| Shake and Oddity's CYOA |
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Western Border Territory “We can’t afford to deal with this demon, now! Right now we should really be concerned with consolidating Edge’s leadership over the thieves!” Edge nodded at Cloud, clearly relieved, “But Sabin brings up an interesting point. Who knows what Ganondorf and Zidane had hidden away!? Sabin, please take Auron aside and tell him how to get to both of those rooms, his skills of observation are peerless!” Sabin took Auron aside and started to instruct him while Cloud turned to Edge, “You need to tell me everything about these lieutenants you need…” Edge nodded his head, “Alright, I’ll get right down to business then. Ganondorf had 5 key lieutenants under himself and Zidane. Only one of them is sure to join me. He has been one of my closest friends for years. His name is Orlandu, otherwise known as Thunder God Cid. He’s an extremely powerful swordsman, I am sure he will side with me. Then there is M. Bison. He is one of Ganondorf’s most loyal lieutenants, I need to get the drop on him and have him executed. He will never follow me. Another one is General Leo—“ “General Leo? I thought you said he was a Lieutenant?” Cloud interjected. Edge chuckled, “Hehe… Leo always had a strange fancy that everybody call him General Leo… even in casual conversation. We’re just an organization, there is no rank of general in the Den of Thieves. Ganondorf didn’t see the harm in it and neither did Zidane, so we all just call him General Leo. But he’s also very hard to predict. General Leo loved Zidane like a brother and would have followed him to the ends of the earth. But I don’t know if he would follow me… He was always concerned overly much with honor. He may hate me for not dying in Zidane’s defense. And, of course, I can’t forget his closest friend, Seifer, he uses a weapon very similar to your friend Squall’s. He, too, is a lieutenant, but he is even harder to predict. Seifer was very loyal to Ganondorf, I know I can’t get him on my side without Leo. And even if I have Leo, he may still not join us. How those two remain close friends despite their differences, I’ll never know. It all depends on how strong that friendship is…” Edge sighed, “Finally there is the wild card, Raziel. He just recently became Ganondorf’s fifth Lieutenant. I have absolutely no idea how he’ll respond.” Cloud started to question Edge in more detail. Meanwhile, Sabin had informed Auron of the whereabouts of the two rooms. He had also taken the liberty of directing him to the Great Hall, the place he was sure Edge would head for first. But Sabin wasn’t quite done, “Alright, now you know how to get there. But let me tell you this. Ganondorf always keeps two fanatically loyal ninjas outside his room. You probably won’t see them…” Sabin paused for a moment, he seemed to be analyzing Auron, “Scratch that last part. You’ll see them… Don’t worry too much about them, they’re really top notch guys but they’re nowhere near your level. Just make sure you don’t try and enter his room before dispatching them. They cannot be reasoned with, I cannot stress that enough. Don’t even try.” “They will not see another day, put it out of your mind,” Auron reassured the man “Alright, but they’re not the ones I’m really worried about. I’m really worried about Zidane’s room, I don’t know anything about what he uses as safeguards, if he even has any. Just make sure you’re very careful. Oh yah… one more thing… if we have to move from the Great Hall you’ll never find us… but I think this little trinket should help!” Sabin pulled out what seemed to be a miniature screen with an antenna on it. He flicked a switch on the thing and a little dot appeared in the center while a steady tone came out of the machine. “Alright. You see that little dot in the center? That’s this…” Sabin pulled out of another pocket a small 6-inch disc, “Handy little doohickey, this thing is amazing. It attaches itself to metal and… well… that’s not important right now. What is important is that I will be carrying this. That tone you hear… it won’t be solid when you’re out there using it. It will be pulsing either very fast or very slow depending on how far away from us you are. If you want you can turn the sound off with this switch,” Sabin gestured at a dial on the device, “and just go by the screen. Any questions?” Sabin handed the device to Auron. Auron just shook his head, “I’m ready.” Cloud and Edge had finished their conversation as well. The party followed Edge down the stairs. As they strode down the empty hallway and down some more stairs, Edge couldn’t help but think that he had forgotten something. “Hey, where did Biggs go?” Sabin asked. Edge stopped cold, “DAMMIT! That coward has probably alerted the whole Den by now! We need to get to the Great Hall fast! If we’re lucky, Orlandu will be there with some troops.” “Here is where we part ways, then. I have to go down this side corridor to get to Zidane’s room.” Auron commented. The rest of the party ran on while Auron headed towards Zidane’s room. He was especially wary of this one, seeing as how he had the least information on it. Finally he came to Zidane’s door. After examining it closely, he stood to the side, turned the door knob and kicked the door open. Nothing horrid came flying out to face him. Auron silently laughed at himself, What did you expect, that he would keep some fearsome beast in there? There was a mini-corridor that led into Zidane’s room. Auron started to walk in, but then suddenly leapt back. Close one… I almost didn’t recognize the false wall in time… that’s a trap alright… but where is the trigger? One of the walls of the mini-corridor was false and upon closer inspection, Auron found that the trigger to the trap was a loose floor stone that reacted to pressure. A lesser man might have turned back at this point in fear of more traps that he couldn’t recognize. Auron was no lesser man. He drew the Murasame (largely to protect against projectiles) and leapt over the trigger. His eyes flickered wildly all around the room: the ceiling, the chairs, the desk… Auron found nothing to suggest more traps. Methodically he began to examine every inch of the room for anything useful but in the end he came up empty handed. Zidane must really treasure his privacy… Great Hall Edge, Vivi, Cloud, and Sabin rushed into the Great Hall. This was a place of feasting and dancing, there were four enormous fireplaces on opposite walls. The Great Hall was immense, the well worn long table seemed to remember the jokes and cries of merriment in each stain of ale. But the Hall was ominously silent. “This is bad… there is nobody here. That means they’ve all gone to fight for somebody else!” Edge despaired. “You’re right…” A raspy voice came from the shadows, “Where have you been Edge?” A pale skinned man stepped out from behind one of the massive pillars. A massive sword was sheathed on his back. He wore a scarf around his mouth and his eyes cast a hazy glow. “Are you with me, Raziel?” Edge had a hard look in his eyes. Raziel hesitated before responding, “Yes…” Edge looked honestly surprised, “Why? What is happening?” Raziel explained, “Just an hour ago, Biggs came in here panting and spilled the beans to everybody. You know information moves with the speed of light here. M. Bison sprang immediately into action, he rallied a third of our forces and started to take over sections. General Leo wouldn’t stand for that. He and Seifer gathered as many men as they could and marched against him. Some demon started burning their forces, though, and in the confusion Bison attacked them. The demon fled the battlefield as Bison crushed Leo and Seifer, once they were dead he took what little forces they had left for his own. I heard about this last, of course. Upon hearing about Bison’s victory I decided to come here and wait for you. I obeyed Ganondorf but I can’t stand Bison. Most of our forces are still scattered around the Den, waiting to see who will come out on top.” “What about Orlandu?” Edge inquired. Raziel talked a little more, “Ah yes! Orlandu… I met him on my way here. He told me he heard about the whole affair when he was on the demon’s trail of destruction. He was the one responding to its incursion, you see. When he heard how Bison had seized control he decided to go slay Bison. I tried to convince him to come here and wait for you, but he was determined to bring Bison to justice!’ “How many men did he have with him?” Raziel smirked, “Why do you think I told him to come here with me? He didn’t have any troops…” Edge was enraged, “WHAT!? That arrogant FOOL! How can he hope to—“ Edge was cut off by an explosion at the other end of the hall. A demon in woman’s form stood there, reveling in the flames. “You thieves will pay for my dear Angela in blood!” Ganondorf’s Room Auron was glad Sabin had told him about the ninjas, one of them had been hidden pretty well. Both men were dead now as he opened the door to Ganondorf’s abode. Auron found no traps for Ganondorf’s room. He examined the room carefully but again found nothing of value. Sighing, he turned to leave, then something caught his eye. To the right of the door was a golden triangle. Auron seemed mysteriously drawn to it and studied the thing a little bit closer. Master… I have waited so long… Great Hall No sooner were the words out of her mouth than a cascading wall of pure fire was sent hurtling straight at them. Everybody tried to leap clear but the massive fireball grazed them anyways, sending them flying every which way. The demon sent wave after wave of fire at the beleaguered warriors. They were barely surviving. Then all of the sudden there was a pause. A gigantic wall of ice was competing with the hungry flames. Vivi had recovered from his initial shock. She quickly burned the wall down and the two magical titans clashed. Spell after spell was hurled. Ice collided with fire again and again. The two seemed to be fighting a stale mate. The others wanted to help but they were too busy trying to preserve their lives as the spells tore up the Great Hall. Everybody who was witnessing this colossal struggle of might could feel the incredible magical energy coursing through the room. It was all they could do just to stand up to the fierce winds generated by this mystical storm of death. Unbeknownst to the party, though, Vivi was getting the worst of it. So much exertion right after the ordeal of the coup was draining the poor mage heavily. He should have rested right after the coup in fact, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Ganondorf’s Room Auron’s mouth dropped in shock. Had the thing just spoken to him? I can help you… Why didn’t you help Ganondorf? He was not my Master… What are you? Please… just take hold of me, Master Auron felt in his bones that what this thing was telling him was the truth. It seemed to feel right somehow. As if all his life he had been meant to find this wondrous artifact. He took hold of the golden triangle. Auron’s skin erupted in a golden light, and there was pain… Great Hall Vivi was desperately using up every reserve he had. Dammit, maybe if I was fresh, I could take her… maybe … but now… not now… Ice spell after ice spell was being cast aside by the mighty fires that she was putting forth. Finally, Vivi reached the end of his rope. I have to put it all into this last spell, and it has to get through to her, otherwise… it’s over Vivi created a miniature blizzard and hurled it at the demon. With scornful ease the demon cast an even greater firestorm to counter the blizzard. His last spell was defeated. There was only one spell left that Vivi could cast, “Wall!” A magical barrier surrounded the mage and he leaned heavily on his staff. Please run away… all of you… it’s over… “You were worthy, mage; I will tell you my name before I destroy you! I am Terra! Remember it when you meet my dear Angela!” An inferno flew at the helpless Vivi, battering at his shield with tremendous force. It was all Vivi could do not to faint as he kept his shield up. The spell ended and Vivi’s shield remained. That one was just to soften me up… My shield will fall to her next spell… and then… Terra was smiling as she prepared her next spell. “You want to know who killed your precious ANGELA! EH TERRA?!” It was Edge. Vivi cursed him in his mind Damn fool, you should have run… you … should… have… Vivi fainted with exhaustion. Terra’s face turned immediately to Edge, “IT WAS YOU!?” Flames spouted from her hands to engulf Edge. Sabin raced to leap in front of him. Cloud saw Sabin on his way I’ll never get a wall off with my current energy level… “SHELL!” Cloud cast the protective spell on Sabin as he leapt in front of Edge to take the full brunt of the flames. On the way to the Great Hall Auron felt like a new man. He felt quicker, younger, more powerful. He could feel in his bones that he was at a different level than he had been. He was tracking Sabin on his little screen device, listening to the beeps. Sabin was right where Auron imagined he’d be with the directions he’d been given. Suddenly the dot disappeared, and the beeps stopped. Auron looked at the thing quizzically, he gave it a few sharp thwacks for good measure. This is bad… Auron dropped the device and broke into a run. The Great Hall Sabin was propelled into Edge’s arms by the force of the blast. Thanks to the Shell spell he only suffered minor burns. Terra was enraged and shot a hellish blast at Cloud, who had dared to defy her spell. Cloud knew he couldn’t get out of the way in time after the beating he had taken at the hand of the incredible magical storm. Then Raziel was in front of him, his Soul Reaver diverting the flames. The flames cut to either side of the pair, still scorching but at least not a direct hit. Terra paid no attention. She lifted her feet off the ground and flew to float in front of Edge, who quickly cast Sabin aside. Her eyes burned with rage and a tear was running down her cheek. “My Angela…Fire is the only purifier!” flames appeared in her hands as she prepared to incinerate Edge. “CRUSH PUNCH!” A fountain of red light sprouted from her chest and her eyes lost their burning rage. Before she had even hit the ground she transformed into a beautiful woman with green hair and a ponytail. Her eyes shone like glass. Edge looked on in disbelief. Standing at the makeshift entrance Terra had made stood a haggard man with a gray beard and a ruddy brown cloak. His sword was drawn and pointed at where Terra had been. His eyes spoke of supreme confidence. “Orlandu! Just in time! I can’t believe you’re alive, I heard you got some damn fool idea to take out Bison without an army!” Edge shouted. Orlandu could only laugh, “HAHAHA! You think an army makes a difference. All I had to do was get the jump on ‘em. Once the first dozen died in an instant half of his army turned on the other half. Bison himself is no pushover though, he wounded me very badly. Seeing my chance to plunge my sword into his heart I made it a Night Sword. My sword used all the life energy it took from him and put it all into me! You can’t keep Thunder God Cid down!” The rest of the members of the party were slowly recovering. All except Vivi, who just laid there unmoving. “This, Cloud, is Orlandu, otherwise known as Thunder God Cid. He’s a good swordsman, but that’s not what makes him a power to behold. He channels various powerful energies into his sword and then lets them loose like hyper intense spells.” Edge explained. Orlandu looked at Edge in puzzlement. Raziel’s gaze turned to Edge, “Yes… about that… Why are you with this ‘Cloud’? I noticed he’s fairly useful since he saved Sabin’s life and all… but who in Bhaktar is he?” Edge made introductions all around and outlined the details of the rooftop disaster. Cloud stared at Raziel in befuddlement, “I’m sorry, Raziel… I’m not sure I got this exactly right. But… I think you flew in front of me to split that flame? Do you know some magical method of flying?” Raziel looked ruffled, “Not fly really… I just… glided,” he flexed horribly scarred and mutilated wings, “I don’t like to talk about… the accident…” “I understand, I’m sorry…” Cloud offered his apology. Cloud walked over to Vivi, “Is he dead? Those yellow orbs… his eyes I mean… are gone!” Edge walked up to the fallen mage and stuck his hand inside the blackness of Vivi’s “face”. “He’s fine, it’s still chilly underneath his hat. He told me that if it were ever warm, that was when he was dead. But man, he’s really out of it this time. He won’t be getting up for awhile. He overextended himself way too much trying to take on that girl so soon after the rooftop.” Edge’s eyes cut to Cloud guiltily. Raziel picked the small form up, “I’ll carry him till he wakes!” Edge’s hesitant eyes turned to Orlandu, “How many men are left? Who do I lead?” Orlandu looked solemn, “We had roughly 600 men yesterday. Now… after the demon… and the coup… and the chaos… 100 men are alive to talk about this day! And I can assure you, they’re going to need a good amount of time to recover. Biggs is dead, Wedge still lives though!” Edge recoiled as if slapped, “100 men? My god! The bloodshed…” “What happened here?” Auron asked as he sheathed the Murasame. “Oho! So you must be Auron, the swordsman whose skill I’ve heard so much about!” Orlandu slapped him on the back, ”We should spar some time!” Auron’s eyes flashed to Orlandu and then back to Cloud questioningly. Cloud related the events that had just transpired, “What about you, did you find anything of interest in Zidane’s or Ganondorf’s rooms?” Auron beckoned Orlandu to follow him towards the group and presented his right hand to Cloud for inspection. Three triangles were now tattooed on his hand. But it wasn’t a tattoo… Cloud could tell that it was actually a part of Orlandu’s flesh. “I received this! I don’t know what it is, but… I’m much stronger now thanks to it. I think I may have even picked up a few powers that I don’t even know about yet.” Auron showed it to the whole party. Orlandu looked puzzled, “You got me!” Sabin, who was still recovering from his burns, shrugged his shoulders. “I know what it is!” Raziel gasped in surprise, “That’s the sign of the Triforce. There are three of those triangles out there. You found one of them, and it accepted you! Do you know how rare that is? There’s only one person born each generation who can wield a specific Triforce. That’s amazing!” Auron just looked stunned. Recovering, he turned to Cloud, “What are we going to do now?” Cloud thought about it, “Edge, do you thieves have a flyer?” Edge just stared at Cloud like he was dumb, “We’re thieves… hello!” “We might be taking a trip… I think we’ll have to recover on the flyer, though… Do you have anybody you can leave here to lead the thieves while we’re gone? Edge thought about it, “Yah… Orlandu said Wedge lived. He’s really reliable, unlike that idiot Biggs! He’ll see that the recovery does well…” Sabin inquired, “But where are we going?” Cloud replied, “We should go meet up with Crono, my leader, in Romaji…” Sabin looked dumbstruck, “You sent men into the ROMAJI sector!? Do you have a DEATH WISH!? Wait… don’t tell me… you guys were about 5 when you came… a similar number went to Romaji? SIX AT MOST!? WHAT IN GOD’S NAME WERE YOU THINKING!?” Cloud retorted, “We were thinking about Sephiroth and Schala. They’re really powerful!” Auron spoke up, “Let’s not be too hasty here, have you forgotten CAM? Who knows what they’re doing down there. They might already have completed 028 and heaven only knows what else they’re up to!” Orlandu backed him up, “I agree, CAM is a very dangerous installation. We should get it out of commission ASAP!” Edge disagreed vehemently, “If you value the lives of your friends, we’ll go to Romaji… Kefka… his power… it’s indescribable!” Cloud was torn, both sides had very good points! Choice 1: What should Cloud decide? 1) Send Auron to report back to Crono while everybody else assaults CAM. 2) Send Auron, Raziel, and Vivi to back Crono up. Cloud, Sabin, Orlandu, and Edge should go assault CAM. 3) Send Auron, Sabin, Raziel, and Vivi to back Crono up. Cloud, Orlandu, and Edge should go assault CAM. 4) Everybody should go back Crono up; he’ll need all the help he can get in Romaji. CHOSEN Back Home |