe he came dressed like that. He’ll be lucky if he doesn’t get jumped." "Oooooooooh the tv is playing a movie...look...Tonia..." Leslie pointed at the screen. "Oh, Full Moving Video!" Steve announced. "Right on!" Gibbon covered his eyes. "I...can't....look..." Moon took the opportunity to fall in his lap. "Oh he got me! He got me good! Right through the stomach! Damn you Sephiroth!" "AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Gibbon yelled, knocking Moon on the floor. "DON'T DO THAT!!!!" "What's this? A miracle! A miracle! I'm not dead!" She got up and flung her arms around Gibbon. "Now we can summon Holy and save the Planet!" "ARE YOU TRYING TO GIVE ME A CORONARY?!" Jenn and Leslie laughed hysterically, rolling around on the floor. "Oh you got him good, right on!" Steve clapped. "I fail to see the humor," Tonia replied. "This is just another example of my point!" Moon giggled. "You and your games, Midori-chan! You take them too seriously!" "Do you mind, Moon?" Gibbon looked upset. "This is an emotionally traumatizing moment for me. Soup Broth has just killed the woman I love and-" "With all respect, Moon, I think your friend Gibbon treats this matter with the severity it deserves," Tonia told her, getting up. "Everyone on this planet treats it like some kind of joke! Even Erik Black’s Dad, the mayor, doesn’t have any respect..." Everyone ignored her. Moon was still grinning from her little joke, and Gibbon was still fuming. She grabbed the controller from Gibbon, and set it down. "Sissy..." "HAH! *You* dare to call *me* a sissy?!" He exclaimed. But Moon was already wandering off onto the dance floor. "Hey! Come back here!" "Let's go find the alter room," Moon told him, once he'd caught up. "Why?" "Because...I just want to see it again." "You know, if you're *that* bored we could just leave..." "And spoil everyone else's fun?" Chapter Three: "So..." Sarah began. "You feeling all right, Lir?" "Why?" he asked. "You just seem different." "Oh. Hrm. Well isn't that something?" The song stopped. Natalie and Ash walked over. "Having fun?" Natalie asked Sarah. "Yeah. You?" Sarah asked back. "Pretty much." She grinned. "Hey you guys know what would be fun? Let's explore this place." "Explore it?" Sarah asked. "What's to explore?" "Well, everyone says it's haunted," Natalie explained. "Wouldn't it be cool if we saw a ghost?" Lir looked like he was considering this. "What about a demon? Do you believe in demons, Sarah?" "I...uh never really thought about it," she admitted. "Really?" He whistled. "You should." "Exploring, yeah, sounds like fun," Ash nodded. "Lir, a word please?" "Sure," Lir stepped away. "Excuse us, ladies." "Are you all right?" Ash asked him. "Why does everyone keep asking me that?" "Oh I don’t know, Lir," Ash began sarcastically. "Maybe because you’re acting about two steps away from meteor-summoning-level-crazy." Lir frowned. "Really? I was trying for actual meteor-summoning-planet -destroying- level crazy. Oh well, practice makes perfect I suppose." "Lirsage," Ash folded his arms. "What are you up to? And don’t think I won’t kick your ass if the situation requires it." "Up to? Well, I think about 5’9" or 5’10"." The reply was accompanied by a small smirk. After a few seconds a more serious expression replaced it. "Look, not once have we been attacked of even approached by any demons since we got in here. You know why, Ashrire? It’s because they just might by some absurdly small chance think that I’m my father. I’m relying on that tiny, next-to-nill chance to keep us from being approached until *I* want it to happen. No Shadow Demon I’ve seen yet would have the brass, or the rank to even think of coming near Sephiroth unless invited. But we’re going to lose that advantage as soon as they discover who we are." "You should have just let me in on the plan, Sephiroth," Ash replied. His volume increased a little. "Don’t you trust me?" A girl with blue eyes and black hair looked up. Ash took note of her, and filed it away. They’d caused *one* to show itself. "Of course I trust you," Lir replied, nodding slightly at the girl. "But it wouldn’t have been any fun if I’d just told you, Cloud." Ash smiled at the girl, and Lir gave her the once over, but nether spoke. She’d take the invitation and follow. They walked back over to where Sarah and Natalie were standing. "What was that all about?" Natalie asked. "Guy stuff," Ash shrugged. "Private matter," Lir added. Moon and Gibbon wandered over. "Gibbon and I are going to the alter room." "Alter room?" Natalie asked. "There’s a room on this floor that has an alter in it," Gibbon told her. "Or at least it did at some point." "I want to see it!" "Moon, a word please?" Ash waved her away from the other others. "Nani?" Moon asked, coming over. "Hey, are you taking everyone aside tonight, or something?" "Only those I really like," he replied. "What’s up with the wings?" Moon blinked. "Oh...I cast my Guardian summon spell. It must be the side-effect. Are they really noticeable?" "No, I doubt the human eye can see them. You cast a what spell?" "A Guardian Summon," Moon replied. "And what exactly is a ‘Guardian Summon’ spell?" Ash asked. Lir walked over. "You know, there’s a time and a place for magic lessons-" "Stuff it, Lirsage." Lir looked hurt. "I came over here to explain something to you, and this is the greeting I get?" "I thought you were coming over here to annoy me," Ash replied. "A Guardian Summon," Lir began, "is a magic spell that calls the caster’s spirit guardian forth to inflict damage on one’s opponent." "Oh, gee, that helps." "It’s simple, baka. Really, really simple. That’s probably why you can’t get it." Lir smirked. "Oh, I suppose you’ve cast the spell." Lir shook his head. "Are you kidding? Goddess only knows what would happen." "Huh." Ash scratched the back of his head. "I guess I’ll have to try it sometime." They walked back to the others. "Somebody is going to start wondering if we don’t stop these private chats." "Well, why don’t you stop calling them?" Lir asked. "Say, Moon...is the Eternity rod still broken?" Moon thought back to when she had fought Akugou. Calling the Light of Balance to help her defeat the Goddess had caused her Master Tool to snap in half. "Yes, Lir," she nodded. "Everyone else’s weapons are still in good shape," Ash replied. "We just don’t know how to fix the Eternity rod." "I don’t think it’s something that can be fixed," Moon said softly. "I wouldn’t worry too much about it," Lir consoled. "Off to find adventures in some old haunted mansion, then," Ash muttered. "One condition, can we put on normal clothes?" Lir asked. "You would not believe how uncomfortable this jacket is." Chapter Four: Sarah waited with Gibbon and Natalie. Moon, Ash, and Lir were talking back and forth. "It’s almost like he’s a different person," Sarah told Natalie. "Who? Lir?" Natalie asked. "Yeah. He’s just so...not like *him*." "Well, you don’t really know him. I mean apart from sharing a class at school, and c’mon, *no one* acts the same in school as they do out of it. There are rules to make sure of that." Sarah was silent for a moment. "What about Erik Black?" "Don’t mention the prince of darkness in my presence," Natalie replied. "Bad vibes are now circling us." She managed a weak smile. "I don’t know if he’s *that* bad...but he’s close." "Yeah," Natalie nodded. "Maybe not Satan himself, but definitely one of his right- hand-slime-monsters." "Yeah." Sarah looked back at Lir. "But he’s so different." "Maybe it’s the costume," Natalie suggested. "No, this is something else. I mean he’s different, but it’s a familiar different." "Maybe he just reminds you of someone." "Yeah, that must be it." They were coming back. "We’re going to get into some normal clothes," Ash told them with a smile. "Nani?" Gibbon looked up. Sarah noted he was eating what looked like a cookie. "Normal clothes, out of costume," Ash repeated. "Tell which part doesn’t make sense so I can explain." "But I like my Honey costume! I look so cute, and it’s very comfortable and non- restricting," Gibbon protested. "Y’know, Gibbon," Lir began, "if you continuously dress in drag, people might start to think you’re odd." "Well that’s not *my* fault! I certainly can’t control what other people think of me." He swallowed the last of his cookie. "Besides, I’m very comfortable. You two should try wearing a skirt every now and then. It’s so refreshing-" He was cut short as Moon grabbed his arm and pulled him away. "C’mon, Midori! You’re wasting time." "I guess I’m just not fun enough for that sort of thing," Lir remarked with a smirk. "We shouldn’t be too long." "There was only that *one* time," Ash was saying as they walked off, "and I was unbelievably drunk. Unfortunately there are pictures to prove it." "Just once? Try growing up with your sister and Gabriel as your closest friends," Lir told him. "It explains a lot of why I’m so messed up, y’know." "I wonder what normal clothes would consist of," Sarah muttered. "I’ve only seen him in his school uniform." "I can’t wait to find out," Natalie told Sarah. "God, he’s really hot. Y’know, Ash’s really hot too. Jeez, where are these guys from? I definitely need to go there." "I don’t know," Sarah told her. "I really don’t. Lir wouldn’t answer when I asked." "Oh well, maybe it’s the costume," Natalie shrugged. "The whole no-shirt thing." "Must be." "Damn, don’t look now." Sarah knew what that meant. Erik Black had found them. "Of course," she groaned. "There’s no way to get away from him. He finds me everytime." "Bad vibes...he feeds off them," Natalie muttered. "Hey, Natalie." The red-haired boy smiled and gave her the once over. "Lookin’ good tonight, girls." "What do you want, Erik?" Sarah asked. "I want to take you for a moonlight drive up to the mountains in my convertible," he grinned. "Whadda ya say?" "Sorry. I’m busy." He wasn’t put off. "You are not. You’re just standing around." "We’re waiting for some friends," Natalie told him. "You’re not one of them. Leave please." "You’re waiting for those two weirdoes who came dressed as Cloud Strife and Sephiroth." Erik concluded. "Now, tell me, who in their right mind would dress up like that? Coupla freaks I tell you." "You have a problem, or are you just looking for a fight?" "Don’t flatter yourselves. You dames ain’t worth it." He ruffled his hair. "Just thought I’d do my good deed for tonight and offer my esteemed company to a coupla lonely broads." "Go look outside," Sarah snapped. "I’m sure there’re some old ladies you can help cross the street." "You watch your mouth," Erik warned her. "Don’t you forget who my father is. I could make life very hard for you." "That sounds like a threat," Lir’s voice interrupted. "Threats usually lead to someone gettin their ass kicked around," Ash added, coming up beside the girls. "You girls holding your own here? You look like you’ve got it under control." Sarah turned to tell him he was damn right they had it under control. She certainly didn’t need to be saved by any knight-on-a-white-horse. Polite and subtle or not, it was what he was suggesting. But she didn’t snap. She couldn’t. She recognized him now, and wondered how she hadn’t before. He was *the guy*. His white-blond hair was still in the Cloud-style, but that’s they way it had been. It was probably the style it was always in. Blue cargo pants hung over his black boots. The green sweater was the same as it had been that day. Dark twilight blue eyes stared down at her, and she knew that he didn’t recognize her. "What?" he asked, staring back down at her. She quickly looked behind him. Sure enough, Gibbon turned out to be the green-haired boy that had approached her those few months ago. Lir, why he was the one that Gibbon had used as a reference when asking if she’d seen that guy they were looking for. And hadn’t she directed them to this house? Hadn’t this been the house where all the weird lights and noises had come from that night? And wasn’t someone missing from their group? There had been another boy. The red-head with the hat. What had happened to him? "You don’t remember me..." she began. Erik was slinking away. It was a well-known fact he never stayed to finish what he started if he didn’t think he could win. "I’ll see you around, Sarah." "Screw-up," Natalie muttered. "Remember you?" Ash asked. So he had heard her. "Remember you from where?" Sarah remembered she was still in costume. They couldn’t recognize her. She had this black wig on, and she wasn’t wearing her glasses. "We met before; well, we didn’t really meet," She explained, reaching up to take off her wig. "You were looking for that guy? And your friend Gibbon here asked me if I’d seen him?" "I’ve never been here before, Sarah," Ash replied. "You must have me confused with someone else." "Here? Here! You don’t even know the name of this city do you?" "Don’t be ridiculous," Lir broke in. "Of course he does." "And you-" she whirled on Lir. "I can’t believe you’ve been here three months and I didn’t realize who you were!" A panicked look flashed briefly in his eyes. "Who I am?" "What are you doing in Nibel?" she asked. "And who was the guy you were looking for? I can see this place from my apartment. I saw all those lights. I know something strange happened the night you came here!" "The night... Whoa," Natalie jumped in. "You mean the night the power went out all over town? You saw something, Sarah? And you never told me?" Gibbon’s eyebrow raised. "Nibel?" Moon looked at him. "Nibelheim?" Sarah put her hands on her hips. "Just where are you people from?" "Wutai," Gibbon shrugged. "I’m from Wutai. Didn’t my name give it away? Midori Saru?" "And you, Lir, are you from Wutai?" Natalie asked. "No..." he looked at Gibbon. "No, I’m definitely not from Wutai." "Lir was born here in Nibel," Gibbon explained. "But his father took him back to Midgar. That’s where Lir’s from. Midgar. His dad worked for ShinRa." Sarah blinked. "Oh. I guess I can see why you didn’t say anything. Ever since Meteor people have tried to forget that ShinRa ever existed." Lir nodded finally. "Hai. My father died...back in Meteor’s time." "Was he a ShinRa employee?" "For a while," Lir replied. "Ash and I just got in from Midgar today," Moon joined the conversation. "The four of us met there a year ago. We all went to the same school." "I thought you said you were from Wutai," Natalie said to Gibbon. "I am." He replied. "I was an exchange student to Midgar." "I didn’t know they did that..." "Oh sure. Everyone wants to get out of the country and see the city, don’t they?" "So why’d you come to Nibel?" Sarah asked Lir. "A big city boy like yourself, I’d think you’d be better off in Junon." "My family traveled a lot. My Dad keep us on the move. He...suggested this place. He...had some real fun times here." Lir smiled. "Hell, yeah. Lots of fun times." Moon giggled, catching on. Gibbon had caught on too, but he just gave Lir a displeased look. Ash, being the only one who had no idea what was going on, just give him a blank look. "Really? Nibel’s not considered a normal party hot-spot," Sarah shrugged. "Look at this lame one." "Oh, trust us, no one ever called Lir’s father ‘normal’," Ash finally clued in. "What was your father’s name?" Natalie asked. "My parents own the Inn. Maybe they’d remember him." Ash snickered. "He’s a hard fellow to forget..." Moon elbowed him. Lir replied waited a long time before answering. "I doubt they’d know him. He’s not own to give his name out to just anyone." Sarah couldn’t help but notice the catch in his voice. He had been going to say something else. "Well, I’m in the mood for some exploring," Ash announced. "Let’s check out the cellar!" Moon suggested. "Nani? There’s nothing down there but dust-- I imagine." Ash smiled. "Won’t hurt to look," Gibbon added. "Any idea how to get to it?" "It’s this way," Natalie waved. "I’ve seen the stairs." "To the basement," Sarah muttered, following. "Damn that was close," Ash whispered. "Thanks for covering, Gibbon." "I didn’t cover. If Final Fantasy VII really happened in this world...well then I basically just hinted that Lir is Soupy’s kid." Gibbon shrugged. "Oh, well. I don’t think either of them know their history well enough to piece together vague hints." "This is the place Dad burned to the ground," Lir told Ash quietly. "That’s why I said he’d had some fun here." "I don’t get it...our family home’s realm is a Mobius...and yours is FFVII?" "What would you expect considering what we are?" "Oh," Ash considered. "You have a point." "To the basement," Moon pushed them along. "I know why you want to go there," Gibbon announced. "You wanna see if Vincent is there!" Moon grinned. "C’mon, GG!, don’t you at least want to meet a friendly FFVII character?" "Not Vincent. I wanna meet Cid." "We’re not in Rocket Town." "We could go..." Ash and Lir looked at each other. "Do you ever feel like they’re speaking another language sometimes?" Lir asked Ash. "At least you don’t have to live with her," Ash replied with a shrug. "Not yet, anyway." Lir smirked. "But who can tell what the future holds?" Zephyr watched the two boys walk after the others. He’d been watching them since they’d come back. So this was Lir. This was his brother. This was what he should be. "I’ve been cheated out of my true form...and my family," Zephyr whispered. "And this fool wanders around without a care in the world; save someone discovering he’s not really of this world. Dark Mother! It’s not fair." "It’s not fair," he repeated, cradling the gun that had ended Seta’s life against his chest. "But one thing is true...he can’t tell what the future holds. I won’t let this injustice continue. Nexus...my brother...they will pay. I’ll see to it." End of Legend 3 To be continued in Legend 4 First Draft completed 3:53 pm Jan 1st 1999 Final Draft completed 9:43 pm Jan 9th 1999 Okay, there was more suggestive stuff in there, wasn't there? Uh, in case you were wondering there are plans for Jack to be joining us, don't rush me. I hope that Legends can move a little slower than Sagas did. I'm really gonna to try to not contradict myself (oh, as if possib!). As of yet I have not received any death threats or flames so I guess either no one is reading Legends, or things are all going just okay. I can't even remember what this one was about because I'm already writing Legend five. so I can make the official announcement here: Yes more FFVII characters will be making appearances! There is soooo many things I can do to, I mean WITH, that game... Suggestions? Complaints? Death threats? send em to me ~Moon~