Subj:	 [ffml] [HD] We hold these truths to be self evident
Date:	01-03-12 01:46:45 EST
From:	darklord@compusmart.ab.ca (His Dark Lordship)
Reply-to:	ffml@yahoogroups.com
To:	ffml@yahoogroups.com (ffml), hilliondynasty@egroups.com (Hillion Dynasty)

The camp was tranquil, quiet.

"So, your friend said he would be here soon?" asked Kefka from the bushes.

"Yes. He says to start the rumble early. He'll be here."

Kefka nodded. Might as well begin. He drew his crystal flail and stood up.

"Alright Arcanis, you want me?"

Inside the tent, Arcanis broke from his meditation with a start. He was
here.

Kefka was here.

Challenging him.

The force crystal shimmered.

Arcanis blinked. He felt another figure.

Kefka's companion. Aracalen. They were both here.

He didn't want to drag the others into the mission, but...

He had no choice. He nudged the others.

"Kefka and Aracalen are here. Get up."

"What? Where be that clown, I'll cut off his head and feed it to a cat,
lali." grumbled Burdock as he grabbed his axe.

"Arcanis... come out, come out, wherever you are. Little esper... c'mon,
lemme see whacha got."

Arcanis sighed. He rose out from the tent.

"Kefka!"

"Ah, there you are." stood Kefka mockingly. "Oh, look, the little esper got
himself a fancy toy. I bet you're dying to use it, aren't you?"

Kefka cackled.

"Alright, Arcanis. Bring it on."

Arcanis quickly began to prepare a bolt of raw mana when Kefka's voice
penetrated his mind.

"Give Bahamut my regards, by the way."

Bahamut was dead? No, Kefka couldn't... Arcanis quickly diviated his mind to
the gate. It was open.

The bastard.

A rage filled up inside Arcanis. Yes. Yes, he would cast it. With the staff,
it would rid this earth of Kefka forever.

The Catacylism.

"Oh, got you big spell ready, huh?" chuckled Kefka. "Go on, Arcanis. Kill
me. Rid the world of the one human who makes espers wet their little esper
beds!"

It was ready. Arcanis prepared for the release when...

He felt a faint cry for help elsewhere.

No... it couldn't be.

Pyxie!?!

Pyxie was in danger. Arcanis gave the mental equivalent of a curse. He felt
himself being pulled through the void.

"DAMMIT!" he yelled, breaking his concentration, sending the force of the
spell through the void he was partially in. SOmewhere, a portal was going
to open and mass destruction would follow.

Seeing Lia emerge from the tent, he gave another mental curse. He couldn't
leave her here.

In the last seconds he stood in front of a cackling, mocking Kefka, he
zapped Lia with a teleport spell. No way in hell was he going to leave her
here.

He cursed again as he realized he had forgotten the others.

Kefka laughed as Arcanis faded away.

"My, this will be easier than I thought!"

"You moron, Kefka! He took crystal with him!"

"Oh, did he? Well, we have these other hostages for when he gets back."

"I don't think so." muttered a voice.

Before the pair stood Celeste, Burdock and the Northern Paladin, sporting
some very tight clothing, armed to the teeth.

"Oh, the lackeys of Arcanis have come to play, huh?" chuckled Kefka.

Aracalen revealed a scabbard from under his cloak. From it, he produced a
pale, long sword.

"This should be fun. Remember, we need at least one alive."

"Riiiiight" chuckled Kefka.

Burdock let out a warcry as he charged at Kefka. Kefka jumped to the side
and allowed the axe to catch the chain of his flail. Jerking his hips
quickly, he yanked the axe from Burdock's hands. With a quick parlour trick
spell he caused Burdock's hands to ignite.

"Yeowch!"

"That ain't all."  Kefka blasted Burdock with a spell of paralysis. Burdock
swore as he felt his cellular structure freezing.

"One down, two to go."

Celeste had produced her long sword and had immediatley aimed for Aracalen's
neck. Aracalen met this with a parry and a quick trip.

"Dammit, Pizzuti, give me a hand!"

"No problem!" yelled the Northern Paladin from his hiding spot behind the
tent.

Two swordstrokes and Celeste had lost her sword. Quickly producing a
lightning spell to parry Aracalen's stroke, she held his sword at bay for a
second. Aracalen chuckled and swung a kick directly at her gut.

It was stopped in motion by a flash, however. Aracalen fell to the floor.
Before Celeste could do anything she felt her body collapsed from lack of
energy. Kefka had hit her with a paralysis spell. All she could do was
watch whatever was happening.

What was happening was that Ladaku was being circled by both Kefka and
Aracalen.

"Well, well... I always wanted to try Lizar meat..." chuckled Kefka.

"You have no idea whom you're meddling with, Frankenfurter." snarled Ladaku,
swinging his hand back. Aracalen roared in agony as an energy field pinned
him to a tree. "I'll deal with you in a moment."

"Oh, so the Lizar wants to fight one on one, does he? How dreadful." Kefka
swung his mace in a quick circle. "C'mon little guy, lemme see how you fare
against the power of Kefka."

"Kefka..." Ladaku chuckled. He charged at him, making a quick leap, slashing
Kefka's leg with his foot-claw. Kefka swore, swinging at Ladaku with his
mace. Ladaku caught the chain in his mouth, snapping it.

"Arrrgh, my leg.... fuck..." grumbled Kefka as he stumbled back.

Ladaku grinned.

Kefka looked at Ladaku with new vigor.

"Blood.... you made me bleed." Kefka clentched his teeth. "I
hate....hate.... hate.......HATE YOU."

An energy ball began to grow in Kefka's hands. Ultima, the most powerful
spell Kefka had seen.

The Lizar just stood there.

Kefka let the spell go. Where Ladaku stood grew an energy sphere. Inside,
huges bolts of pure, raw mana struck the figure as the outside was coated
in a green glaze. Then, the sphere consensed itself to a tiny point and
then exploded. A few nearby trees disitegrated. It was a highly
contentrated spell. Kefka expected the Lizar to be in many gooey pieces.

But he wasn't. Instead, where the figure of Ladaku stood before, there now
stood a Lizar, skin as dark as the night itself, wearing a black cloak to
boot, with eerie yellow eyes.

"Put the rabbit back in the hat, Kefka." snarled Thanatos. "You never were
worth the effort."

A collective gasp came from two sources as Kefka turned an even whiter shade
than his makeup had given him. Celeste was somewhat shocked, though she had
expected it. Ladaku was Thanatos...

Aracalen looked at Thanatos. Thanatos knew what was going on.... fuck. He
put his entire focuse to his summoning. Hurry...

Kefka looked at Thanatos.

"Look, I can explain."

"Okay. Try me."

"You see... I just... hadn't used a spell strong enough!" Kefka clasped his
hands together, and a beam of light extended from them. The light of
judgement. The earth beneath Thanatos' feet shook, and then split. A tree
fell on him, and then rock rose from around to bury him.

He wasn't dead yet. Kefka knew that. Kefka needed another trick... something
that could crush Thanatos before he got out of the rock prison. Something
like a Geomancy trick...

That's it.

Pushing his hands together, Kefka began to push the earth that surrounded
Thanatos together. This was his only chance.

A sharp pain entered his leg. He looked down. Thanatos' head was poking out
of the ground, his teeth digging right through his ankle. Within seconds
Kefka was lacking a foot.

"Missed" chuckled Thanatos as Kefka fell to the ground.

Thanatos rose up.

"Now, Kefka, I make you that which you've always wanted to be. A legend."

Kefka looked at Thanatos. Pain began to rip through his body. He looked
down. He saw his legs slowly turning to bronze. He tried to get up but his
legs were too heavy for him. As the bronzing moved up his body he stared at
Thanatos with one last cruel look in his face.

"I...... HATE....... YOU!!!!!!"

His roaring face was forever entrenced in the bronze.

Thanatos chuckled.

"Now then, to deal with Aracalen."

Thanatos turned around to find something large connecting with his face. He
himself went flying into a tree, the tree falling over. Shaking his head in
disbelief, he looked up at what was before him.

It was a towering form. It's face was beastial in nature. Two great horns
donned it's forehead as flames flickered about it's body. Two large wings
were on it's back.

He had been told of these things by Godzilla millenias ago. Ancient war
beasts created by the Nasgoth, more powerful than anything. The most
powerful of them was even a match for Godzilla, but the Nasgoth had sealed
him away for some reason.

Thanatos gulped as he realized that this was that creature, as all the
others had been slain.

Gortuk, High King of the Baalrog.

Aracalen had overstepped himself. Thanatos swore.

He saw Celeste and Burdock slowly get up, with Kefka dead the spell fading.

"Get the fuck out of here!" yelled Thanatos as he got up. They did so
without argument. Behind them the pudgy Northern Paladin ran, making the
same bubbling noise he had earlier that day.

Gortuk looked at Thanatos and chuckle.

"FEEBLE CREATURE."

Thanatos sighed. These things were supposedly loyal to the bone to the
Nasgoth, abeit more powerful than any Nasgoth could ever dream to be.

Well, any cover he might have retained in the fight with Kefka was certain
going to be lost now.

Thanatos drew his trusty battle axe and let out a gutteral snarl.

"Alright, Gortuk. Let us see if thou art as powerful as thou claims to be!"

Gortuk drew an axe of his own. Gortuk was about Thanatos' height, so the
match was even in the size perspective.

Gortuk decided to initiate the combat, leaping forward with his axe.
Thanatos caught the axe with his own and delivered a swift claw to Gortuk's
gut. The flames torched Thanatos' boot in seconds. Thanatos swore.

Pulling his axe off Gortuk's, Thanatos spun around quickly to drive his axe
to Gortuk's chest. It struck, but it didn't seem to faze Gortuk much.
Gortuk merely grabbed Thanatos by the throat.

"FEEBLE CREATURE"

Gortuk began to squeeze. Thanatos, for the first time, felt short of breath.
Slowly, the moon seemed to fade away.

Then, all Thanatos saw was red. Looking down at Gortuk, Gortuk also noticed
the change in Thanatos. His eyes had turned red.

Thanatos took his hands, and almost as if the flames could no longer touch
him, grasped Gortuk's hand and pulled it off his throat.

Thanatos no longer saw Gortuk. He saw a figure much like his own, except his
skin was the palest white.

"You.... YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!" roared Thanatos as he pounced onto Gortuk.
His foot claws ripped through Gortuk's gut, Gortuk snarling at the pain.
His teeth ripped at Gortuk's lungs, yet Gortuk merely absorbed the pain.
Finally, Gortuk mustered the strength to throw the berserk lord of darkness
off him.

Thanatos snarled. He looked at Gortuk. His eyes focused on the form, slowly
getting up but certainly still able to fight. He focused on the darkness
around them. He focused on the darkness in the sky. He focused on the
darkness in every man, woman and child's heart.

If Gortuk won, he would kill Celeste. Celeste was the key to everything.
Before Guroos had ruined his plan of redemption. Gortuk would not become
another Guroos.

Thanatos focused on the darkness. The evil, cruel, chaotic thoughts and
feelings that existed in every creature's subconcious, from every diety to
every insect. No doubt Godzilla would notice this, but Thanatos didn't
care. The last Baalrog would not harm his child.

Gortuk stormed forward, about to grab Thanatos. However, Thanatos stepped
back and swung a misty whip. It connected on Gortuk, and began to surround
him. His flames fought it, killing some, but, like army ants, it finally
extinguised it. The area begin to light up and resembled a sunny noontime
as Gortuk continued to be covered by the black substance. Thanatos looked
at him and chuckled.

"Dark Eternal."

Gortuk roared in agony as his own darkness merged with this horrible
feeling. He felt his own body dissolving. Then, Gortuk finally knew fear as
he realized... he was being consumed by hatred.

Thanatos had taken the hatred of every living thing and focused it into a
weapon. Now, Gortuk felt himself slowly fading away.

Gortuk looked at Thanatos finally as the black substance was near his neck.

"CREATURE...."

The substance surrounded him and slowly evaporated away.

As the darkness of the night returned, the light escaped.

Thanatos, having extended past his limit, collapsed.

Aracalen had already fled.
-- 
The eternal lord of darkness...

"And if our dreams sometimes come true, then what of our nightmares?"

-The undisputed Master of Final Fantasy 2

-GM of FF2c

-Lord of the FFML

ICQ UIN# 23424269

IRC Nicks: TheDarkLord, GannondorfDragmire, occasionally Blackthorne

System: Amiga 4000/040 Cybervision64 & Opalvision

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Date: Sun, 11 Mar 2001 23:39:58 -0600
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Subject: [ffml] [HD] We hold these truths to be self evident
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