Chapter 1: The Storm -------------------- An incredible storm was minutes from arrival when the thunder first boomed. Crack! It was bound to be a doozie. As the storm came over land, the rain began to fall. Slowly at first, causing no more than a light "pat pat" on the dirt. Maybe it wouldn't be so severe. A couple minutes later, lightning began to touch down, striking the highest trees all around. Thunder crashed every constantly, loud enough to be heard across the sea. Shortly after, the "pat pat" sounded more like a thousand footsteps rumbling along the ground. The ruins were getting hard hit after all. ------ After Scythe finished his conversation with Kaz, his last bit of sanity left him. Realizing what was to come shortly, he began to tremble as it managed to set in. Kaz remained, unmoved, chanting a few words, while Scythe remained motionless, shaking with fear. "... Now you must depart." "Yes, my Lord." In a brilliant flash of light, Scythe felt himself dematerialize, vanish, and get knocked out cold. What was going on? ------ Meanwhile, the remains of Kefka's Tower were in the process of being pummeled with an abnormally vicious rain, when the lightning truly began to go crazy. Strike after strike, nothing was safe. The thunder tried to compete by lashing back with incredible force, enough to deafen any creature. Many fires tried to break out where the trees were being stricken by the huge bolts of electricity, but all were smothered by the torrential rain, competing for its own supremacy in the monstrous storm. With the rain, came the wind, throwing around the flood falling from the ominous looking sky, knocking over the trees, and possibly, blowing the storm back to where it came, which was the ultimate prize. As the atmospheric battle continued to wage, an enormous, searing blast of lightning struck the ruins themselves, resulting in a uproar of sparks and debris. The thunder cracked, and the ground moved, shaking with its own meager fear. With the blast, the rain stopped. The wind died. The battle was over. That was all for Scythe's homecoming party. ------ Awakening from his deep sleep, Scythe was terrified immediately after opening his eyes. He appeared to awake in a pile of large, jagged- edged rock. He turned from side to side, trying to get a glimpse of his surroundings without actually getting up. Whatever it was, his new body hurt everywhere, as if it had fallen from a cliff. The rocks around him seemed damp, as if a storm had just hit. How did he get here? "Where the hell am I? ... What the hell am I?" he was puzzled. He was lying on his backside, staring at what looked to be an ocean above him. From his point of view, it was a huge blue dome which contained this world he supposedly arrived in. He noticed there were some puffy white patches under this dome which seemed to do no more then add an array of color. "I wonder what all this is? Hmm.. Too strange for me, but I guess I should get up and take a look." is what he finally arrived at. Turning around on to his stomach, he pushed himself off the rocks with his arms, turned around again, and made his first attempt to stand up. It failed. With a searing pain shooting through his knee, Scythe fell, flat on his ass. He realized what a test his life would be until he found those damn pendants and was finally able to return to his homeland, which he rightfully felt there was no reason to leave in the first place. More thoughts began to run through his mind. The pendants? What was he to do about them? Where was he to find them? There was less than half an answer to these questions. All he could recall was Kaz mentioning Flare being "above" or "higher" then the rest of them. He said they were probably somewhere in the mountains. Somewhere in the mountains.. What the hell was he to make of that? That could mean any mountain range in this world. Scythe thought about this, and became very dismal, placing Kaz up there on his list of beings that pissed him off. Even more thoughts began to run through his mind, however, they were more encouraging. Kaz picked Scythe, above all others, to go on this mission. Scythe, being the most respected under Kaz's command, was usually saved for the more challenging expeditions which required someone with a strong inner-self, a stable mindset, and someone capable of handling the pressure. Not to mention his skills with all type of swords, knifes, blades, and the occasional magic. Scythe had only experimented with magic a few times while in his haven. Magic caught Scythe's interest like nothing else. Someday, he had hopes of discovering magic of his own. Magic which he could use for his own purposes. Scythe slyly grinned at the thought of the power at his fingertips. He marveled at the images of people standing before him, focusing their lives on him. Still smirking, Scythe heard Kaz's voice. "'Are you forgetting the point of your mission!? You are not there to impress people, let alone interact with them! ... ...'" "'I am sorry, Lord. Please forgive me, ... ...'" Fearing Kaz's authority, Scythe would never think of disobeying his Lord's orders. He had a measure of respect for Kaz, who, despite his tendency to piss Scythe off, always seemed to know the right things to say at the right times. "'... ... I.. I.. I really think I am scared, my Lord.'" "'Scythe.. We are all scared. You will be given the sword ... ... It is called Eternal. ... ... You will shape our destiny. ... ...'" This silenced Scythe, and nothing more could be said. His own dreams of power immediately dispelled from his mind, and reality set in. He never really thought about Kaz's words. He never saw the meaning behind them. Things began to come clear. Still, Scythe remained confused and exhausted. "I'm too tired. Where should I go?" he asked himself. As numerous questions flooded his mind, Scythe slowly began to doze off. He questioned himself, as to what he was doing, and where he was going, and why he was going there ... Catching himself before falling off the rocks he laid upon, Scythe shook his head vigorously, trying to shake out the cobwebs. Rubbing his eyes, and letting out a tremendous yawn, he decided that the best plan of action would be to retry his attempt to stand up on his hurt knee. With one last sigh, Scythe moved. "Here it goes.. Again.." He turned around onto his stomach, pushing his upper body away from the rocks, placing his legs underneath him, and pushed up. Without any pain, Scythe rose for the first time in his new world. As he turned from side to side, the scene before his eyes was more shocking then anything they had been exposed to before. "Amazing! Where could I be?" Standing majestically upon the ruins, Scythe stood tall upon his place on this world. His long, glistening silver hair blew into his face, catching the breeze which so lightly caressed his cheek. His gray, armor like vest shone in the glorious setting sun. The golden hilt of his sword, Eternal, glared at him as he looked down, toward his feet, which themselves were covered with jet- black material. He raised his head, and searched for the setting sun. "What a beautiful scene. This is nothing like the havens." he thought. He was referring to the gorgeous sunset, glowing crimson and bright orange. It cast a dim red light across the plain he was seemingly upon. But, standing there, admiring the scenery, he noticed the rock. There were piles of rock every way he turned. He was standing upon one himself. Numerous piles surrounded his. "What is this? It's almost as if something was destroyed." he concluded. Taking a closer look, he noticed some of the rock seemed charred, and covered with a black soot. "And burned? But.. how?" Unable to come up with any answer, his mind shifted toward other items. There was a brisk wind now, stronger than the breeze he noticed before. He glared at the darkening sky, puzzled by the physical things he was seeing in this world. He heard of the sun, the sky, and trees, which he could see none of. Scythe became thankful for the wind, as it seemed to blow away the doubts he had in himself and his mission. Everything was set before him, and now it was time for him to do his part. The pendants were waiting for him in this world, this new experience. There was little, if anything stopping him now. With a renewed spirit, Scythe stood tall, leaving his slumping behind him. He was here for a reason. Glancing down at himself, the hilt of his sword caught his gaze. Eternal remained sheathed at his side. He knew he could feel a certain power emanating from the blade, sending a tingle throughout his body. It left him with a feeling of refreshment, but also sent a shiver up his spine. He smirked at the thought of power returning to his mind, and realized there was nothing wrong with that. He outstretched his hand to the golden hilt of the sword. His grin remaining, he slowly removed the blade from its sheath raising it in front of his face, between his eyes. He squinted at the glaring luster of the cold metal. He could feel the blade pulse with an unseen power like no other. He stood, eyes fixed on the crimson glow swirling around its edges. As the blade pulsed with power, he felt himself pulsing with the same. An arisen strength arose in him, overflowing within him, pushing to get out. This sword, Eternal, was by far the most impressive blade Scythe had ever laid eyes upon, and to someone with the expertise that he had, it was an exciting feeling. Admiring the blade from all angles, Scythe took a special notice to the crimson aura surrounding the blade. Was it getting deeper and brighter? According to his eyes, it was. He felt that pulsing power flowing through him even stronger, and it was growing. Growing very fast. Although Scythe found ecstasy in this feeling, it worried him somewhat. Trying not to worry about anything at this point, Scythe dejectedly put his sword back into its sheath. The sun was out of sight by now, and darkness was falling over the land. He wouldn't be going anywhere this day. Cursing at his fate, Scythe decided to examine the rocks around him more closely. He didn't notice anything especially out of the ordinary, or anything other than the soot. There was some strange writing on some of the rock though. He could make out very little of it, however, and it all seemed irrelevant. He saw: "Three Godde..., " which was cut off. He saw a lot of K's on one particular clear stone. Each was written in a different color. The stone itself was a beautiful piece. Cut perfectly, and creating a dim light around it, Scythe decided it was worthy being kept. Placing it inside his vest, he continued his search among the rocks. Coming upon a black stone lying at his feet, Scythe bent down to pick it up. The tingling sensation he sensed from Eternal again increased, this time to a much greater level. Ignoring it once again, Scythe looked at the bright black stone in his hand. As he prepared to dispose of the seemingly plain stone, he took notice of some bright white writing on its backside. Turning the stone over slowly in his palm, the writing became clear. K.. E.. F.. K.. A.. Glaring at his finding, Scythe remained, unmoved by the writing on the plain black stone. Finally, he recognized the name Kefka. Kaz had told him much about this Kefka. "So... It is him." he muttered to himself. Remembering what he had been told of the destruction of Kefka's Tower, he knew exactly where he was. Lifting his head, and staring at the sky, he screamed, "MAY YOU ROT IN HELL FOREVER!" Listening to the echo of his cry, Scythe winced as an incredible force seemed to be overtaking him. "Damn! What's going on!" The force that was overtaking him wasn't necessarily a bad one, but it was a strong one. He felt his strength increase with the force, and his mind become vicious. Then, the beast roared. Swirling around, Scythe was no more than five feet from a great mantis-like beast. Taken by shock at what he saw, his first movement was to grab at his sword. The monster roared again, and moved closer. As Scythe reached for his sword, the creature was already closing in much faster then he would have liked. Walking backward, away from his pursuer, Scythe unsheathed Eternal. From the moment the blade was removed from its holding, a brilliant crimson light filled the dark sky. The Mantis quivered at the sight, crying desperately as the light overtook him. Scythe saw this, and with his fear no longer present, he raised Eternal high above his head. The Mantis squirmed away from the fight, and Scythe, continuing his backward trot, laughed victoriously, admiring the sword he wielded. As the beast sped away, the bright light in the sky dimmed, and the crimson aura surrounding the blade diminished as well. Scythe continued to walk backward while sheathing Eternal. As the sword was returned to its home, Scythe turned around and continued walking in the same direction. But, he was too late.. The rock had ended already, and he was falling ten feet to the ground. The ground closed in on him quickly, and Scythe was knocked unconscious as soon as he hit. Laying there, defenseless, a dream state set in. * - * - * "Damn, I'm smooth.. Falling like that.. I'm gonna feel this one in the morning." Scythe said as he woke from his short lapse of unconsciousness. Trying to get up, he felt great difficulty doing so. Something was holding him down. Something he couldn't see. What was it? "What the hell?" he wondered. He heard a humming chant coming from around the boulder beside him. And from behind him. And above him. Everywhere! He screamed, "Where are you coming from!?!? STOP!!" Please stop!!" He felt something lurking over him, something trying to take him over. Whatever it happened to be was pushing its way into Scythe's mind, defining his thoughts and dreams. Something was trying to brainwash him. "Who are you? Where am I? Let me up!! NOW!!" he screamed as hard and loud as he could. Suddenly, all light disappeared. He was left, unable to get up, in pitch black darkness. Scythe screamed again, more desperately then ever, "Ahhhhh! Who are you!?!? Let me up!!" He finally realized there was no use in screaming or yelling, or moving for that matter. Whatever had a lock on his mind was getting stronger, and beginning to take over completely. Scythe felt all rational thought leave him, when, suddenly, a scene unfolded. Scythe felt himself flung around onto his back. Staring into the jet- black sky, two light flashed. Each on opposite sides of the sky above him. A long hallway materialized before his eyes, and each light seemed to focus on it. A figure appeared to be walking quickly down the hallway, toward him. Scythe watched in agony as this all appeared before his terrified eyes. Never before had he ever seen anything quite like this, and he never wanted to see it again. As the figure reached the end of the hallway, the lights went out, but the figure of the man remained as bright as ever, and brilliant red, green and yellow elaborate clothing did nothing to dim his image. Scythe stared at the man for awhile, and the man returned the gaze. Scythe felt the power trying to take over his mind coming from this individual, who seemed so close, so near.. Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, Scythe realized who he was dealing with. Why he did not realize this before, he did not know. "YOU! MANIAC! LEAVE ME ALONE! Haven't you already caused enough pain?!" Scythe shouted. The man stood, motionless, and from nowhere, he let out the most heinous, devious, maniacal laugh Scythe ever heard. "MWA HA HA HA! MWA HA HA HA!" "NO!!" Scythe felt his mind leave him. * - * - * Scythe awoke screaming, tears filling his eyes. Never before had he experienced crying. It was cold, and raining. He didn't go back to sleep.