Bahamut ZERO
01-28-2002, 11:45 PM
... Or rather what I would've done if there had been a sequel. This is to test the waters so to speak. More to follow as and when I have time.
PROLOGUE.
The wind blew across the town of Icicle Inn as the merchant of the town stood shivering on the porch of his shop. He�d only stepped out to check the time of day by the angle of the sun and already his hands were shaking, and his eyes were getting clogged with snow. This had been the coldest winter in the merchant�s memory, having spent close to five years running the store since the last resident moved out.
The merchant shook his head and walked back into the warm. Ever since that fateful day five years ago when the Meteor was destroyed, the whole world had been in a daze. They were directionless without the Shinra company to help point them in the right direction. Midgar had almost been levelled by the Meteor, and was run as a shanty town, with the strong preying on the weak.
It wasn�t until a mysterious benefactor appeared that life begun to slowly crawl forward once more. The figure, whose identity was still unknown, drew together the strands of power left over from Shinra and begun to form a new empire. Still using the Shinra name, and the capital at their disposal, Midgar was rebuilt from the ground up, with even the slums having a face lift.
Midgar and Shinra seemed to go hand in hand. When one prospered, the other also did so. The physical damage that Meteor had done was repaired, but the Mako reactors were still down. The figure in charge didn�t seem too bothered to get them fired up until only a few months back when Reactor number 3 became operational once more, and Mako energy begun to flow freely about the city.
There were many mutterings about the globe about this act, and there were a few who were quick to condemn the action, including the leader of AVALANCHE, Barret Wallace. There were talks of more fighting between Shinra and the people when the leaders of the groups vanished one night. Few spoke of Shinra in a bad light again.
The merchant sat in a half doze at the desk of his shop when he heard a snuffling noise coming from the foot of the entrance. Unconcerned at first, the merchant turned to a stack of paper he�d been meaning to sort out for a while. The noise at the door had stopped and the merchant thought nothing of it.
There was a loud bang outside the shop and the merchant stood in sudden shock, the hair standing on the back of his neck. Going to the wall, the merchant pulled down a stout dagger and put it in his pocket, before walking towards the door.
The wind was howling outside and the merchant had to close his ways as it took his breath away. He gasped for air before the wind suddenly stopped and he lost his footing, staggering forward. He would�ve fallen had it not been for the person stood in front of him who caught him.
A sudden chill ran through the merchant at the touch. He looked up and saw that the person�s face was covered. The chill running up and down his spine made him grateful that that was the case. The person wore a black cloak that covered him from head to feet. His hands were gloved, his feet bore heavy black boots and there was a sword around his waist. The merchant quickly backed away from him.
�Wh... What happened?� The merchant asked.
The person didn�t respond, merely turning away and beginning to walk past when the merchant stepped in front of him, though his mind screamed for him to run back through the door.
�Are you deaf? What was that crashing sound?� The merchant demanded.
The person carried on seemingly ignoring him, but stopped walking. It slowly turned its head to look upon the merchant, who fell to his knees in it�s gaze. Finally, the person turned his head back to face forward, lifting a gloved hand and pointing northward. The merchant turned his terror stricken eyes reluctantly away from the person to look to what he pointed at.
�Oh Gods!� He breathed frantically.
The sky was alight with shades of orange and red, almost as if it was on fire. The further north that the merchant looked, the stronger the colours and the more ferocious it seemed to swirl in the air. He begun to almost feel the heat, sweat standing on his forehead and in the palms of his hands.
The sensation was suddenly gone, and the merchant was on his knees in the middle of the snow, chill settling into his tired limbs. He looked up to the sky and saw that it was beginning to cloud over. There was no sign of the vivid flame that had been scorching it earlier. The merchant got to his feet and looked around for the person who�d been standing in front of him. No-one was in the vicinity, and the merchant was out alone.
Shaken, the merchant turned back to the entrance to his store and walked forward when something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. Looking to his left, the merchant spied a fragment of a sword blade. He picked it up, cutting his finger on the corner of the blade. Examining it closely, he took it to be from a Masumune sword. Turning the blade over, the merchant found three very clear and distinct words on the fragment before it shattered in his hands.
�They are coming.�
PROLOGUE.
The wind blew across the town of Icicle Inn as the merchant of the town stood shivering on the porch of his shop. He�d only stepped out to check the time of day by the angle of the sun and already his hands were shaking, and his eyes were getting clogged with snow. This had been the coldest winter in the merchant�s memory, having spent close to five years running the store since the last resident moved out.
The merchant shook his head and walked back into the warm. Ever since that fateful day five years ago when the Meteor was destroyed, the whole world had been in a daze. They were directionless without the Shinra company to help point them in the right direction. Midgar had almost been levelled by the Meteor, and was run as a shanty town, with the strong preying on the weak.
It wasn�t until a mysterious benefactor appeared that life begun to slowly crawl forward once more. The figure, whose identity was still unknown, drew together the strands of power left over from Shinra and begun to form a new empire. Still using the Shinra name, and the capital at their disposal, Midgar was rebuilt from the ground up, with even the slums having a face lift.
Midgar and Shinra seemed to go hand in hand. When one prospered, the other also did so. The physical damage that Meteor had done was repaired, but the Mako reactors were still down. The figure in charge didn�t seem too bothered to get them fired up until only a few months back when Reactor number 3 became operational once more, and Mako energy begun to flow freely about the city.
There were many mutterings about the globe about this act, and there were a few who were quick to condemn the action, including the leader of AVALANCHE, Barret Wallace. There were talks of more fighting between Shinra and the people when the leaders of the groups vanished one night. Few spoke of Shinra in a bad light again.
The merchant sat in a half doze at the desk of his shop when he heard a snuffling noise coming from the foot of the entrance. Unconcerned at first, the merchant turned to a stack of paper he�d been meaning to sort out for a while. The noise at the door had stopped and the merchant thought nothing of it.
There was a loud bang outside the shop and the merchant stood in sudden shock, the hair standing on the back of his neck. Going to the wall, the merchant pulled down a stout dagger and put it in his pocket, before walking towards the door.
The wind was howling outside and the merchant had to close his ways as it took his breath away. He gasped for air before the wind suddenly stopped and he lost his footing, staggering forward. He would�ve fallen had it not been for the person stood in front of him who caught him.
A sudden chill ran through the merchant at the touch. He looked up and saw that the person�s face was covered. The chill running up and down his spine made him grateful that that was the case. The person wore a black cloak that covered him from head to feet. His hands were gloved, his feet bore heavy black boots and there was a sword around his waist. The merchant quickly backed away from him.
�Wh... What happened?� The merchant asked.
The person didn�t respond, merely turning away and beginning to walk past when the merchant stepped in front of him, though his mind screamed for him to run back through the door.
�Are you deaf? What was that crashing sound?� The merchant demanded.
The person carried on seemingly ignoring him, but stopped walking. It slowly turned its head to look upon the merchant, who fell to his knees in it�s gaze. Finally, the person turned his head back to face forward, lifting a gloved hand and pointing northward. The merchant turned his terror stricken eyes reluctantly away from the person to look to what he pointed at.
�Oh Gods!� He breathed frantically.
The sky was alight with shades of orange and red, almost as if it was on fire. The further north that the merchant looked, the stronger the colours and the more ferocious it seemed to swirl in the air. He begun to almost feel the heat, sweat standing on his forehead and in the palms of his hands.
The sensation was suddenly gone, and the merchant was on his knees in the middle of the snow, chill settling into his tired limbs. He looked up to the sky and saw that it was beginning to cloud over. There was no sign of the vivid flame that had been scorching it earlier. The merchant got to his feet and looked around for the person who�d been standing in front of him. No-one was in the vicinity, and the merchant was out alone.
Shaken, the merchant turned back to the entrance to his store and walked forward when something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. Looking to his left, the merchant spied a fragment of a sword blade. He picked it up, cutting his finger on the corner of the blade. Examining it closely, he took it to be from a Masumune sword. Turning the blade over, the merchant found three very clear and distinct words on the fragment before it shattered in his hands.
�They are coming.�