"Where... are we?" Ard asked, staring curiously at the castle nearby. The bishounen responded as would be expected. "..." Ardweden turned to face her companion. "Well, in any case, we can't just stand around waiting for an invite. Let's go!" And so, the two Heroes entered the mysterious castle, unaware of the strange truths that lied just beyond the door... --------------------- Otaku Wish Fulfillment Theatre Started by Scott Schimmel Chapter #34 Truth and Lies... That, and more Random Insanity! (Feel free to "Wai!") --------------------- ------------------- Two hours earlier... ------------------- Damien sighed. He was, perhaps, the only one who had foreseen this. "Let's go get 'em, you said. We'll free Ard and teach the traitor a lesson, you said. Never mind that you didn't know which way they went!" Steve ranted for the umpteenth time. "Funny," Scott replied, "I seem to remember [you] saying most of that!" Yes, the toll of time and treachery had taken its toll on the Heroes' morale. They didn't seem to notice that they were nearing the peak of the mountain. "Fury Mountain," Damien pondered aloud. What were its secrets? It seemed everything here led to some change of events. Almost as if they were in a... The thought erased itself from his mind. It knew the boundaries of the "Fourth Wall", and it knew enough not to break through them. Steve stopped long enough from his rants to notice a small cave. He wondered what sort of creature lived in it. Certainly one which could endure high temperatures for long times. Fury Mountain seemed to teem with geothermal vents and lava floes. Maybe the heat was what was making them so irritable? Suddenly, the Heroes heard an enormous rumbling from below. They all knew what it meant. They were, after all, on a volcano. Steve seemed to want to make it obvious. He did. "THE VOLCANO'S ERUPTING!!!!" --------------- The adventurers ducked into the (now deemed plot-convenient) cave just before the lava passed over them. "Wait," Scott said. "If this is a volcano, then won't the caves go into the lava?" Luckily, this cave, upon further, more intense examination, was found to be too short to go that far down. The placing of a sign just inside the cave proclaiming it to be a "Safe Refuge" helped reinforce their beliefs. Breathing sighs of relief, the sat down on the ground to assess the current situation. "So, where do we go from here?" Scott asked. "We could finish off Xelloss and rush to the happy happy wai wai ending. I can't believe I just said that," Scott muttered, sinking into a mild depression. "Nether can I," Steve thought out loud. Immediately Kate smacked him over the head with the aforementioned sign. Steve's eyes passed over a small orb in the corner of the room. None of the others seemed to notice it. Deciding it may be either useful or valuable, (as all strange looking small objects are in these stories,) he stood up, walked to it, and picked it up. A bright light seemed to jump out of the orb, engulfing the party. Damien turned from his spot near the cave's entrance, saying, "The lava's cooled." The rest of his group, however, was nowhere to be seen... ------------ Upon entering the castle, Ard started to think out loud about Cold Mountain. "That was weird. The mountain seemed normal enough, but the cave! Huge ice crystals, spikes falling from the ceiling, and then, at the end, a weird glowing orb!" Illyria responded by merely adding "That orb..." Although he did not say it, Illyria knew that the orb was what brought them there. After all, it only started glowing when Ard rushed up and grabbed it. Impulse can be a strong motivator... "Wh... What are THOSE things?!" Illyria looked up to see what Ard was referring to: standard demon minions. Illyria shrugged and drew his sword. "Let's fin-..." For some odd reason, Illyria couldn't finish his sentence. He knew these creatures seemed familiar, and he had a thought prepared, but as soon as he tried to say it, it faded away... "Beware, mortals!" the weak demons' leader cried. "We are the Hyper Evil Writer's Block Demons!" Illyria came as close to facefaulting as a bishounen can. At least now he knew what he was dealing with. Disposing of words for the moment, Illyria charged the demons. Ard... stood helpless, trying to find something to say. ------------ Meanwhile... ------------ The other heroes (sans Damien) regained consciousness at the back of the very same castle. However, they won't have quite as exciting a time, as that is the way back doors work. All this accomplished was taking us to after the battle with the Ultra Evil Writer's Block Demons. With that in mind... -------------- Illyria and Ard burst through the last door, preparing to face the castle's lord. Instead... "Hi! It's good to meet you! Illyria and Ardweden, right? I've heard much about you from our chief!" announced a young man in his later teen years. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm James. I've been summoned here by our chief to help you. You're looking to defeat Xelloss, right? "Yeah," Illyria replied. "I see. Well, believe it or not, he isn't really the man you should be fighting. Here, I'll start from the beginning." At that exact instant, the other heroes burst through the door. "Prepare yourself, Illyria!" Kate cried, intent on defeating the "traitor." Suddenly, the castle itself shook. Steve braced against the wall. "Now what?" A wave of energy tore through the room. Steve looked around. It seemed that he and James were the only ones unaffected by the blast. "Damn," James muttered. "Minami! You'll have to start casting the spell early!" A Japanese teenaged girl came through a door, calling out, "Hai!" Steve was about to ask what was happening when... "Minion of Darkness! Prepare yourself! There can be no forgiveness for those of your kind!" Kate stood, surrounded by the other Heroes. They all looked distant, as though they were being controlled... "Steve!" James called out. "No time for formal introductions! I'll need your help keeping them away!" "What can I do?" Steve replied. "I'm just the side-..." ----------- The destined heroes stood upon the crest of their hill in fear and awe. Facing them from the opposite peak was a lone shape robed in a cloak of black. Upon his chest he wore a coat of blackened mail. Upon his raven-black hair sat a thin ringlet of silver studded with rubies. Around his neck was a silver amulet forged in the semblance of a dragon, and within its talons was gripped the gem of ages, the heart of legends; it smoldered with a crimson light, an eternal flame, yet was contained by the darkness. In his hands he wielded a long black staff with a curved blade affixed to one end and a long spike to the other; below the blade a dull white gemstone integrated seamlessly with the weapon, and midway down the staff silver runes were carved into the light, sturdy metal. The wind caught his cloak, flapping it gently before it settled back around his tall form. His emotionless black eyes regarded the heroes from a hard, shadowed face. He was the one, the lord of darkness, the herald of death. He was Mortavis. He advanced towards the heroes, his movements effortless, his demeanor betraying no fear, no anxiety. Illyria unsheathed his sword. Scott underwent her transformation. Ardweden focused her energy and readied herself for combat. Dan powered up his suit. Kate pulled up her mask and drew her blade. As one they stepped forward to meet their adversary. Steve was left behind, standing helplessly. They closed in on one another. Closer, closer, while the world stopped around them. The sun was lost from sight and a dark, brooding twilight set in. Closer.... "CHAOS STORM OF IMMOLATION!!!!" cried Scott. In response white-hot meteors materialized before her and flew headlong at the enemy. The figure halted his stride and stood without moving, his eyes closed and oblivious to his impending doom. The missiles bore down on him, faster, faster...... He lifted his hand, palm outward. The meteors crashed hard into the invisible barrier, shattering and vanishing without a trace. Kate lept into the air, sword gleaming in the last rays of light. Down she fell, completing the swing as she hit ground. Her sword was stopped short by a blindingly fast parry. Mortavis then spun backwards, bringing the spike low in a tripping manuever. Kate dodged with a quick jump to her right....straight into the other blade. Or that's how it would have been. "Not this time!" Steve cried out. A new power flowed through him. He tossed a ball of energy at the blades, knocking them out of Mortavis's hands. "This isn't possible! Dreams are my domain!" Steve leapt forward, shooting a ray of pure white energy from his hands. "Not anymore!" In a brilliant display of special effects and light, Mortavis disintegrated. ----------- Steve found himself back in the throne room. His friends were out of the spell. "This time, no one can take your powers away," James stated. "And you won't have any side-effects, either." After tending to the heroes wounds he began his explanation. "Xelloss isn't the true villain." He waited for this to sink in, and continued. " The man who I have fought countless times, the man who seeks to destroy your world and our chief's, the man who summoned Golems in Chrono Trigger is the real villain. Xel and the chief have been searching for the Seals to use to defeat him. We need you to go out and locate Dalton. Once you've found his fortress, I'll finish him off." "One question. Who are you?" " Someone the auth... chief... made up... er, summoned. Yeah. Now go forth and finish this quest!" Steve, too shocked over the knowledge that he was the leader AND the traitor, stood motionless. Author's notes: Please don't hate me. Waah.