Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 11:05:56 -0400 Subject: [ffml] [MW] Massacre From: tha-doggfatha@juno.com (The One and Only Shadow) "Hurry up, or you'll be late to the dinner!" "Shut up boy." "Dammit, Raziel, your so stubborn." "Oh, shut up." Raziel and Nico were still arguing, as they always did. They were already late to the dinner Bacca had planned for all the heroes. "I'm leaving. You can meet me and Boof at the dinner tent." "Fine." "Come on Boof, let's go." "Kupo! Okay, bubby!" They left abrubtly. Raziel couldn't believe this whole mess he had gotten into. It was all blasphemy. He quickly shaved his face, then got ready to go to dinner. It was going to be a long night. Upon leaving the tent, Raziel notices an unusual silence. Strange, this area of the camp was not usually this quiet, as the Lance Henriksons were usually out and about. Something is wrong. He keeps walking towards the tent where he is to dine with Bacca and the rest of the heroes. It is a long ways ahead, as the trio's tent is near the perimeter of the camp. Suddenly, he hears a sound from behind him. He turns around, only to see nothing. Then, he sees one of the Lance Henriksons sitting on a chair, staring off into space, motionless, next to an entrance of another tent. Nothing was wrong with that picture, because that is what they would usually do anyways. But, Raziel senses something was wrong with this one. He starts to walk towards the soldier. "Henrikson, are you all right?" No answer. Raziel walks up closer. "Hello?" No answer, yet again. This time Raziel placs his hand on the soldier's shoulder. The soldier fell over, and Raziel is alarmed to find a ninja star stuck deep into the soldier's back. Blood is everywhere. "What the--" Suddenly, Raziel is grabbed from behind by an unseen force. He is thrown into a pile of fire wood. Shaken, he tries to get up, only to be kicked down again. He squints his eyes to see who his attacker is. He sees only darkness. "Show yourself, fool!" A figure stepped out of the shadows. "Who are you?!?! What do you want?!" "Me? I want your life. Do you have any last words, Raziel of Nosgoth?" "What are you talk--" It is too late, before Raziel can finish his sentence, he is struck by a shuriken to the throat. Carefully, he wrenches the shuriken out, but, as he does so, he starts to lose massive amounts of blood. Struggling to speak, he manages to utter, "You won't get away with this...uhhh...someone...someone will..." "Someone will what? Find out who killed you? Please don't say that. Don't you notice that eerie silence, mage? I've already dealt with all the nearest possible suspects. They're all dead. What a waste. Four tents full of soldiers too. Tsk. Tsk. Oh yes, by the way, your friends that came out earlier? They've been dealt with as well." "What...uhhhh..." "Oh, you didn't see them yet? They're "hanging" around over there." The assasin points to a tree near where they are at. Raziel notices the shadows of two figures, hanging by seperate nooses. "You...you unrelentless bastard...uhhh...they...were...just...children..." "Oh, shut up. Who gives a damn, anyways? You're losing blood as we speak, why are you caring about the well being of others? At a time like this, even? What a fool you are." "They...were...my companions...and...friends..." "Companions?, " The assasin laughs out loud, "What the hell kind of companions do two chidren make?" "Good ones!" Raziel yelled, as he lungs forward at the assassin. The assasin easily dodges the attack. As he does so, he withdraws a katana and brings it down on Raziel's back, as hard as he can. Raziel's body is now pinned to the ground by the blade. Blood is rapidly pouring from the wound. "What now mage? Where's your magic?" "I...can't...don't...have...time...only...can cast...one...last.." "Oooh, I'm scared! Show me your great power! Show it to me, dammit!", as the assassin said these words, he repeatedly kicks Raziel's motionless body in the side. "Who...are...you..." Raziel manages to say. "Your asking me for my name, what the hell time do you think you have?" The assassin smacks himself in head, "Oh, I know what your trying to do, buy time for your little spell. Oh well, I'm a ninja. And, that's all you'll know." "What's..." Before Raziel can finish, he is pierced by one last, fatal blow from the asssassin's blade. "Stupid idiot." It is over. The living, breathing man once known as Raziel is not breathing, or living for that matter, anymore. The assasin rips a piece of the mage's cloak, and uses it to clean his blade. "Easiest job I've ever had to do. Now, I have to get the hell out of here." Ever so silently, but quickly, the ninja runs to the camp wall, and scales it. He doesn't notice it, but, he drops something on his way out. A ninja star, engraved with his name. His job is done now. -------------------------- Later on that night "Hey, where's the usual patrol men of this area? They're supposed to be here by now!" "I don't know, let's go check." The two soldiers walk to the area that the missing soldiers are staying at. It is a silent, desolate place. A strange odor suddenly fills the air. Someone is lying on the ground. "Oh shit!" "What?" "Look!" The soldiers points to the body. It has been skewered by a blade of some sort. A large, gaping hole can be seen in the bodies back. "That's sick!" "Look in here!" One soldier says, as he inspects a tent. "Fuck! Everybodies dead! What the fuck happened?" "Shit, we gotta go report this to the High Lord of Everything that Kicks Ass himself!" "You mean Bacca?" "Yes." "Wait a second, what's that shiny thing over there?" They walk over to the object. It appears to be a weapon of some sort. The soldiers have never seen anything like it before. "Hmm...I don't know what it is...it says, "Shadow". "What in the hell is that?" "Don't ask me. Look, let's get the hell out of here. This place gives me the creeps. We gotta go report this, right now!" "Hey look, over at that tree, there's two bodies hanging there!" "Shit, this place is a fucking morgue. Whoever did this is a sick, unrelentless bastard!" "Let's go." The two soldiers leave the area. They must get the news of this massacre to Bacca at once. Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 23:03:16 -0400 (EDT) Subject: [ffml] Re: [MW] Massacre From: Sky H Ainsworth It was late in the dinner when a soldier ran to the canopy. Passing the ordilies and tables, the soldier approached Bacca and bent down to speak into his ear. "What?!" exploded Bacca. Standing up, Bacca threw his lap napkin into his chair and took off at a run back into the camp. Lady Paladin, Druid Kaitlin, and a few other followed. Racing through the camp, Bacca arrived at the spot where the massacre had taken place. Already, the officers had been alerted and men with torches and bonfires were lighting everything. Rangers were checking the ground for tracks and the rest of the camp was turning out. Bacca spotted a captain and went up to him. "Report." "Sir," saluted the man. "Apparently an assasin snuck into camp and killed twenty men, including Raziel, the boy, and little moogle. We figure he killed the sentries on the wall, came into the camp and slowly killed off the men in those tents and then when the boy and moogle came out, slung them up in that tree branch." The captain indicated different areas. "He then waited for Raziel to come out and killed him slowly. After this, the assasin left, but he dropped this." The man held up a throwing star. Bacca took the weapon and held it delicately. "One of these, huh?" asked Bacca. The warrior held the lethal weapon expertly, lightly placing it between his fingers and inspecting it's side. Seeing the name, he swore. "Him?! That damn, black hearted murderer." Lady had arrived, along with the rest. She immediately went to the bodies. "Can you do anything for them, Lady?" asked Bacca softly. "No," replied the master healer. "Raziel has been too much damaged and his body totally drained of blood. Nico and Boof also had their stomachs slight open, emptying their entrails out. There bodies are too badily damaged and it would mean too much pain for them to be resurrected." "Who could have done such a thing?" "One man," said Bacca. "One man from hell. I've met him before in my travels and he certainly lives up to his legend. I do not necessarily hate him for this, but the young ones did not deserve what they got. We will see what will happen in the future. "But what really upsets me is that he killed my men to get to these three. He is therefore marked. If any of you meet this assasin, this Shadow, then capture him, dead or alive." Bacca threw the ninja star at a post that had been used to support washing. It struck solid and rang softly. Bacca stormed off to his tent, not wishing to continue the dinner. Later, all the slain were honored with a warriors funeral. A large funeral pyre was made and the bodies, wrapped in white linen shrouds, were cremated. Date: Wed, 1 Jul 1998 01:40:50 EDT Subject: [ffml] Re: [MW] Massacre From: Chaos approached Bacca after the meeting. "So his name was Shadow?" Bacca looked up from his desk. "Yes, it was. The assasin, I assume you mean." "Yes," Chaos said, laughing. "We've... had a run in before. He is a formidable foe... but last time I met him, he wouldn't have done something like this. Assasination. If you do find him, I want a piece of him before you kill him. He is responsible for one of the many scars on my body, and I want to triple the favor back, and more. Well, goodbye for the night. I'm going to check on Seph. I wonder how Lorak is fairing." "What do you mean?" Bacca asked. "He left already? Without even saying goodbye?" "He had his own purpose." Chaos breathed deeply and looked up to the top of the tent. "He has a mission of his own. He's going to try to save us all." "From what?" "I don't know. There are others who know. Withholding information from you. That's all I can say. But Lorak left this note." Chaos tossed a small piece of paper in front of Bacca. It said Dear High Lord of All that Kicks Ass, Chaos, and the rest of the heroes, You fought well at Crystal Peak. You will make a find bunch one day... I am sorry to regret that I must now leave, for other missions. The planet May depend on it. If you ever need help though, I will be watching over you. In the nights to come, many events will happen. Members, important members of your team will die. It will be sad, but it will happen. There will be other events, ones I am unsure of. But regardless, now I must leave, to fullfill my own destiny. We will have lost many by the time you return to your base. Throughout the world, more people exist that you will need to join forces with in the coming days. At any rate, thank you for everything, and I will always be watching over you all. - Lorak, master summoner "Interesting," Bacca said. "Well, I hope he fares well." "Me too," Chaos said. "I assume we'll be leaving early tomorrow. Good. I want to go home." Date: Wed, 1 Jul 1998 12:18:20 -0400 Subject: [ffml] [MW] Mission accomplished, or not? From: tha-doggfatha@juno.com (The One and Only Shadow) "So, you killed off the mage?" "Yes. I didn't even break a sweat." "Good, very good. I'm going to give you your pay, without you even showing me evidence. That's how much I trust you." The man hands Shadow 500,000 gil. "Thank you." Shadow turns around and starts to walk away. "Wait, don't you want to see if I have anymore jobs for you?" "No. I've accomplished what I had to do. I don't need anything else. Goodbye." Shadow left the room. "Asshole." The man blurts out, in disgust from the ninja's comments. --------------- A cool, refreshing breeze blows into Shadow's face as he journeys through the forest. What has he become, these last ten years? From a hero, he has turned into a bloodthirsty murderer. He has lost his identity. He has lost his family. That's what has driven him to this life of crime. Ever since Relm's death those many year's ago...after that, there was nothing left for him. He is a misguided man, in a hectic world. Now, he lives to kill. He has no goal in life. Just to kill. Shadow keeps walking down the path. The forest is a silent, desolate place this time of night. Suddenly, he hears the sounds of footsteps coming his way. He bolts behind a tree, and waits for the intruder to walkby. He is amused to find that his "intruders" are just six moogles, walking in the opposite direction he was. The moogles are speaking about something. "Mog says that we must kupo the whole town!" "Yeah!" "I can't wait!" "Mobliz will be ours!" "I got the mayor's daughter!" "No, she's mine!" "Mobliz? The moogles are going to overrun Mobliz?" Shadow thinks to himself, "That's my hometown..." "How far are we, Kupel?" "About 4 miles away. Remember, we're just the scouts. The rest of the squad is waiting at the beginning of the forest." "Squad? How many of these damn things are there?!?! I have to go check it out." Shadow begins to take a step into the forest, when he steps on a dry leaf. "Hey, Mug, what was that?!" "I dunno! Let's check it out!" Shadow tries to find a place to hide, in vain. The moogles are coming towards where he is standing. "Hey, look! It's a ninja! Get him!" "Dammit!" Shadow curses, as he begins to run away. He trips on a tree root, and falls face first on the ground. "Look, he fell! Grab him!" The moogles quickly apprehend Shadow. They tie him up with rope. "We gotta show him to Mog!" "Yeah! We'll probably get promoted!" "Moogles, you don't know what your getting into!" "Oh shut up ninja. Your the one who should be worrying! Tape his mouth shut! I don't wanna hear his voice no more!" The six moogles lift Shadow onto their backs, and begin their march back to their camp. They can't wait to see what Mog'll think when he sees them bring in a real live ninja as a prisoner! Date: Wed, 01 Jul 1998 12:58:34 -0600 From: His Dark Lordship Mog looks at the detained ninja long and hard. "You four moogles are lucky to be alive.." he said. "Huh?" asked Kupel. "This is Shadow. He's a remeniscant of the old ways of fallen eblan, and one of the most dangerous assassins around." "How do you know this, dear?" asked Aeris from behind him. "I fought alongside him when we felled Kefka. Take the gag off him, and make sure he's not cutting his ropes, will you?" "Shit," thought Shadow as the moogleboar took the ninja star out of his hands. "So, old friend, what brings you here?" asked Mog. "Bastard.." growled Shadow. "Mobliz is my home town.." "Did you just get out from Bacca's camp?" asked Mog. "Yes." said Shadow. "Okay.." said Mog with a slight of a wimper. "Seeing as you killed my nephew, Boof, from what my spies tell me, you should by all means die." The moogle sighed. "But, you ARE the best, so I am willing to make a bargain." Shadow's eyes widened slightly. "There is an extreamely annoying officer to the east of here. He so far has not donated any troops to Bacca's force, but he has stopped fearing our threats and plans to within the next 48 hours. Erradicate him, and I will not only spare yourself, but Mobliz as well. You will be able to go free, and I will even supply you with provisions should you require it. You have my word." Shadow still didn't quite believe him, but he was wondering if he had much of a choice. "Is it a deal?" asked Mog. Date: Thu, 02 Jul 1998 12:51:00 -0600 From: His Dark Lordship Twas 02-Jul-98, whence The One and Only Shadow didst dost proclaimeth to me... >> "Hmm. What is the name of this officier?" Shadow asked. "Sir Nigar." > "Actually, Mog. If your going to get me to kill someone, why don't you > make it someone more important than just some officier. What about..." > Shadow began. "Hmm.. good point. Alright, I want you to kill Caliph Armisia. He recently donated a ton of mechs to Bacca's troop and deserves to die. He dwells in the city of Tavan-dirith, in a somewhat nearby desert. I trust you've heard of him." He turned to his other generals. "In our turn, we shall attack Sir Nigar and tell him we mean business. Ante up!"