The Traveler{Jack}{Open by invite}

Alexander was broken, before the beatings started. Whoever was controlling this took the foundation of Alexander's spirit and turned it into sand. However, once the physical abuse started, it snapped Alex back, like a rubber band being released. For how harsh and militaristic Patrick had been he never, not one time, layed hands on Alexander. Through gritted teeth and tears, the young man retorted against his mental assailant, "You aren't him. You don't get the right to pretend to be him! You aren't good enough to lick his boots!" A righteous anger flowed throw there Magicite Knight, and he now knew what it meant to be one. Two orbs, one in Alex's left forearm and one in his right, and the third in his halberd, began to glow. "I do not know who you are or where you get off tainting the memories of a great man, but I will stand for it no longer!" Releasing power from all three of his materia at once, bolts of fire, ice, and electricity would race across the small distance between him and 'Patrick'. Looking up, "Whomever you are, I'm coming for you next!"

Mari

As Coran scrambled up to the roof he smiled darkly as he saw Mari,  “I know what you’re thinking huntress,” he said in the voice that wasn’t his own.  “You’re wrong though, I have made this human better, he will destroy you.” Coran began running towards Mari, a sick grin on his face.

Something unexpected happened as Coran crossed the roof of the bar.  A beam of light came from the sky enveloping the entire bar, he stopped a look of agony on his face as dark tendrils like steam seemed to escape from his body and dissipate in the light.  Coran fell to his knees on the rooftop, he looked at Mari a look of pain and despair in his eyes.  “Do it Mari, do it now, right here,” he said striking his chest above his heart.  “Don’t let that bastard win.”
~~~~~~~

Jack

As Jack cast holy the darkness left Rieka’s eyes.  She looked down at Serianna and saw Jack leaving the bar.  “No,” she whispered before running after him calling his name.  She made sure to stay in the doorway of the bar, where the light was still shining.  “Jack, we’re not memories,” she called after him.  Rieka looked around at the destroyed city outside the bar, “This is what happened? This is what we caused?” She muttered to herself trying to remember what happened before facing Jack again.  “This isn’t our Eternia is it?  Azuth has pulled Serianna and I here, implanting false memories, I never actually knew her.  Jack I’m so sorry,” Rieka said taking a step towards him holding out her hand.

As Rieka stepped out of the holy light she froze, reality seemed to split behind her shadows oozed out, dragging her into the rift, replacing her with a shadow form.  Small rifts began appearing all around Jack, shadowy forms of those he knew surrounding him, looking at him with hatred and pain.  Romulus, Rieka, Seriana, Atnem, Lilith, Novus, countless others, people Jack once considered friends.  They encircled him.  

“We trusted you, we followed you, and because of you we died, our existence destroyed.  Those of us who survived are now lost in the void because of you.  This is all because of you Jack,” the shadows whispered in eerie unison.

“All this time, you were the one who killed me,” the shadowy Serianna said walking in front of him.

“You let us down,” said the Rieka shadow, stepping up behind Serianna's left shoulder.

Stepping up on Serianna's other side the Shadowy Atnem spoke with a cruel smile, “and now you'll do the same thing all over again with these people.  Always killing everyone you care about.”

~~~~~~~
Zeke

As Zeke tried to walk to the surface something odd happened.  Everything seemed to flicker for a brief moment.  The mud and water disappeared and he was standing in the Dragon’s breath, which was bathed in golden light.  A woman lay dead on the floor and another with dark hair was walking towards the door past him and Alex calling Jack’s name.  As soon as it appeared it was gone though and he found himself in darkness.  
~~~~~~~

Alex

As Alex looked up he was looking at a glorious light, as he looked around he saw Zeke near him and a woman going to the door calling Jack’s name, before he could see much else everything went dark.
~~~~~

Alex & Zeke

“Damn that man,” a voice rumbled in the darkness seeming to come from everywhere.  “He may have cut me off from your bodies and limited my control of you, but I have your minds.  I’ve still got enough power to keep you two locked with me for eons.

The men had a sense of their bodies, they felt as though they were in a physical space but there was no light anywhere to be seen.

Mari saw the light fall, and the darkness leave Coran. She saw him fall to his knees and heard his plea. As her heart began racing she felt time slow down. She jumped back to the roof of the bar, feeling the warm embrace of the light and quickly walked over to Coran. She knelt in front of him, setting her bow down, and taking his chin in her hand she looked into his eyes. “I’m sorry,” she whispered as she felt tears begin to fall. She kissed him gently, taking her knife from her belt. “May the Gods welcome you to eternal peace,” she said as she thrust the knife upwards between his ribs and into his heart.

As time returned to normal speed Coran raised his hand gently wiping a tear from her cheek. “Thank you,” he said with a slight smile as he ran his thumb over her lips. His hand fell as Mari saw the light leave his eyes. His body slumped down onto the roof, he was gone.

Mari felt a hardness settle in her chest as she grabbed her bow and stood up. “You will pay,” she said before releasing her sadness and rage in a primal scream that echoed around the abandoned city.

"Begone, specters of the past! This world is not yours." A familiar voice shouted as it rushed past Jack, blade raised high. The sword arced down with a powerful swing and planted itself, almost with a squishy thud, in the shadowy Romulus's torso. The dark figure split in two and puffed away into oblivion.

"Are you really gonna let this handsome devil talk to you like that, Captain?" he quipped over his shoulder. "Come, let us cleanse this darkness, together." Atnem stood before the dark figures as they advanced upon him.

Tears fell as he kneeled, among the spectre's. "Rieka, I know what my burdens are, They are my own to bear......"Begone, specters of the past! This world is not yours." he heard familiar voice shouted as it rushed past Jack, blade raised high. The sword arced down with a powerful swing and planted itself, almost with a squishy thud, in the shadowy Romulus's torso. The dark figure split in two and puffed away into oblivion.  "Are you really gonna let this handsome devil talk to you like that, Captain?" he quipped over his shoulder. "Come, let us cleanse this darkness, together." Atnem stood before the dark figures as they advanced upon him.

Jack looked up and smirked, "Atnem, You're looking old, here to save my ass again." He said as he wiped the tears. "I've known for a long time Serianna died by my hands. It was caused by my inaction years and eons ago." he looked towards the sky.



Music for the scene.

"Stand tall my friends, We will not let this darkness prevail." He said as he stood and released his swords they began to circle around him. "The guardians of the past no longer are here to protect this world. We shall create a new Generation and learn from our past transgressions. I am not a man haunted, I am a man freed from the burdens of the past." More weapons began to appear and circle around him, his eyes began to glow blue and magic floated violently around him.

"This world is protected Azuth, or did you not learn that the first time. Azriel brought me back for a mission, you foul being. You think it a coincidence I appear after all this time just to be granted mortality. No... I stand as the light among the dark, the beacon of hope for those that have lost their way. Release my friends and allies. You have no place in this universe any more!" Jack released the spell that he was building. the vast multitude of weapons shining brilliant light. "Seek out and shatter the darkness, TEMPLAR MAXIMA" with that casting the weapons blasted outwards from his weavings and struck the foul darkness wherever it lay.

As the river started to phase away, Zeke swore he could see familiar faces. "Are we... back in the tavern?", he thought to himself. He shouted upon seeing his friend on the floor near him, "Alex!" He saw a woman running to the door, calling for Jack. Everything started to fade to black, and he could hear a voice all around him. "No!", he shouted to the woman, as he grabbed his staff in one hand and the pocket watch in the other, forming the spell Stop, aimed at where he'd seen the figure of the woman. "What's going on? Why is this happening?", he cried out. His friends seemed to at least still be alive, and he took some solace in that, but he needed to get back, and this disembodied voice was now in his way. "Who are you? What do you want with us?", his voice now calm, masking his inner fury.

Alexander will stand tall, side by side with Zeke. With a defiant grin on his face, "I will not go quietly! Azuth, you will meet your justice once again!" His right arm was surrounded in fire, "By flames be cleansed, Fire!" He launches a bolt of fire into the encroaching darkness. Alex wasn't sure who or where his actual opponent was, but he would not die on his knees.

Mari, Atnem, Jack


”YOU” Azuth snarled as Atnem appeared, his voice seemed to echo out of every shadow.  “I will destroy you!”  The shadow creatures began to rush upon the two men.  Many were cut down but more continued to come through the rifts, as Azuth's voice continued to echo around. “You will both pay, you'll make the same mistakes all over again, you're already doing it.  Don't you hear?”  Azuth said as Mari's scream rang out.  “At least for women you're bad news,” he said with a chuckle.  

“Did you ever find out what happened to your dear Maggie?  If I remember correctly last you saw her she was bleeding out tumbling into one of your little rifts.”  Azuth said as a shadowy form of a woman clutching a stump where an arm should be appeared above them before falling and landing with a sickening thud in front of Atnem.  
~~~~~~~

Zeke and Alexander

“I am Azuth, the dark lord. I want nothing from you, you're merely pawns I needed to get out of the way.  You're both insignificant,” Azuth's voice said with a chuckle.  “It is entertaining to have new minds to play in though so I thank you for that.  Especially yours little yuke.”

As Alex's arm became engulfed in flame the darkness retreated showing a grey landscape.  It was almost as if the men were in a bowl, a depression surrounded by hills limiting their view.  In front of them at the top of the rise was a gnarled old tree with a noose hanging from it.  In the distance the sound of fighting could be heard.  The ground around them seemed oddly uneven.  As their eyes adjusted they could see that covering the ground in a single layer were bodies.  Young and old, soldier and civilian.  Grey, motionless.  

If they choose to climb the hill they will see more bodies stretching as far as the eye can see.  There are shadowy figures walking among the bodies streaming towards small rifts which are scattered about the landscape.

Mari heard voices and the sound of fighting. She strode over to the edge of the roof and looked over the scene below. Jack and another man were fighting shadowy figures who were coming out of small rifts. She drew her bow and began firing at the figures as they rushed upon Jack and the man. She knew her arrows wouldn't last forever though.

Mari took a deep breath and slung her bow on her back. She crouched down and grabbed the daggers out of her boots before dropping off the roof. Mercilessly stabbing into any shadow creature within reach, it was far from elegant, but it was effective.

Jacks eyes glowed blue as he focused his rage into the spell. The swords flying rapidly at the shades, as they kept coming. "This is no use they just keep coming at us. I cannot maintain this focus much longer." He said as much to atnem as himself. He allowed his coat to unravel and dissipate to free up a bit more focus. "I will hold out as long as I can but I am beginning to weaken. My powers are not what they used to be."

"Hah! I look old?" Atnem noticed a shimmer in Jack's eyes. "Must be the stress. Just wait until you hear where I've been."

No matter how many shadows fell, ten more appeared to take their place. Jack tore the darkness asunder, but it rushed back to fill the void. Arrows struck dark figures sneaking in from behind, and a stranger dropped in from the rooftops; still, the darkness advanced.

Atnem ignored the demonic voice's taunts. He knew Maggie was safe. He refused to believe anything else.

"Stand strong, friends! We have the advantage." Atnem shouted as he raised his blade aloft. "Only fools rely solely on their own power." He twirled his sword so the blade pointed downward. "But we don't have to."

The sword fell and planted itself in the earth, emitting a wave of power that seemed to slow the dark creatures in their tracks. Atnem quickly drew his bow and kept fighting.

"Alex, where are we, and how will we get back to our friends now? This place is dark, and it doesn't feel right... We're in time, but it doesn't feel like the right time, the time here feels strange...", Zeke said quietly. He knelt down to see why it felt like he was standing on something, and saw the first body. "These are... bodies?! They're everywhere, what is this place?!", he thought, now shuddering. He ran to the hill with the tree, trying as hard as he could not to step on the bodies. The tree had a strange rope in it, but what was that for? He could see large figures moving in the darkness, "Alex, I just want to go back. What are those things?", he asked, pointing to the large figures. He held his pocket watch, and quietly said, "Grandpa, I need your help."

Alexander was first taken aback by the scene. Experiencing death, of this magnitude, would shake anyone. It took him a moment, really it was Zeke speaking, to bring him hurtling back to reality. Thinking for a moment, he smirked, "We are exactly where we were a moment ago. Azuth, the dark lord, is nothing but a fragment of what he once was. I trust Jack when he said he defeated him once before, and we can stand assured that he will do so again." Holding his halberd aloft, lightning began to spark down it, "Until then, we simply draw his attention to us, because even a moments distraction will help serve our friends!" There was a sense of confidence in the young knights voice. He truly believed Jack would pull him and Zeke out of whatever hell they were locked into.

Unsure of how to draw the eye of Azuth, he simply did the only thing he could think of. Smashing his halberd into the ground, he dispersed the electrical energy within. It would course through some of the nearby corpses, causing bits and pieces of them to explode off, due to the raw energy. Within another moment, his hand was once again wreathed in fire, "By the flames of the inferno, be purified! Fire!" Once again, he launched fire from his hand, this time with the intent of lighting some bodies on fire. It wasn't much, but it was all he had.

Shadowlands

"Your precious Jack never defeated me human.  He and his friends destroyed the universe, killing everyone in existence then.  It's their bodies you see here, my own little graveyard filled with the souls of those trapped by the guardians foolishness," Azuth said his voice sounding both amused and a bit tired.  "Of course Azriel 'fixed' everything rewriting time itself, but time here is not the same, as you've  noticed little yuke, this is my time, what happened happend and the past cannot be erased so easily here.
~~~~~~~
Lanatha

As Atnem's sword plunged into the ground and the ripple of time spread it disrupted the rifts, causing them to destabilize for a moment and the flow of shadowmen to cease.  One by one the rifts blinked out of existence some cutting shadowmen apart as they were caught half in half out.  I low growl could be heard echoing around them dripping with frustration and anger.  
~~~~~~~
Shadowlands

The rifts in the distance seemed to disappear one by one, leaving the shadowy figures confused.  The air itself seemed to tense before a roar was heard, deafeningly loud.  "You cannot take this from me!  It's all I have," Azuth screamed.  The shadowmen seemed to be pulled up into the air and coalesced into a massive form.  A dragon took shape with a shadowy man on its back, a large sword in his hands.  "I will deal with you myself then Madail's son since you enjoy messing with my time so much, it will be a pleasure to crush you and the traveler with my own hands,” Azuth cried as he opened a massive rift about 20 feet in front of Zeke and Alex.  Looking through the rift was like looking through a doorway, they could clearly see shadowmen slowed in time with Jack, Mari, and another man fighting them, it seemed as if they could just step through and be back in reality with their companions.  The dragon and Azuth hovered in the air staring through the rift.  “As soon as your spell wears off boy, you’re mine.”
~~~~~~~
Lanatha

A massive rift suddenly opened where the Dragon’s Breath used to be, but nothing came out.  Looking through it was like looking through a muddy puddle, everything seemed slightly distorted and wreathed in shadows but a massive Dragon was visible with a rider on its back it seemed to be biding its time waiting for its chance to come through the rift without being affected by the time spell.

Zeke wasn't sure what to do now. He didn't want to let the man on the dragon through, but assumed that if the man went through, the portal would close. If they stayed to fight him, there was still a chance that he would just close the portal as well, leaving them stranded with him. "It's been fun guys. I don't know what will happen, but I can't just do nothing.", he thought to himself. "Alex, you should go through the portal, I'll see if I can at least hold him in here. I'm not sure what will work here because the time is a little strange, but there's still something else I haven't tried. If I can just get the time to stop it may buy you all some more.", he whispered to Alex. He reached for the pocket watch and began to focus.

Alexander laughed, "Listen, my new friend. I admire your courage, hell, I'm not sure I could willingly choose to sacrifice myself to by people some time, especially people I met less than two days ago. Maybe I should take some lessons from you, but now... is not that time." He would then grab Zeke by the collar of his shirt and either drag or carry the time mage closer to the portal. As they neared the exit, hoping that Azuth didn't pay them any mind until they were close enough to the exit where Alex would feel brave enough to quip up, "Thank you for your hospitality, oh Lord of Darkness and King of Yesteryear, but we must now bid you adieu." Bowing his head he would toss or nudge Zeke through the rift and jump through right after."

Upon hitting the ruined stone road in the desolated city of Lanantha, the young knight's courage would give out. His knees would shake and give out from under him. Now that he had a moment to think, he would realize that he just stared death, and not just death, but the Dark God Azuth himself, in the face and managed to squeeze out a taunt or two. He genuinely felt like he was going to vomit. Looking up and seeing Jack, tired, but still standing, he smiled, "Good to see you still up and running. Just thought I should let you know, I think Azuth is about to come through that rift.... on top of a dragon no less." Rising to his feet, shakily at first, and using his halberd to life him, he reentered his fighting stance. He was tired, but he was still going to fight, if that is what it took, though he was desperately searching for another way out.

Mari was filled with rage but she could see Jack's energy flagging, when the newcomer slowed the shadowmen and the rifts closed she though it might have been the end of it before the massive rift opened behind her. "I don't think we'd survive fighting a dragon in this state guys, we need to find a way to close that rift," she called to her companions.

Looking at the rift again Mari noticed two figures approaching from the other side. She adjusted the grips on her daggers prepared to give whatever came through a nice stabbing when she saw it was Alex dragging Zeke. As the two came through Mari rushed to them, taking out a few slowed shadowmen on the way. "Are you guys okay, how...wh.." She tried to put in to words all the questions about how they'd gotten on the other side of the rift but couldn't find the words, "Seems like you two might have a decent story for later." she said with a slight chuckle.

Jack let his spell fade. "Atnem I need cover while i try and recuperate my magic." he said as his breathing was hard and heavy. He closed his eyes and focused on the source of all magic the cosmos. He felt some of it trickle back into him and then he lost focus and it began to fade away.

"Well that's annoying." he said as he picked up a rusted sword from the ground. "Guess we will have to do this the hard way."

"Tick-tock, tick-tock, your spells almost up boy," Azuth said drawing closer to the portal. "The girls right, you won't survive fighting me and the Gods have stolen your powers. Jack's exhausted, the other man...Alex is getting tired. Little Zeke can't stand against me and all Mari's got is rage." He said his voice barely concealing a laugh. "The God's don't care about you fools anymore. This ends now."

As Azuth talked something, odd, happened. From the hole in time where Atnem's sword struck the ground a beam of light rose up piercing the sky. Rays of light went to each person stopping in front of them. As the light faded an item was left hovering in the air in front of each person.

Alex had a small green orb, about the size of a large marble in front of him. A time materia, gently pulsating with light.

In front of Jack there was a small silver locket with a picture of Serianna, the locket could be used to store a moderate amount of magical energy to give Jack if necessary but it would need to be recharged each day.

A quiver floated before Mari, filled with arrows a few had different colored fletching, red for fire, green for poison, and black for an explosive combination. The regular arrows would never run out, but each day there were only 2 of the colored arrows.

There was a scroll before Zeke. A scroll of disruption, that could theoretically dispel most magical effects. The nature of the rift meant the scroll alone wouldn't be enough, but perhaps if it were destabilized enough the scroll would work.

Each person knew instinctively what their items were, and what they could do. They also felt a voice whisper in the back of their heads, a voice of power, warmth and love, saying "Work together, destabilize and destroy. We are with you children. Hurry"

Mari reached out and grabbed the quiver in front of her slinging it on her back with a slight smile. "He's right guys, there's not much time left, but I think the gods do care. So let's do this." She said before drawing one of the black fetched arrows.

"Explosions tend to be destabilizing right?" She said with a slight laugh as she carefully sighted down the shaft and aimed towards the edge of the rift.

Jack took the necklace in his hand and a tear rolled down his cheek. He smiled and put it on, resolve and determination filled him, as magic energy infused his body. "Well now this is handy." he smiled as he turned towards the portals and held out his hands. "SCATHE!" he cast as blasts of energy shot from his hands towards the portals.

Alexander saw the green orb floating in front of him, and, even before he grabbed it, he felt his energy returning. Not because of any magical restoration, but, mostly, because this is exactly what he had been after. Excitement and adrenaline coursed through his body, re-limbering up his stiffening limbs.

In a flash, the young knight grabbed the green orb and thrust it into his legs. Others who hadn't seen this before might be taken aback by it, but, given the gravity of their current situation, the others may not even notice. What they would notice, however, would be the speed at which Alexander took off. Moving at roughly twice the speed he had moved at before, he darted between the portals. With a couple of waves of his hands, the orb in his left ankle would begin to glow, and he was casting raw time magic, with no real direction, in the direction of the gates into another realm, with the sole purpose of destabilizing the magic holding them together.

What the others didn't know, and, in the rush of things, neither did Alexander, he was running on fumes. Casting magic at this time would likely have some rather nasty repercussions after this battle is over.

Zeke held the scroll quizzically for a moment, wondering at first where it had come from. He opened it, and nearly shouted in excitement. He knew this spell, but he'd never actually cast it himself. It wasn't overly complicated really, he'd just never taken the time to learn it, but in this case it would surely be useful. He laid his staff on the ground next to him, and brought the pocket watch in front of him, before letting it go. It stayed suspended in the air as he began to read from the scroll, taking care not to miss any of the spell. It was in a strange language that his grandfather had taught him. He'd said that spells could sometimes be written as such to carry more power, and this one was taking a lot out of him to finish. As he neared the end of the spell, it seemed to almost come to him naturally, and he wouldn't realize that he was now shouting the last lines. As he finished the spell, magic swirled around him for a moment, before rushing around the rift, coalescing at the edges and forming strands across it, attempting to almost sew it closed.

Azuth roared in rage rushing towards the portal as Atnem's spell ended. The attacks on the portal had weakened it, and as he heard Zeke begin his spell he knew this was his last chance. The dragon mount raced towards the portal which was beginning to waver noticeably.

As Zeke finished the spell and the magic stretched itself across the portal Azuth screamed, "I'VE ESCAPED HERE BEFORE I CAN DO IT AGAIN. ETERNIA IS MINE!" The portal began to close, the rift in time was being stitched back together. As the dragon hit the magic stretched across the portal it disintegrated in a cloud of smoke. Azuth Jumped clear and landed in front of the shrinking portal. He stood there looking at them. "I will find a way to destroy you all for this, I promise you that," He swore as the portal closed.

As the spell completed a massive shock wave went out from where the rift was, sucking the breath and energy from the adventurers. A kind quite voice could be heard in their heads whispering "Well done."

Mari saw their efforts working to destabilize the portal, she saw Zeke begin casting his spell and the dragon rushing towards them. Time was running out. But it looked like the spell was working! Despite Azuth's proclamation she felt relief, they'd actually done it.

As the shock wave reached her Mari collapsed to her knees exhausted. She heard the voice say "Well done," before she lost consciousness.

Mari was in a clearing, the one between Mordecai's place and Coran's family's farm, the clearing they'd spend hours in talking and training. The grass smelled sweet and the sun was warm and comforting. Coran was there and he was smiling at her. "You did well Red, I should have listened to you but I'm almost glad I didn't. Even with everything that went wrong, it all ended right. You did good in those ruins. You and your friends, you...you kept one of the darkest forces in existence in check. You're all destined for great things." He said walking towards her.

"I killed you, what's the point of all this if you're still dead? Can't you come back please, won't the gods at least give me that?" Mari pleaded as she felt tears begin to fall.

"Hush," Coran said gently as he wrapped Mari in a hug gently stroking her hair. "I can't come back, and I don't want to. I'm not strong enough to live with what I've done, but you...you've always been tougher than me love. Go and live your life." He gently kissed her on the top of the head and squeezed her tightly. "I'm so proud of you Mari, and don't you ever forget that I love you."

"I love you too," Mari said burring her face into his neck and breathing in deeply trying to hold this moment in her mind, trying to memorize the warmth of the sun, the smell of Coran and of the clearing, the feeling of his arms around her, before the vision faded away.