A New Enemy
A New Enemy

The One and Only Shadow

The man watched in horror as the spiked moogles attacked the two men like killers bees swarming their prey. The huge mass of moogle bodies enveloped the men. There was no hope for them. They were lost. The man began to vomit. Afterwards, he knew he must get back to the
tribe. There was no time to waste. The elders must know about this new threat.
He arrived at the village distraught at what he had seen. He hurried to the elders' hut.
"Nico, what's wrong? Why are you so tired looking?"
"Tantalis, I have seen a despicable act of horror!"
"What? Smoking that tintinabar again, eh?"
The room erupted in laughter.
"No! It's not that. There were these creatures. Giant moogles! With spikes on their backs! They...they attacked two nomads who were wandering by the road down the mountain trail! The men...they were killed! Eaten alive!"
"Hogwash. There is no such thing as moogles with spikes on their backs. I'm telling you boy, stop smoking that damned pipe! Look what it's done to you! You've gone insane!"
"Tantalis, I'm not lying! Nor have I been smoking! I'm telling you the truth! I swear by my father's grave!"
"Now look what it's made you done! Swear to your father's grave that their are moogles with spikes on their back? He HAS gone insane! Noctor, Kasum, restrain this man! Make sure to lock him up in the caves, where he belongs! One night'll do him good."
"Yes sir." the guards responded with a angry tone.
"Tantalis, your making a big mistake here! I'm warning you! Don't do this!"
"Oh, shut up. Take him away, before I have second thoughts about his captivity."
The guards took Nico away from the hut. While they were walking to the caves, Nico heard something in the trees surrounding their trek.
"Did you hear that?"
"No. Shut up boy. No talking."
Nico did as the guard told him to, but he was frightened to death. What if that was the giant moogles in the forest, waiting for to make their strike?
"What shall I do?" thought Nico. He began to struggle with the arms of the guards.
"What do you think your doing, boy? Don't you know trying to escape from a guard means death? You fool!"
Just as the guard raised his juggernaut-hammer, a scream erupted from the trees.
"What the--"
The guard didn't finish his sentence, because just then, a claw came right through his chest. His insides were displayed for all to see, hanging down, leaking of his bodily fluids. He was killed instantly.
"Kasum, no!"
The other guard raised his scimitar, slashing at the moogle in vain. Before he knew it, another moogle had jumped on his back, slitting his throat.
Nico began to run. Run for his life. He had to get back to the village. Suddenly, he felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his left arm. As he looked back, he saw the moogle. It was attached to his arm by its teeth. The boy tried to shake the moogle off, but that did not help. In fact, it did more damage. He felt his arm tearing away from the socket. In the next few seconds, the moogle, like a doctor amputating his patient, skillfully bit off Nico's left arm.
"Ahhhhhh!"
Nico collapsed.

His Dark Lordship

Mog walks out of the bushes.

"Kuvunk! What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm eating this soldier. There's an unconscious war amp over there for you."

"Hold on. Lemme see these bodies' your consuming." Mog rips down the two guards pants and feels around. "I am not detecting any semanical reproductive cells withing their anal projectorites."

"Ermm... what?" asked the Moogleboar.

"There's no jizz in his ass. You didn't Kupo this guy to death. And I detect the same with you, Kuvook. This is a direct violation of the moogle war laws, this is a merciful death. Totally prohibited by Moogle law."

"Please! Forgive us! We thought a merciful killing would be nice for a change. We-"

"Shut up soldiers. You're execution is in fifty seconds." Mog blows a horn. "Okay, run."

The Moogleboars scream and take off into the woods. They are quickly overtaken by fellow Moogleboars and are kupoed to death. Hearing the screaming, Mog smiled.

"An example." he laughed as he loaded the two guard's bodies into the great sack of rations. The saw little Nico there. "Ah, we'll leave him. Come forth men! March! We head for the city of Vugatukek!"

Two moogleboars hauled the semen covered convicts' dead bodies over to Mog. They're placed in the great sack of rations as well.

One smaller Moogle stayed behind and looked at Nico's unconscious body. He sat on him and began slapping him on the face.

"Hey Bubby! Wake up! Wake up Bubby!"

The One and Only Shadow

"Uhhh...what the?! Ahhh!" Nico wakes up to the moogle licking his face.
"Get...get off of me! Help! HELP!"
"Kupo!"
"AHHHH!!!!"
Nico stands up. He feels a pain in his left shoulder. Looking down in horror, he realizes he's missing his left arm!
"Oh my god! My arm! What have you done!"
"Kupo! Bubby! No arm!"
"My arm, it's gone! You...you...you ate it! Ahhh!"
"Kupo! Me not eat arm! Kupo!"
Nico began to limp away.
"I've got to get to the village!"
"Kupo! Me follow!"
"No, you, you get away! Leave me alone!"
"Kupo?" the small moogle looked sad.
"You ripped off my arm, and you want to follow me? Your going to try and attack the village! You bloodthirsty animal! Let me be!"
The moogle started to back away. It ran off into the woods.
"Thank god! Now, I must get back to the village!"

Nico arrived at the village after much struggle through the forest. He had tried to stop the bleeding of his injury with a piece of cloth he had made with his pant leg. He started to run toward the tent of the elders, when something caught his eye off to the corner of the
camp perimeter. It was the blasted moogle, again! It was following him! Something had came to his mind while he was traveling toward the village. This moogle didn't seem as violent as the other's he had seen. Plus, it looked as if it was a child. And, to add to that, it would have
killed him a long time ago. He began to approach the form.
"You. What do you want? Why are you following me?"
"Me like Bubby."
"Argh! I'm not your stupid Bubby! Shut the hell up! Get out of here! Leave!"
"Kupo! Bubby is funny."
The moogle wasn't leaving! He would have to use physical force now.
"That does it. You've brought this upon yourself!"
He picked up the nearest stick he could find. Nico began to swing the stick, left to right, towards the moogle.
"You see this stick? It's going to be smacking you upside your head in a few seconds, if you don't leave!"
"Kupo! Me like stick."
"Oh you do, do you?"
"Kupo!"
"All right then!"
Nico swung the stick as hard as he could. He didn't want to injure the moogle, just stun it so he could get rid of it. But, the moogle wasn't that easily fooled. It easily dodged the swing.
"Bubby play with me!"
"Argh! Dammit! Just leave!"
In his frustration, Nico took another swing. This time it made contact.
"Ouch. That hurt. Bubby playing too rough!"
"Yes, and I'm going to play rougher, if you don't leave!"
"Me want to play rough too! Kupo!"
The moogle grabbed the stick out of Nico's hand.
"Hey! Gimme that!"
"Kupo!"
The moogle swung the stick towards Nico's head. It hit him full force on the temple.
"Uhhh...why...are...you...not...going...away..."
Nico was out cold.

His Dark Lordship

"Bubby go to sleep to much." grins the Moogle.

The village elders came out.

"What's the commotion going on out here?" said Tantalis "Oh, hi Little guy."

"Hi Bubby." replied the moogle.

"What? No, my name is Tantalis."

"Bubby!"

"Whatever. What happened to the loonie here?"

"He whack himself with stick."

"What's he doing out of the caves?" he slapped Nico. "Boy! You'd better explain yourself!"

Nico opened his eyes.

"Moogles... Giant, molesting *moogles*"

"Aw, he's still smoking the tintinabar. Where are my troop."

"Eaten..."

"Okay pal, that's it. You killed those men.. *somehow*. We will execute you at dawn."

"Can't kill Bubby."

"I thought I was Bubby." muttered Tantalis.

"All Bubby!"

Tantalis shrugged, then turned to a guard by the brush.

"Take these losers away."

The guard started to come forward, but a clawed, fuzzy white hand the size of an ogre's reached out of the trees and pulled the guy in. A lot of screaming and moaning was heard and then the sound of a body being dragged away.

Tantalis was shocked.

"We got Aliens!"

"No Bubby. Silly. Dat's ma buddies."

"Huh? You know the alien? Ah well."

Tantalis began running around the camp.

"Call Sigourney Weaver! We got a case of Aliens! Quick, run up the battlements."

A guard marched up to a rustling bush. Another clawed fuzzy hand grabbed him and pulled him in.

"Alien!" yelled Tantalis.

Several Moogleboars stepped out of the bush.

"Giant Spikey Moogles! AAAAAAAA!!!!"

"Pleasure objects! Kill!" yelled the apparent leader of the squadron. He turned to one of the rear guys. "Go back and tell the Emperor of this place."

The other Moogleboar nodded and ran back into the bush.

The One and Only Shadow

"I'm getting out of here, now!" Nico yelled at Tantalis, "Are you coming with me?"
"NO! I'll stay here and fight to the death! My village will not fall without me!"
"My father always told you your pride would get you killed, Tantalis. Have it your way. I am leaving."
"Go boy. Turn your back on your home. Go. Be gone."
Nico left the village afterwards. He was grief stricken at his decision. But, it had to be done. He wasn't going to die here, now! He had a life to live! He wasn't going to let the spiked moogles rape him!
The trail up ahead forked into two directions. Now, Nico had to make another decision. He was deciding to go right, when he saw the damned moogle, again! This time it was sitting right between the middle of the two roads.
"Now what do you want! I told you once, and I'll tell you again, leave me alone!"
"Kupo! Me find Bubby! Let's play hide and seek again!"
"What! This isn't a game kid! This is real!"
"Real? What mean real?"
"Argh!", Nico picked up a nearby stone and threw it at the moogle, "Why can't you just leave me alone! I'm asking you for the last time!"
"Kupo! Bubby want to play ball?"
All of a sudden, Nico heard a scream from the village behind him. The moogles were probably attacking. While the curiosity to see what was happening overwhelmed him, he couldn't take the chance. He must get out of here, fast!
"I'm getting out of here. Don't follow me! I'm warning you!"
"Kupo!"
Nico started to run as fast as he could through the forest. He didn't care if he was lost. He just wanted to get as far away from the village, and the baby moogle, as he could. Then he remembered the stories of the mage who lived in the forest. The mage who had fought in
the last great war. What was his name again? Raziel, that was it! He must find Raziel! Maybe he could help?
Up ahead a small wooden shack came into view. Could this be the shack of Raziel? The elusive shack?
Nico knocked on the door.
"Who's there?" a low, deep monotone voice answered.
"Uhh, are you the great ninjamage, Raziel?"
"Yes, what do you want?"
"I need to talk to you, I need your help!"
"All right, if you must, come in."
Nico opened the door. He was startled to see nothing but darkness.
"Where are you?"
"Here, let me show you."
The room lit up in a warm glow of light.
"Magic? How'd you do that!"
"It's called tricks of the trade kid."
"Interesting."
"Anyways, what do you want?"
"Um, I was asking, you know, since your such a great war hero and all--"
"Stop right there. Me a war hero? Are you mad? I bet you no one outside of this mountain knows a damn thing about me. I'm the unsung hero of the first moogle war. Without me, the dragons of Lord Dragon couldn't have been able to make their flight to the battle grounds."
"You mean, you were their caretaker?"
"Um, yes."
"Haha, you cleaned up dragon shit!"
"Hey! No, it's not like that!"
"No wonder no one knew about you, you were under so much crap."
"Okay, you can stop now. It's bad enough that the people don't know my importance, but for you, a young boy to be making these, these, remarks!"
"Sorry, it's pretty funny. So, what do you do nowadays?"
"Make bombs."
"Bombs?"
"Yes. Bombs."
"Interesting. You live as a recluse in a shack in the mountains, and you make bombs."
"Yes."
"And, what is that your writing there?
"A three hundred page manifesto."
"Uhhh..."
"Nothing that is of importance to you, right?"
"Uhh, yeah. I gotta go now. Thanks for your...help."
"Okay. Goodbye. One more thing. Can you deliver this package for me to the chemist in Medina? It's not that far away. Just down the road."
"Um, sure."
"Thanks. Bye now."
Nico left the shack shortly afterwards.

His Dark Lordship

Only to hear...

"Bubby!"

"Oh no.." thought Nico.

The blasted little moogle ran up to Nico and grabbed onto his leg.

"AUUGH! Let go you little !"

"Bubby say nasty words." laughed the moogle.

Nico shook his head. He couldn't get rid of this little nuisance it seems. At least not until he found a town that took part in the slav... yeah! That's what I'll do!

An evil grin came across Nico's face.

"Bubby think something evil." whimpered the moogle child.

Nico tried to lose the grin.

"Okay, fine. I'm Nico. What's your name?"

"Me...? Oh, me -"

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| Name? |
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|A B C D E F G |
|H I J K L M N |
|O P Q R S T U |
|V W X Y Z 1 2 |
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|0 ! # , . ( ) |
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The One and Only Shadow


"Me Boof."

"Boof, eh? All right. Come with me Boof."

"Nico-Bubby wanna play?"

"Uhh, yes...."

The evil grin came back to Nico's face.

"Nico-Bubby again thinking something evil."

"No, not at all, my moogle friend. Let's go. We'll head to Medina, they have the best sla-- lodgings."

"Okay. Me follow Nico-Bubby. We have fun. Kupo!"

"Eh, yes. Fun."

The two started their journey to Medina. It was only a half a mile away.


"All right, we're here."

"Where we play?"

"Uhhh, at that hut over there. Wait here. I'll be back. Let me talk to that man standing next to it if we can play."

Nico walked over the to the bearded man.

"What do you want boy? Can't you see the sign over there?"

__________________
| |
| Old Man |
| BeeJeesus |
| Slave Traders |
| NO |
| ONE-ARMED |
| MEN |
|________________|

"No, it's not me that wants to be a slave. I have something that may have be of some interest to you. See that moogle over there?"

Nico points towards where Boof was.

"Boy, what's wrong with you? There's no moogle there. Get outta here before I decide to rip the only arm you got left offa ya."

"Dammit! He left! Argh!"

Nico began to search for Boof. Medina was a big town. It might take forever.

His Dark Lordship

OOC: Boof! LOL!

IC:

Nico ran about, looking through all the markets, having to buy "Honest Tony's Pregnancy Tests" to get information, and was constantly tracking him down. Just then he heard a scream in a nearby "adult entertainment bar and grill". He ran in.

"Hey kid! Yer not allowed in here!"

Nico then caught glimpse of a fuzzy white moogle sitting on the stage, sucking his thumb. Nearby was a stripper clutching the curtains screaming.

"Get it away from me! I dance, not get kupoed! HEEELP!!"

"Kupo?" asked Boof innocently.

"AAAA!!!"

The stripper went screaming offstage.

Angry grunts from various bikers and other onlookers started to humm from the crowd. Mostly "who brought that twerp in here?"

"Great!" thought Nico "The bikers will kill Boof and I'll be home free."

Just then, Boof looked over the crowd. His eyes filled with delight.

"Bubby!"

The moogle trotted towards Nico, and sat down beside him.

"Umm.. really, I don't know this moogle. He just thinks.."

Several members of the crowd pulled out their broadswords and began to inch towards Nico and Boof....

"Uh oh..."

The One and Only Shadow

"Hey, look. It's the moogle you want, not me. You wouldn't want to kill a handicapped person like me. I'm missing my left arm dammit!"
"Who said we wanted to kill you?", a man said as he started to unzip his pants.
Boof looked up at Nico, "Uh oh."
"I think it's about time we got outta here!"
Nico picked up Boof and began to run to the entrance of the bar. He ran to a nearby alley.
"Great, now I'm stuck with you again. Oh no!"
The 5 men began coming into the alley. There was no where for Nico to run. There was a dead-end at the end of the alley.
"I guess we'll have to tough this one out Boof!"
"Not just yet."
A blinding flash lit the alley way. Nico threw his hands up to cover his eyes.
"Ahhh, my eyes, my eyes!", one of the men started to scream.
When the light started to clear, the men were no where to be seen.
"What the hell just happened?"
"I happened." said a voice from behind Nico.
Nico turned around to see the familiar face of Raziel.
"Shitman! You saved us!"
"Hey--nevermind, yes I saved YOU. What do you mean us?"
"Me and Boof."
"I see no one other than you."
Nico looked down. The moogle was gone, again!
"Agh! Why does he keep running off like that?!"
"What are you talking about boy?"
"Nothing, nevermind. What are you doing here?"
"I began to think about something after you left. You say there were moogles attacking your village?"
"Yes, moogles. Giant ones. With big spikes on their backs!"
"That could mean that the evil Mog has risen again!"
"What?"
"The moogleboars are a rare species of moogles. They only are seen when Mog has enough moogles to form one. You see, he uses his powers to fuse 5 regular moogles into one, thus, creating the all powerful moogleboar! Mog having enough moogles in his army to make many
moogleboars means only one thing. His army is at its peak condition! He is trying to rule the world once more!"
"Wait a second, how do you know all this?"
"Because, not only am I a certified dragon keeper, I also studied Moogle Care 101 in college. I know everything about moogles there is to know!"
"Okay, where did you find the time to learn magic?"
"That is something that I should keep secret...for a long time."
"I see. And, is that the only reason you decided to follow me?"
"No, there is another. You see, this planet was formed millions of years ago by the forgotten Nosgoth Gods of Uryllian. When they formed this planet, they also made another one, cloaked in secrecy, only 600 miles away. This second planet was made for one reason: insurance. If anything ever tried to rule the whole Earth, or destroy it, the second planet would launch a special strikeforce to defend the Earth. This strikeforce was made of organic weapons that the planet created. This second planet, in essence, is alive. The first moogle war wasn't enough to arouse the planet to start it's defense. If Mog continues his destruction , it will unfortunately not awaken and start it's attack. The second planet stopped functioning years ago, right after the first war. The other bad news is, if someone got control of the second planet, they would have power beyond anything the world has ever seen. That is why I have a new purpose in life. I must get to the second planet and activate it, so I can live up to my ancestors."
"Your ancestors?"
"Yes..my ancestors were...the Nosgoth."
"So...you are the only one with the power to activate the second planet?"
"Yes. The second planet, called Hillion, can only be activated by someone with the blood of the Nosgoth."
"That explains how you knew about all this crap."
"Um, yes."
"Well, I'm confused as hell now. Thanks a lot."
"Your welcome. Now, there's no time to waste. We must get prepared."
"Prepared, for what?"
"For...the war."
"Okay, one question before we do anything. How old are you?"
"Me? I'm 367."
"What?!"
"We Nosgoth have immortality. We stop aging at the age of 35."
"Interesting."
"Now, let's go."
"Wait, I have to find Boof."
"Boof? There's no time for Boof! NO BOOF!"
"Okay, okay, jeez."
"Let's get back to my shack."
Nico and Raziel began to walk away.
Meanwhile....
Boof was lost in the city of Medina. He was admiring the ice cream at Basket Robbet's 69 flavors, when he was approached by a big burly person in a coat.
"Boof, kupo?"
"Kupo!"
"Come with me Boof. You have a lot of explaining to do with Master Mog. He wants to know why you weren't at the training for the attack on Medina."
"Kupo?"
"Yes, kupo."
Boof took a deep breath. It was going to be a long day.

His Dark Lordship

He was taken before Mog himself. This was indeed a great honor, even given the circumstances.

"So, Boof, exactly where have you been?"

"With Bubby."

"Bubby?" asked Aeris from further in the tent. "Who's Bubby?"

"A one-armed man." replied Boof with pride.

Mog sighed. "Okay, boy, I'll give you a choice. You can stay here and fight with us or you can go with `Bubby'"

"BU-BBY! BU-BBY!" cheered Boof.

Mog sighed. "Very well." he nods to Aeris. She closes her eyes and mumbles some odd words. Before long Nico saw a white speck beside him.

"Boof! You're alive!"

"Bubby!" Boof hugged Nico.

Raziel grumbled. "Hurry up people."

The One and Only Shadow

"All right, all right. Hurry up Boof, let's go."
"Kupo!"
The three walked back to Raziel's shack hidden deep in the forest. They were standing outside of his shack.
"So, now what?"
"Now, you watch."
Raziel lifted his right arm and the ground began to shake uncontrollably.
"What's going on?" Nico asked.
"I told you boy. Watch."
The shack began to fall apart. The ground underneath it began to rise as if there was something trying to break through. Then, a huge rock penetrated the surface. The rock had an entrance. A cave.
"Woah. What the hell is this?"
"This...is the entrance to the Arsenal of the Gods."
"The what?"
"Nevermind. Let's go inside."
Nico followed Raziel into the entrance. The cave was very dark. Pitch black. Nico strained his eyes to see something.
"Can we get some lighting in here or something?"
"Oh yes, I forgot you mortals don't have night vision."
"Night vision? Just what the hell are you?"
Raziel ignored Nico's question and cast a torch spell. The cave was illuminated at once. Nico couldn't believe his eyes. On both sides of the cave were shelves littered with strange weaponry and armor. He could make out swords, crossbows, and the other usual things. But, there were other things, that didn't even look like they were from this Earth.
"Now, my comrades, we must equip ourselves."
"You think I can fight?"
"No, I think you can fight, with these."
Raziel picked up a set of strange looking weapons.
"You forgot that I only have one arm."
"Ah, yes. I can remedy the situation."
Raziel began to chant strange words. Nico began to feel a strange sensation throughout his body.
"Wha-what's happening to me?"
"You'll see, soon enough."
"Bubby?"
A strange aura began to illuminate from Nico's left "stump". Then, something flew off the shelve and attached itself to his shoulder.
"What the hell is this?"
"Your new arm. You should be grateful boy."
Nico looked at his new "arm." It was strange. Almost metallic. He tried clenching his fist. A blast of energy shot out and hit the wall.
"Interesting. And, what exactly is this called?"
"An arm."
"Me want armor."
Boof ran over to a pile of armor sitting in the corner of the room and began trying to put some of it on. He found a helmet that covered his whole head, but hung down over his eyes. He started to walk around, banging into walls here and there.
THUD! "Ouch."
THUD! "Ouch."
THUD! "Ouch."
THUD! "Ouch."
THUD! "Ouch."
"Boy, get that off of him before he drives me mad!"
"Come on. It's funny."
"Fine. Let me do something. The moogle wants armor? I'll get him some."
Raziel pointed a finger at Boof and immediately he was lighted up in a faint blue glow. Armor started to fly at him from various points around the cave. The armor seemed to shrink as it attached itself to Boof's small body.
"Now me have armor too."
"That's all we need. A delinquent and a moogle wearing armor running around."
"Hey, it's not too bad. I have another question. How are we going to get to this, Hillion?"
"There is only one way I know of. We must get to the burial site of the great Dasgot. There, in his tomb, is said to be a portal that can lead us to the other world. Let me look at this map over here. You can rummage around. If you find anything of interest to you, keep it."
"Thanks. Now, where has Boof gone off to again?"
Boof was searching in a pile of weapons.
"You find anything you can use?"
"No. Me have no luck."
"What about that? That looks interesting."
A small dagger with a hilt fitted with colored diamonds hung on the wall.
"Here, let me get it for you."
Nico reached for the dagger. He started to take it off the wall, but it was stuck. He tried again. Still stuck. It seemed as if something was holding it.
"That's strange. Let me try again."
This time he used his foot for leverage. The dagger came out of the wall. A strange sound went off as he pulled the dagger off.
"What was that?"
"What did you just do boy?"
"I got this dagger off the wall."
"What are you trying to do?! Get us all killed!?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Look behind you!"
Nico turned around and was blindsided by something. He fell down hard. He saw what had hit him. He couldn't believe his eyes! It was a skeleton! And, not only one! There were at least 50!
"Raziel, what are we going to do?"
"Don't worry. I have the situation under control."
Raziel started once again to speak those strange words. The skeletons stopped their advance on Nico and stood motionless.
"Hah! Now, I have them under my control!"
"You do? That's great, you have you own little army!"
"Well, if you put it that way, yes."
Boof began running through the skeleton's legs.
"Kupo! This is fun Bubby."
"Yeah, just don't get yourself hurt or nothing. Raziel, aren't you going to get any armor? I don't think that cloak you're wearing is going to be able to protect you."
"My armor is here." Raziel pounded his chest.
"I see. Now, where to?"
"The map shows that the location of the tomb in the present is...at Crystal Peak. It's very far. It'll take at least 3 or 4 days."
"Crystal Peak it is then."
"Boof know Crystal Peak. Mog is going to Crystal Peak."
"What? MOG!?"
"Boof know Mog."
"All right, I've heard enough. Let's go. Skeletons, come."
The party set out on their journey to Crystal Peak.