Welcome to Adventu, your final fantasy rp haven. adventu focuses on both canon and original characters from different worlds and timelines that have all been pulled to the world of zephon: a familiar final fantasy-styled land where all adventurers will fight, explore, and make new personal connections.
at adventu, we believe that colorful story and plots far outweigh the need for a battle system. rp should be about the writing, the fun, and the creativity. you will see that the only system on our site is the encouragement to create amazing adventures with other members. welcome to adventu... how will you arrive?
year 5, quarter 3
Welcome one and all to our beautiful new skin! This marks the visual era of Adventu 4.0, our 4th and by far best design we've had. 3.0 suited our needs for a very long time, but as things are evolving around the site (and all for the better thanks to all of you), it was time for a new, sleek change. The Resource Site celebrity Pharaoh Leep was the amazing mastermind behind this with minor collaborations from your resident moogle. It's one-of-a-kind and suited specifically for Adventu. Click the image for a super easy new skin guide for a visual tour!
Final Fantasy Adventu is a roleplaying forum inspired by the Final Fantasy series. Images on the site are edited by KUPO of FF:A with all source material belonging to their respective artists (i.e. Square Enix, Pixiv Fantasia, etc). The board lyrics are from the Final Fantasy song "Otherworld" composed by Nobuo Uematsu and arranged by The Black Mages II.
The current skin was made by Pharaoh Leap of Pixel Perfect. Outside of that, individual posts and characters belong to their creators, and we claim no ownership to what which is not ours. Thank you for stopping by.
"Turk girl" He heard the man call her. Which implied he knew her. Well, pushing his third wheeliness aside, Caius resumed his assault on the monster. With one final strike from himself and the other man, the daemon would go down. Kicking himself off of it's body, Caius would backflip off them and land on his feet. As he watched it evaporate, Caius couldn't help but feel some satisfaction at taking out another of these daemons. Damn things, still a problem no matter where he went... And probably still hurting people.
With the weight on his shoulders lifted with the monster now dead, it was time to deal with the rest of the goblins. It didn't appear he needed to worry though, as the woman had already disposed of them. Walking toward them gingerly, Caius realized he recognized her after all. The woman from the tavern, who he'd shared stories with. The other man though, he didn't recognize. But it seemed that they knew each other judging by his remark earlier.
Realizing he was the odd duck of the group made him wish Celes was around.
Back on guard when the laughter pierced the wind though, Caius would turn when he heard the voice of the person he was just thinking about - Celes. Who had begun chiding him for apparently being winded.
"Nah, Cel. You know me better than that" Caius would remark with a cheeky grin just out of habit, thumping his chest as it took a moment for him to question Celes being here. If she'd been here, why hadn't she gone after the Iron Giant? She would have rushed here the moment she heard the fighting, knowing her. But she was far too calm for that.
Was something wrong with her? Was everything alright?
He didn't get a chance to ask, though, as she would claim she had a camp and turned to beckon him to follow. Having no reason to distrust Celes, Caius would turn to the other two in the group.
"Right, so this is Celes. She's my partner, who I told you about" Caius spoke toward Cissnei, his expression brightening instantly. "The one who's helped me out bunches.
We should-"
Caius looked toward where she'd been, but she had disappeared.
"Celes?"
It was very unlike her to leave him behind if he delayed, he thought. She couldn't have gone far, right? Turning to the other two in order to indicate they should get going. It'd be good to rest, and regroup with Celes, they'd have a far better chance of surviving with her there.
But the two of them seemed... Distracted, and Cissnei seemed to be muttering something. "Oi" Caius would remark toward them. "Didn't you hear me? She's going to leave us behind."
There was a chilling, high pitched laughter in the air.
Zack paused in his steps through the thick foliage, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. He turned to look back at where the Iron Giant had been dissipating, noticing that the mist had collected into a plume, swirling there in the air. He shuddered as the haunting laughter chilled him, down to his very bones. Like the temperature around them had just dropped from spring to winter. Slowly, the cloud of mist moved upward and onward, toward the northern sky.
The forest around him was more still than it had been, even the sounds of the Turk’s movements had gone quiet, it seemed. Zack had trouble convincing his feet to move, his eyes glued to the scene behind him still, where the giant had been. Why was he having so much trouble moving on? There was a familiar feeling snaking its way into his heart, a sense of dread. Something felt off. The Soldier gripped his hands into fists, his senses trying to pick up on anything. Everything around him was unnatural, the silence, the chill.
A soft glow warmed the darkness for a moment, Zack’s head slowly turning to the source of the light, his own glowing eyes wide with caution. Upon meeting a familiar, blue-eyed gaze, Fair felt his heart plummet to his gut, his throat tighten. There, in between the limbs of the trees, held steady by two, beautiful wings was Angeal. Angeal. Zack’s jaw dropped, his eyes locked with his mentor’s, the familiar, deep and soft tones of Angeal’s voice just barely disturbing the natural silence of the woods.
His hands were shaking.
Cryptic as he ever was, Angeal only offered Zack the briefest of glimpses into what he was thinking, before he began to fly away, down further into the forest. “Wait, wait!!” Zack cried after the retreating figure, ignoring the way his dry eyes stung, fueled by the surge of adrenaline from his fast beating heart. Out of everyone in the world he’d been wishing to try and find, to see still existed, to talk to, to touch, to laugh and smile with, it was Angeal. Zack’s breathes came faster and faster in the cold air as he picked his feet up, and began to make his way in the direction that Angeal had gone.
Until another voice entered the clearing.
“Is that all you got?”
The Soldier froze in his steps. He turned on the spot, rubbing the pain from his eyes, focusing on where the familiar voice had come from. Behind the blonde man was the very person he’d temporarily mistaken him for. Zack was stunned, his hands falling uselessly to his side. He watched as the powerful, blonde woman spoke directions calmly to the other man, before beginning to walk through the brush. Zack blinked his glowing eyes once, twice, his mind running a million miles an hour, the problems of enemies in the forest the furthest thing from his mind.
"Right, so this is--.”
“Celes,” Zack whispered under his breath, finishing the man’s introduction quietly, his eyes still locked into the brush where she’d vanished. His shoulders slumped as the realization dawned upon him -- he had to choose. Choose to follow after Celes, badger her why she didn’t even say hello to him, or choose to chase after Angeal, the man he’d chased for years, who meant so very much to him. He’d been looking out for both of them, all this time in the world, and hadn’t seen hide or hair of either of them. Angeal, never. Celes, not in a long time.
The fellow swordsman, though, he and Celes knew each other. He mentioned them being partners. Zack swallowed those particular feelings for now, and hoped that asking for some forgiveness in the future would help to temper any anger Celes felt towards him. As the blonde man mentioned going after Celes, the Soldier shook his head, and pointed a thumb southward.
“I … saw a buddy of mine, down that way. I’ll be right back. Go catch up to Celes, and tell her Zack will be back soon!”
That’s all he could manage to get out, as Fair felt his throat tightening with the surge of emotions that threatened to cripple him. He turned southward once more and began to run, ignoring whatever shouts or warnings the others may have yelled towards him. His heart was threatening to pound out of his chest as he ran, boots trampling through grass, over sticks.
“Angeal!” He shouted into the darkness, glowing eyes searching for any trace of blue eyes or white feathers. The familiarity of this very action was threatening to choke him, the desperate ache of his heart and instinct screaming please be him, please be him this time. How many times had he chased after any hint that Angeal was alive, despite having ended the man’s life with his own hands? How many times had he thought he’d seen Angeal out of the corner of his eyes, or sworn the man was helping him somehow? How many years had he believed, believed so strongly that Angeal was still there, for him?
Zack’s boot caught on a root and sent him toppling to the cold, forest floor. As he rolled, the air knocked from his lungs, he slowly came to a stop in the thick brush. His skin stung from the fall, elbows covered in dirt, but the Soldier felt numb. His eyes burned, and as he blinked, he realized why. Two tears trailed down his sweaty face, onto the grass below. Zack grit his teeth, taking a deep, but shaky breath, and pushed himself back to his feet.
He looked around desperately, realizing that he couldn’t see anyone around. There was nothing but darkness, inky blackness and the occasional white feather floating in the breeze.
“Please, stop…,” Zack quietly begged, placing one dirty hand on his forehead, the other clutching the fabric of his uniform at his chest, “Stop leaving me behind!”
His common sense had fled, chased off by crippling desperation and immeasurable sadness. He glanced around, before hearing his name softly spoken, “Zack…”.
That was all it took. Zack pushed off of the soft ground once more, chasing, chasing, hoping, ignoring all the pain he’d felt from every other time he’d tried this and failed. Further and further into the forest, following the trail of angel’s feathers, even as reality and sense tried to pull him back, tried to convince him otherwise.
He’s dead. You killed him. He can’t be here. The forest does this, remember, remember!
At some point, Zack stopped running. Catching his breath, he wiped the cold sweat from his brow, before glancing back toward the darkness. The forest felt colder here, somehow, and the longer he stayed still, the more the chill dug into his bones. Feeling uneasy, Fair gripped at the hilt of the Buster Sword as it dawned on him: he had no idea which way he’d run. Blue eyes glanced around, watching, waiting. It was quiet, it was cold, and he was alone.
All alone.
“... Shit,” Zack spat, hanging his head as he realized the amount of danger he’d just put himself in, “I shouldn’t have run off. Not even after you, Angeal.”
If it was up to me, I'd rewrite history, and change my destiny. One last time.
((Warning: Disturbing imagery and gore is in this post.))
Cissnei was trying to collect her thoughts, and her breath, about what was going on. Those goblins were looking for something. Females? That was consistent with what the villagers were saying about their female relatives. She felt a shiver go down her spine. Rumors said they were pulled here by some unheard call. Much like herself. She felt her thoughts racing and then suddenly she looked from where she saw the man in black to where Caius stood. His voice drew her out of her thoughts as he told them of Celes’s appearance.
Caius’s mood seemed to change drastically at seeing his friend. And it appeared Zack knew this lady, too. She debated on what to do next. Follow Caius for this Celes person? Or go on ahead as bait? But she would be interrupted as Zack seemed to get overly antsy about a friend he saw. Cissnei felt like her tunnel vision had kept her from seeing either of these figures Caius and Zack mentioned. What was going on? Something felt off about all their friends showing up.
However, before she could bring it up, Zack turned tailed and ran in the direction he saw his friend go. “WAIT!” Cissnei shouted trying to snatch his arm, only to miss as he seemed to run headlong in the rapidly darkening forest. She gave a frustrated growl, knowing in her heart that when he was like this there was no way to get him out of his frenzy. But how did she know that? She must have worked with him before.
She shouldered her backpack off and scrounged to find a small, collapsible lantern. Opening it up, the wick inside was oiled and with a snap of her fingers, a spark snapped a flame to life in the lantern. She closed the hood and put her pack back on. “Go ahead and meet with Celes, Caius. The thing in these woods is looking for women, and she may not be safe alone. I will act as bait. As for our other friend…” She shook her head, “…it is going to be too dark to track his movements…hopefully he can find his way back to you and Celes.”
With that Cissnei turned from Cauis walked in the direction she saw the men in suits. She knew it was a trap. Every hair on her prickled up at the danger. The woods even seemed to close the path behind her. When she looked backwards the brush seemed to be fuller and the path nonexistent. Well, no going back now.
The forest became eerily quiet as she cautiously lifted her lantern to shed its pale glow. She heard buzzing flies grow louder and louder. It was the only noise in this silence, and it made her skin crawl. Then the stench hit her. Oddly enough, it was a scent she was familiar with, though she wished it were not. Her eyes darted around to try to catch any sort of movement in this growing darkness. However, this caused her to not look forward. And she ran into something soft and the buzzing swarmed.
Cissnei shuddered for a moment. Her eyes closed and she tried to swallow the lump in her throat. Mentally, she tried to prepare for what she thought she was going to see. Her eyes opened, and she was face to face with a pale ghoulish countenance. She shoved off the body, which hung crucified to the tree. The surprise caused her to stumble backwards and drop her lantern. She felt her heart in her chest as the lamp extinguished and she was back in total darkness.
That had to be one of the merchants’ girls. If that was the fate of one…then…
All of a sudden, the pyreflies swarmed, shedding their light on the other trees. There were many women attached to the trees in various ways. Some hung by a rope around their waists. Some pinned to trees by their wrists. It was as if someone had tried to splay them in some beautiful artistic vision. Their eyes were wide open and glassy, but their faces looked serene. Large black, fat flies swarmed around their ears and nose.
“Oh no…” Cissnei knew they were too late for the ladies, and the town would be devastated. The most they could do now was to ensure the threat was stopped. She heard that same eerie laughter that chilled one to the bone when the iron giant fell. The pyreflies swarmed again over the women and they changed before Cissnei’s eyes.
What she saw caused her to tremble. She was unable to get up from her knees as she looked on wide eyed. They had transformed into the sins of her past. Something she thought she forgot when she arrived here. But now…now she remembered the blood she shed.
The Wutai children that died by her indirect actions were now on the trees. They wore their traditional garments covered in blood, burned, and riddled with bullet holes. One was missing a limb. Some wore the earthy-toned AVALANCHE uniforms that she struck down to save the Planet. Or the civilians of Coral that got caught up in Scarlet’s crossfire, as well as the cave-in she was unable to stop there. They all stared down at her with those wide open eyes. She cried out in alarm.
But what tore at her the most was the fact the dark-haired man that saved her from the iron giant pinned on the tree just beyond the others. How could that be?! Didn’t he go the opposite direction? Certainly, this was a trick… Yet there he was, riddled with bullet holes and bleeding out. She stumbled to her feet and went to the tree he hung from and she trembled as she neared by. “ZACK!” She cried out in absolute horror. She heard whimpering and she realized it was from herself.
Her breath escalated, and her hands became entangled in her hair as she tried to make sense of this. She had failed him here? She had failed him before? Then the memories came flooding back. How she let him run in hopes he could outrun ShinRa. But she was wrong. She should have reasoned with him to come back with her. If only she had known Tseng’s thoughts in wanting to aid the two. If only she had been quicker…If only she did not fail. If only she knew the repercussions of her actions, then he might have lived...
She felt hot tears stream down her face. All of this. All of these bodies were her fault. But this one hurt the most. And it felt like she failed again a second time. Frantically, she moved to find a way up the tree to get the body down.
A voice called out to her.
“Cissnei. You did what you could.” She turned to the masculine voice. It was almost soothing in her frenzy. He stood at the entrance of the hut and he held out his hand to her. The light behind him made him look like nothing but a long shadow. That was a familiar voice. “Let’s return to HQ.” As if in a trance, she began to walk to the figure. Broken and mentally exhausted, she gave it no second thought.
--------
The breeze picked up around Zack as he hung his head. The persona of Angeal landed with grace on the ground. His wings did not stir up wind as one would expect. “Seems you lost your pride. Need to talk about it?” Angeal stood there almost too still. Too quietly for a moment. “Maybe a little more than your pride too?” The SOLDIER stood his feet apart as he peered down at his student, allowing for a soft smile.
There was a faint inhuman chuckle from somewhere. And the vines from the trees seem to creep up to Zack’s ankles, as if trying to crawl up his legs and entangle him while his attention was set on Angeal. The darkness almost seemed to be thickening around the area like a dark fog to further disorient.
Caius quirked a brow when he heard the faint semblances of Celes' name from Zack, or at least that was what it sounded like. Did he know her? Or was it just a coincidence they knew someone of the same name? It was clear by how they interacted that most likely, Zack and Cissnei knew one another. And now Zack might know Celes? This was just getting more and more weird by the day. But if they knew each other, why didn't she acknowledge him? He was right there, and Celes didn't seem the type to just ignore the presence of someone she knew like that... If anything, she overly acknowledged whoever was there, seemingly with a good deal of scrutiny a lot of the time. Was she just having an off-day? Was she actually scared of this forest? He had thought Celes to be damn well fearless most of the time, but... He supposed everyone had skeletons in their closets.
But it was when Zack would run off chasing someone, and then Cissnei would tell him to go see Celes and run off herself to meet someone she also knew that caused the lightbulb to go off.
Something was wrong here. Celes being here, sure, she traveled, she was independent of him, they did jobs separately sometimes. There were always odds of them meeting up somewhere. And sure, maybe, while it was far fetched, someone Zack knew being here was possible. But for all three of them? That was a bit too far-fetched to believe...
As Cissnei ran off, Caius considered his options. He knew that Celes wouldn't go far. She was used to groups. She would stop if she realized Caius wasn't following and odds are come right back. The Returners, The Dragonblades... This was her forte. Perhaps Caius just thought too highly of her to think it even remotely possible that she would not keep tabs on the group in a place like this, but he had absolute confidence that she would be right on his tail if he decided to keep the group together. Calling out "Cel! They ran off, I'm going after them, let's go!" to where she disappeared just in case, Caius would head off in the direction that Cissnei had gone, not having left her much time to run before he'd gone after her. Though when he did catch up, the sight of the hanging ladies would cause him to pause, staring up at it a moment with eyes wide.
"Shit" He muttered, a bit taken aback but attempting to shake it off as he would continue on. It seems they had found those merchant ladies, or... What was left of them. It seemed this would not be a rescue mission, most likely. Caius couldn't help but blame himself just a little for not getting here sooner. But odds were, they had been dead before they had begun. The next thing he found were children, which caused a pit to form in Caius' stomach. Now this one hit him harder. And what were these uniforms? They looked like they belonged to soldiers of some kind, as they seemed suitable for combat. The mercenary tried his best to bury it, but the grit of his teeth indicated that he was steadily beginning to boil over in anger. Caius was going to kill something or someone, he had very much already decided on that.
But a cry would get Caius' attention, one coming from the woman from before. Taking off at a run, he would finally catch up to her and stop when he saw the sight of the kid from before, strung up to a tree. Caius quirked a brow. He had gone in the opposite direction, hadn't he? Something was off here. Not only had he gone all the way in the opposite direction, but there was nowhere near enough time between when he had left them, to have been brought all the way here, killed, strung up like this...
Turning his head, he noticed that Celes had still not caught up. Also off. And that guy that Zack had gone after? Also not here. Also odd. And then some other guy showed up and called for Cissnei to return to HQ.
Wait, other guy? HQ?
As Cissnei strode forward, Caius would finally catch up to her and grab her arm. The man's garb was the same as hers, so if he had to guess, he was a member of the group she had talked about in the story prior. She had indicated she had yet to find a new home before, and that she had been banished from the Turks. So this made no sense. The more Caius thought about it, the more the whole thing didn't make any sense.
Unless...
"It's me" Caius whispered to Cissnei, trying to keep her calm as he would try to keep her from pulling away or going toward the figure any closer. He didn't trust them one bit. "I don't think any of this is real" He would admit softly. It was certainly possible, but... This was all a bit too much to be believable all at once. And this right in front of them didn't line up with Cissnei's story before.
Thinking back on how conversation with Celes before, the one he had told Cissnei about, he could see the look in her eyes after what she had seen, the cry she had uttered before. His features softened as he would desperately try and gather together quickly what to do. Not completely thinking straight, he finally just pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her tight.
"It's okay, none of it's real" He spoke softly. He knew that now, most likely. But if the kids and the ladies before, and now her reaction to Zack, were anything to go on... She wasn't doing so hot right now. Maybe he would have tried some other physical method to comfort her, played with her hair or something. But that felt a bit personal. Something that would become a bit of a joke later. "It's gonna be okay. Zack went the other way. We're going to go find him. I promise."
Celes still hadn't arrived, and knowing Celes, if someone had tried to stop her... She would have made quite the loud scene about it. Celes and "go quietly" did not go together. It only strengthened his theory about what this forest was doing. His eyes darted to the one that had tried to get her to come with him, and he shot them a steely glare. He didn't draw his weapon just yet for fear of startling Cissnei, but he was ready to fire if they came any closer.
Zack didn’t realize it was possible for the darkness to somehow grow even thicker around him. The chill of the forest crept underneath his skin, threatening to steal what little breath he had away. He felt like suffocating as the indescribable cold filled his lungs, crawling its way into his very bones. It filled a part of his mind with a sense of dread; something animalistic and feral, his most basic of instincts. That part of him that screamed to turn around and run, despite having no idea which way he’d come from. Even as his glowing eyes glanced around in the inky, blackness, he could see almost nothing. He could hear nothing. Not even the rustle of leaves, nor the creak of ancient wood.
The Soldier worried at his bottom lip, unable to remove his hand from his sword, his only sense of protection and warmth. The Buster Sword weighed down upon his freezing body as a reminder; he had strength. Zack blinked a few times, attempting to take a few, calming breaths into his frozen lungs, needing to ground himself.
He mentally counted down, to ease his nerves. 10… 9 … 8…
Hadn’t this happened to him, all that time ago? He’d chased Angeal into this very forest, but it hadn’t been his mentor that time either, had it? It was nothing more than an illusion, a ghost of what he wanted most. Zack recalled the dread he felt back then as well, as he was trapped in the trees with Celes and Rude. Oh, Celes. He’d left her behind, in order to chase after a ghost. Why didn’t he go toward the sound of her voice?
7 … 6 … 5…
Even behind closed eyes, Zack was beginning to feel himself ground more to his situation. The cold air around him seemed still, and the atmosphere was silent. But, even in a forest, that shouldn’t have been possible. There had to be some source of noise, some flow of air. Was he stuck in an illusion? What was real, and what wasn’t? The monster he’d been fighting what seemed only moments ago was certainly real, even as it dispersed into curious little lights. Were the other two people he was with real? The red-head certainly was; he’d held her warm body against his own for a short time when he’d kept her from becoming cleaved in two.
4...3...2…
Zack released a held breath and opened his eyes, squinting through the darkness. His nerves had calmed, if only slightly, and he felt less like an animal ready to run until it died of exhaustion. He released his near bone-breaking grip on the Buster Sword, instead throwing both of his hands into his hair and ruffling it restlessly in an attempt to feel something physically.
...1…
Swallowing, Fair turned on heel, ready to attempt to try and find a way back to his companions, ready to shout in a feeble attempt to see if they could hear him. However, instead of meeting more disturbing, inky darkness, Zack found himself nearly eye-to-eye again with Angeal. He’d just landed on the ground, silently, his blue eyes bearing down into Zack’s very own. The younger Soldier froze on the spot, blinking feverishly in an attempt to wipe away what he saw in front of him. His mind spoke up in a tiny voice; remember, remember, that’s not him. Yet, his heart beat furiously, forcing a tremble up his fingers in uncertainty.
“Seems you lost your pride. Need to talk about it?”
Zack opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He hung his head, unable to wipe away the idea that the man in front of him was an apparition. No, not the idea, but the truth. But, if he looked up and locked eyes with Angeal, he knew he’d be dragged right back down into it.
“Maybe a little more than your pride too?”
Angeal gave him a soft, understanding smile. And Zack broke, all over again.
He clutched at the front of his cotton uniform, gloved hand digging into the fabric just against his chest. Zack heaved in a breath through the drowning cold as the man before him continued to give him that truly understanding look. Fair laughed sadly, as life twisted yet another freezing spike into his heart. He barely had memories from his past. Everyone he reunited with was sad, in some way. He had no idea how to get home, or how he was even alive. And now …
“I lost everything, Angeal,” Zack admitted weakly, a broken smile spreading across his face, stretching the scar that the very man in front of him had given him, “ … You’re not really here. But I keep chasing after you anyway, man. I didn’t lose my pride, I lost my friends.”
Angeal’s blood on the edge of his blade. His mentor lying on the ground, surrounded by white feathers, bleeding out into the concrete as the stars shone overhead. Crossing swords with Cloud on the top of a train, nearly losing his head, fighting through the injuries. Waving good-bye to his dear friend, unsure when he’d see him again. And he hadn’t. Turning around, time and time again, to see a beautiful young woman with blonde hair right behind him. Her stubborn, flushed cheeks when he smiled at her. Losing Celes in that crowd in Provo and losing his way, sure that he’d find her again. But he hadn’t. Finding Sephiroth, of all people in the world, but receiving an oddly cold shoulder. Confusion. The man didn’t remember things that Zack did, and Zack’s memory was hardly reliable but … The aloofness. The confusion. The discomfort. It wasn’t the man Zack could vaguely recall sharing stories with, inviting out for a bite to eat; the man who gave him a rare, understanding smile and allowed him to do as he needed.
There were more. He knew there were more. But, Zack couldn’t remember them all. He’d lost all of them.
An inhuman chuckle quickly snapped Fair from his thoughts. It was as if a fog in his own heart parted; the cloudiness of all of his losses, of his confusion, his true, inner feelings underneath the sunny personality he tried to wear at all times. Yet, he swallowed it all as his senses became rapt with attention at the chilling sound, as the darkness seemed to grow thicker around him still. As if there were nothing around at all, but himself, and the shadows.
There was a sound so subtle that Zack nearly missed it. The barely-there squeak of a vine. He drew the Buster Sword in an instant and slashed at the ground near his legs, chopping at the foliage that was starting to twist around his legs and his ankles. No, he remembered this! The forest had done this to him once before! It dragged him far, far away from his friends and into another nightmare. Zack slashed more and more at the growing vines as they attempted to wrap around him, but no matter how much he seemed to fight it, there were just more.
The more, hardy vines burst forth from underneath the ground and stubbornly wrapped their way around his ankles, crawling up his legs at near record speed. Zack tried to move to break them and get away, but it was to no avail. They were holding him in place despite his harsh movements and aggravated yells, and as he took his free hand to try and pull them away, it was snatched from him as well.
Shit. This wasn’t good. The Soldier whipped his head around, noticing that darkness had fallen completely around him once more. Angeal was gone. He was alone.
“Argh!” Zack cried out as the vines tightened around him the more he tried to wriggle himself free from their grasp. With one hand still on the Buster Sword, he fruitlessly attempted to chop at the base of the vines, but it was no use. They were too thick, and still wrapping around him more and more. Gritting his teeth, the Soldier focused, and attempted to activate one of the materia he had stored in the sword’s slots.
… But, nothing happened. He felt weak. Zack cursed, as the familiar sense of panic filled his heart again.
I can’t die here … I can’t! There are people waiting on me!
If it was up to me, I'd rewrite history, and change my destiny. One last time.
Cissnei was lost in her own mind and did not quite notice Caius. At least, not at first. But she grew angry suddenly. As if it was drawn from some irrational well inside of her. Something that was angry at his soothing tone and comforting hug. For a moment, she was a bright red. One might think she was embarrassed. But no, the wrath boiled over.
“Not real…” She balled her fists and glared fiercely at him, trying to shove him away. Her hands on his chest to actively shove him with all her strength. “Not real?!” She trembled with anger, unsure why she felt it so strongly. “It was very real when I did it to them.” She hissed at him and gestured to the illusions of her victims that the pyre flies cast over the dead women. “I did it.” Her voice trembled.
“And now, they are back to haunt me. It is my turn to pay the price.”
With those words the dead bodies all seemed to rattle and shake as if they had a second wind. The bodies began to wail and moan together. A weird cacophony of death music. Shadows seemed to move as they were being absorbed into the man in the suit at the threshold. The thing stood unwavering and just eerily watching with an accepting hand outstretched to Cissnei.
“Let me go, Caius.” Cissnei stated firmly. There was a strange, wild aggression in her eyes that she would attack Caius if he did not release her. It was as if a part of her was obsessed or charmed by the shadow creature. Her mind battered and softened with this torment, the shadow man had but to use the few enticing words to ensnare her. A soft fog seemed to lift from the ground to obscure the figure and the rest of the forest. All around there seemed to be giggling. Then, in one direction it was screaming. In another, there was a sigh.
The dead bodies in the tree had the pyre flies drop their illusions in a soft haze that fell away like glowing rain. Only the pyre flies danced and flew around the bodies again. This time they took on Caius’s past. His family now appeared where the bodies were – bloodied and disheveled. Those he killed when working for his captors appeared contorted in the trees. Each one a terrible homage to his memories.
-- The fake Angeal melted into the darkness and out of view as the forest ensnared Zack. The plants curled more tightly around his limbs and seemed to be sucking the stamina out of him. The easier to eat him one supposed. From the side, it seemed Angeal lunged out of the shadows to finish the job that he started. His face was contorted in a sickening smirk, even unnatural for an illusion.
But just before Angeal’s fist could land, a tiny ax fell through him. There was a stunned expression on Angeal’s face, as he turned to see what struck him. The illusion dissolved into the dispersed light of pyre flies, revealing a smaller ghost-like figure with a pumpkin head slicked through the middle. It gave a sad little laugh-cry before evaporating into the night air. Its last vision was of Zack’s hero…
A little moogle wielding an small ax.
It floated over to Zack to try to cut him loose from the source of the forest. “Are you ok, kupo?” It chopped another vine away, “You should get out of the forest. Its not safe at night, kupo.” It was cutting away the vines and they shriveled back at whatever essence the moogle channeled into its weapon. “I have friends on the way. You’ll be ok, kupo.” The moogle worked on trying to drive the vines back. It’s pom glowing a soft red light, and it seemed a bit sad at what had happened at the forest.
As soft-hearted as Caius could be, his body wasn't the same and the larger mercenary barely budged at the shove. He listened as Cissnei got angry, ranting about the people in front of them, the people she had killed. Claimed they were back to haunt her. When Cissnei requested her release, while he was hesitant he granted her wish and released his grip on her. But when the bodies began to meld with the suited figure beckoning her forward, Caius gingerly grasped her hand. His grip wasn't hard enough that she couldn't easily break it. One good tug and it would be broken. Instead, it was a reminder of reality, of what was real and what was there to support her. He didn't know Cissnei well, but she had given him an opportunity to open up and relieve some of his grief. The least he could do was stand by her. And be something to anchor her from trying to approach the shadows.
But the fog began to obscure their opposition, and Caius took a deep breath as though to steady himself and prepare for the possibility of attack from the fog. But instead, a familiar scream caused brown pupils to shrink as his hand fell from hers. He knew that scream. It had been a central part of reoccurring nightmares for years now. When the fog faded down, the bodies had been replaced with bodies that Caius knew very well.
They were the ones he had killed. The ones he had ended without wanting to. It had been the bandit's orders. Kill them, or they would kill his own family. Caius had killed and robbed, and hurt. And in front of him, it was all there again, contorted in the trees. And then his own family as well, a grim reminder that he had killed those people for nothing. He had lost his family regardless, the bandits had killed them in cold blood anyway.
Caius knew this had all been a long time ago, in another world. He knew it wasn't real. He had said as such himself. But Cissnei was right... What had happened was real. And this illusion-bearing forest had touched a nerve that should never be touched. All rhyme and reason left him as an inferno of fury raged in his eyes, complimenting the flames that sprouted from his hands in the form of twin fireballs. Clenching his teeth, Caius balled his hands into fists as the flames engulfed both of his hands. All he could see, all he could hear, was what he had done, and that it had all been for naught. Those memories, memories he had tried and tried to push away, to accept... Had been stirred again and all he could think about was the fact that he wanted it to go away.
The next few words were spoken in a hiss so calm and blunt it was almost unsettling.
Zack grit his teeth harder as the vines wrapped around his wrists and arms, wrestling the Buster Sword from his grasp. The heavy sword landed in the grass with a heavy thud as the Soldier continued to struggle against his bonds, the wooden edge of the vines digging into his skin. He took his a large breath as the foliage snaked its way up his torso, working its way toward his neck, gently squeezing. Stay calm. Think! There’s gotta be a way out of this!
Optimism could only go so far, though. The more the vines ensnared him, the weaker Fair began to feel. It wasn’t lightheaded-ness from the vines cutting off circulation to any of his limbs, or constricting his air supply. It felt like the kind of exhaustion he felt after an entire day training with materia. A tiredness that lingered on the edges of your spirit, rather than your physical body. Zack moved his fingers, twitched his legs, but he began to feel completely trapped. Caught, like a beast in a snare.
The Soldier’s head lolled to his shoulder, unable to properly hold it up as he took breath after shallow breath. Before him, in the shadows, something took shape. His glowing eyes widened, mouth opening into a silent shout as the form appeared; Angeal. There was something terrible about the expression on his face, twisted into a monsterous smirk as he moved, heavy fist raised. Zack stared at him in horror as the seconds seemed to drag by, each minute movement agonizingly longer than the last.
“Stop!” the strained plea fell from his lips as Zack twisted in his binds, unable to take the loss of stamina, his failure at being tricked by the forest, burdened by his own foolishness -- that awful, awful look on not-Angeal’s face. However, just as he thought the finishing blow would land, a sickening thud broke through the deafening silence of the forest.
Zack’s mouth fell open as he saw the axe blade deeply embedded into Angeal’s torso. The illusion turned to look back and see what struck it, but Fair was temporarily dazed. That wasn’t the real Angeal, but it certainly looked like his mentor, and the man suddenly had an axe through his body.
The illusion melted into a bunch of strange, glowing fireflies; just as the armored monster they’d fought before did.
What was left behind, though, was something Zack never expected to see. A moogle. It floated over to him, axe in its tiny hand, little pom glowing softly. He stared at it, dumbfounded, tired, and mentally taxed as it squeaked out some reassurances.
“Are you ok, kupo? You should get out of the forest. It’s not safe at night, kupo.”
“I, uh…,” the Soldier mumbled as the moogle hacked away at the vines that were holding him tightly. The more the little creature stabbed at them, though, the more they backed off, freeing him bit by bit, giving him back his strength. Zack grunted, reaching down and grabbing the Buster Sword again so he could assist the moogle in freeing him.
“I’m -- I’m okay, thanks to you,” he finally mumbled a response out, sincerely, as he ripped away decaying vines from his dark shirt. The forest was finally granting him a reprieve, as Zack was able to step out of the snare of vines with only a few still stubbornly hanging on. His mind was racing as his energy slowly replenished itself, and the Soldier turned his full attention to the moogle.
“I have friends on the way. You’ll be ok, kupo.”
Zack shook his head, finding his priorities as they should have been in the first place, before he fell for the forests dirty tricks. He looked to the moogle as he tore the last of the vines from his skin, a silent plea hidden in his blue eyes, “I -- I can’t leave yet. Can your friends help me with something, please?”
The Soldier bit his bottom lip in shame, frustration heavy on his shoulders as he bowed his head, “I left my friends behind, chasing after … Well, I -- I made a mistake, I should have stayed with them. I’m worried. If this happened to me, something may have happened to them, too.”
“Can you help me find them? Please?”
If it was up to me, I'd rewrite history, and change my destiny. One last time.
When released, Cissnei will cautiously glance at Caius with suspicion. Once she felt positive, he released her, she turned her eyes back to the shadow amongst the fog. She could hardly see him except for the silhouette, despite how dark the forest was right now. Shakedly, she took each step forward, not bothering to take notice of Caius. The demon waited for her, while it filled Caius with irrational rage.
Its illusions were finely painted in this dark canvas. The forest helped fuel its power. The fear and anger helped whet its appetite. But it only needed one more to bring her out of the picture. One more for her to feed upon and then she could be free of the frames that held her.
He reached out to Cissnei and she took his hand. Cissnei felt fear rise in her as she realized that the illusion of Veld fell. Instead, she was greeted by something similar to the grim reaper. Tall and looming, the gaunt dark robed figure looked down at her with nothing but a dark abyss for a face. Before Cissnei could even react or cry out, Chadarnook simply whispered, “Sleep.” Cissnei swayed under the magic and then failed to fight against it. She collapsed to the ground, or at least partially. Her wrist was still in Chadarnook’s hand as he dragged her body across the ground and into the cabin. “Have dark dreams of your deepest desires. You can have them for eternity.”
Inside the hut was a portrait of a beautiful brown haired woman, suspended in heavenly clouds. But despite the elegant portrait and the gorgeous furnishing, unexpected of this establishment, there was an altar stained with blood.
---
As Caius raged, the pyre flies and hallucinations around him continued their illusions. The stench of death filtered in on the breeze. The buzzing of flies became louder. Even has the fog thickened, sounds started to become louder. Whispers from the fog began speaking to him, “Why?” They asked him, “What have you done?”
“Why did I deserve this?”
The ghosts moaned and cried. The lives that were ended to soon. The lives that the King was trying to spare from the darkness, but Caius had put there before they could even see the glimmer of that hope. Lives he took because he thought his family and his life weighed greater than theirs. “Now you want to burn us?”
“Will that help you forget us?”
Suddenly, these ghosts seemed to be silhouettes in the fog, surrounding him. Taunting him. “What did we do to you?” Finally, a silhouette lunged at him and attacked. A goblin came at him from the side with a knife, laughing grotesquely at him. It was reveling in this torment. Then a second goblin came from another direction to attack from behind. There was rustling all around him. Possibly more goblins. Or more ghosts. Or more something in the fog.
---
The moogle floated weightlessly and watched closely as the man seemed to regain strength. He seemed to be okay, if not a little dejected. But, everyone makes mistakes. It was just lucky for him that Ruffletuft was there. “There are others, kupo? We can’t let them stay out there alone. We will help you.” It stated with a nod. Despite being devoid of expression due to its fuzzy nature, it seemed to nod and flutter in anticipation.
There were some noises in the brush, and the moogle turned to face it, seemingly without concern. Out of the brush came two glowing poms. The one with the glowing blue pom wielded a bow. Then another with a white pom with a curved staff. The axe wielding moogle flew up to them and seemed to commune with them in dance and gentle talk. After a few minutes of this, the group turned to greet Zack.
The axe wielding moogle nodded to Zack. “I am Ruffletuft Kupta Kapa. The one with the blue pom is WoolyWart Kupu Kogi, and the one with the white pom is Furryfoot Kupli Kipp. We have heard the forest whisper, and we know where your friends are, kupo. This way!” There was no time to lose! The moogles knew what dangers encroached their forest.
With that Ruffletuft and the others flew quickly passed Zack, expecting him to follow.
Post by Caius Dragelion on Sept 9, 2019 22:20:50 GMT -6
Suppose this world isn't so terra-ble.
@blacksuit Auron Word Count: OOC: The cruelest thing for a person to admit. Dialogue Color: 196fd1 Party Sprites Credit
"I am a monster."
There was a calm, foreboding tint to his voice as he spoke those words, made that admission as he watched the figures come at him. Figures that resembled those that haunted his dreams, those whose lives he had snuffed out. He knew they were not the real things, but the fact this forest and it's denizens wore their faces incited him, yet he couldn't help but face it head on like every monster, every daemon he had faced before. He had been hardened over the years that had passed since then. He only hoped that the time that had hardened him would be able to get him through what he needed to do now.
"I was the monster that lay in the dark, waiting for the passerby trying to survive, holding out hope that the King would save them."
Caius held out a hand, calm despite his rage, and launched the fireball at the first figure that lunged at him.
"And I snuffed them out."
His words came in a hiss, it was a bitter admission yet it was there. He couldn't deny it. He couldn't ignore it. All he could do was accept it.
"I killed them all" He confessed to the monsters that lunged at him, another fireball from his other hand launching the next monster back. Even if they wore the faces of those he felled, he still remained steadfast in his offense. No matter how much it hurt, no matter how much every inch of his being screamed inside with every movement, he kept going. It wasn't real, he had to keep telling himself. They were memories, brought back by monsters. It was hard, but he kept his resolve sharp. Or at least visually. But that little twitch in his leg as he moved, that jittery little way his head darted here and there, betrayed the battle that was going on inside. "They will never see the light that the Chosen King returned to bring to our world. They will never see the light that I worked so hard to help pave the way for. Because I made a decision that killed them -- and I found nothing but emptiness and loneliness in return."
He drew his sword, knowing there were more. He didn't know how he knew. He just knew. Maybe he was just starting to lose his mind, maybe he was just paranoid. He didn't know. He didn't care. He gritted his teeth, his expression remaining fierce, yet stoic. His tone remained dry, yet the seething rage still could be felt under the surface of every word he spoke.
"They will never be able to rebuild their homes. Have families of their own. People mourned them, and I took those people, those loved ones, away from them. And I've had a long time to let that sink in."
And a lot of drinks, at that.
He uttered a seethe under his breath as he strode forward. As calm as he seemed, he still held every desire possible to kill everything that dared drag these memories up. He knew he could never escape them. Only make up for them. And these spirits, monsters, whatever they were... Were in his way.
"I promised the rest of my life to righting my wrongs" He admitted, unwavering as he held up a hand when he could see the next set of monsters coming. "No longer will you lay in the dark as I did, and snuff those lives out. To ensure no creature is allowed to do what I did... That is my penance."
A much larger fireball began to erupt in his open palm as he steeled his resolve to utter one final, defiant word.
