Friday, June 4, 2004

(Please...enjoy.)

At the Chocobo Farm Malkav re-entered the somewhat demolished house, and crouched before Choco Billy’s dead body, muttering to himself.

“There was no other way, old man,” he said bluntly. “The choices were to kill or to be killed. And you know I couldn’t allow you kill anyone.”

Malkav paused briefly, as though waiting for a response. He leaned over the dead figure and his fingers darted to the wound on the dead farmer’s cheek, saturating his fingers with blood. He raised his hand to his lips, at first tasting the fresh blood with uncertainty, and then licking the remaining blood off his hands with a sudden, inexplicable urge, which cried out for more with each small taste. Still unsatisfied, he tore open the farmer’s throat with the aid of his metal claw, and indulged himself in more and more of the crimson ambrosia that was fresh blood.

A strangely human scent emanated from the doorway behind him. Irritated by the distraction that was a stranger’s approach, he tore his mouth away from the farmer’s jugular for a moment and sniffed the air suspiciously. The scent was distantly familiar. Yes, he had smelled this one before, in the Midgar ruins, and around where Terra Zero had been captured: the scent of the one called Cross Blade.

Reluctant to leave his morsel, Malkav wiped the blood off his face and rose to his feet slowly, his back still facing the intruder.

“Give up, Cross Blade,” Malkav said calmly. “I caught your scent you the minute you came in here.”

Cross Blade halted and raised his arm to take a whiff. This stranger was right. He smelled awful.

“They’re gone already,” Malkav continued.

“Who the hell are you?” the one called Cross Blade asked. “And what do you mean, ‘they’re gone already’?”

“Those you seek are already gone.”

Cross Blade loosened his grip on the masamune. “You still haven’t answered all of my questions. Who are you? How do you know my name?”

Malkav spun around, glaring at Cross Blade nonchalantly through two blood-red eyes.

“Answer me!” Cross Blade yelled irritably, pointing the sharp end of the masamune at his face.

But Malkav did not budge or flinch in the slightest. “Killing me won’t answer any of your questions,” he said coolly.

Cross Blade glared at him reproachfully, and reluctantly sheathed his masamune.

“I was also a part of MyOtaku.com…that’s how I know you,” Malkav explained.

“Well, what was your name?”

“My real name doesn’t matter. Call me…Malkav.”

Cross Blade tilted his head back and laughed. “…I get it. You’re the self-proclaimed Deus Ex Maccus, right? Nice try, but you can’t convince-”

Cross Blade looked beyond Malkav’s figure, and he could see the mutilated corpse of Choco Billy, its throat ripped open and gushing blood by the pints.

“-Me,” Cross Blade finished. “You did all that? Hmm…would you be interested in an alliance? Your thirst for blood is a valued asset…very valued indeed…”

“I have no intention of joining you on your quest for revenge,” he muttered acidly. “I work for no one, especially not the likes of you.”

“At least consider my offer,” Cross Blade requested. “You can’t make it on your own. Those creeps that ran off with your friend Zero are bound to catch up with you sooner or later…”

Malkav fired his shotgun at the roof with intent. “Leave!” he said coldly.

“All right, I’m leaving, ” Cross Blade said, backing away warily. “But damn, man…what the hell kind of monster are you?”

Without waiting for a reply, Cross Blade exited the house. Malkav crouched before the dead figure again to finish his meal, but found that his appetite for blood was all but gone. In its place was a feeling of disgust and towards the dead body, and perhaps himself. Suddenly nauseated, his body gave an uneasy lurch and he spewed his stomach’s crimson contents onto the floor, choking and gasping for his next breath of air.

“Dammit, Malkav,” he said to himself, shuddering slightly. “What have you become?”

Meanwhile, Cross Blade regrouped with Abbis and Tiago, who had previously been rummaging around the now abandoned stable.

“Did you find anything?” he asked calmly.

Abbis brushed aside some of her white locks that had spilled onto her face. “It’s empty. There’s no sign of Cloud and his friends anywhere, and the Chocobo are all gone. But…”

Tiago stepped forward, his tight fist opening to reveal two small, orbs, one red and one purple, which captured the sunlight and shone brilliantly.

“We found these in one of the Chocobo pens,” Tiago explained.

“What are they?” Cross Blade asked impatiently.

“Considering that this is the Final Fantasy world, there’s only one possible thing they could be,” Abbis stated in a matter-of-factly tone.

“Materia?”

“Bingo.”

“It’s obvious that the red one is a Summon Materia,” Tiago interjected. “I don’t have a clue what the next one does, though....”

“Maybe it’s a Chocobo Lure,” Cross Blade explained. “If we learn how to harness the Materia’s power, we’ll have an advantage. And, if my theory is correct, this purple materia will help us catch up with Cloud and the others.”

“Yeah, sure,” Abbis said hastily. “So, what did you find?”

“…It doesn’t matter,” Cross Blade faltered. “Cloud and the others already have a head start on us, and those people who took Terra Zero are probably closing in on our location already. Let’s move out. I saw some Chocobo tracks not too far from here.”

Elsewhere, Cloud and the others had already arrived at the banks of the marshes. It was uncomfortably placid, without so much as a ripple or the tiniest of disturbances on the surface of the murky water. The Chocobos suddenly became restless, raising their heads up high and looking about warily with their small, beady eyes widened with worry. Cloud’s breath tensed at the thought of the notorious creature that possibly still lurked beneath the surface.

“Hmm…there’s no other way…” Tidus said pensively. “I guess we just have to go.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Sakura said impatiently. “What, do you think there’s a monster in there or something? C’mon, let’s go!”

“You’re not familiar with this world, are you?” Josie asked.

Sakura’s jaw dropped. “Oh my god! There’s a monster in the swamp?”

Josie sighed audibly and decided not to reply.

“Okay, let’s go,” Cloud said valiantly. “Hang on tight, Tif.”

Tifa wrapped her arms around Cloud’s waist more snugly, which seemed to suit him just fine.

With a tug of the reins, the Chocobos they were riding charged into the marshes, splashing the dark water around their ankles as they continued to accelerate.

They were halfway to the other side of the lake when they became aware of another presence that took the form of a dark bullet snaking towards them beneath the water. The Chocobos accelerated further to outrun the creature. Another emerged, undetected, from the murky depths behind them. It’s snake-like head emerged from the water and struck one of the Chocobo, throwing Tidus and Josie off in the process. The snake-like creature disappeared below the surface of the water, pulling the Chocobo down with it.

“Josie!” Ryudo yelled, struggling to stop his Chocobo.

But the frantic Chocobo refused to stop. So, handing Sakura the reins, Ryudo leapt off the frantic bird, landing in the knee-deep water and rushed to his sister’s side.

“Josie, are you all right?” he asked, as Tidus helped Josie to her feet.

“Yeah…never been better,” Josie said, obviously shaken. “But what the hell was that thing?”

The snake-like creature emerged from the water, towering over them. In its mouth was the Chocobo, now dead. It swallowed the whole bird with ease, feathers and all, and then looked down at the trio greedily through two golden, beady eyes, still unsatisfied by its last meal. Another of its kind emerged from the dank depths of the water, rearing his head and preparing to strike.

“Not good…” Tidus muttered, brandishing his sword in preparation for the worst.

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