The Start of it All

[RyderHakubi]

"Angela Kietsu... Goddess of Protection, 2nd Class Unlimited." Angela stated simply.

Turning to Kwok, she replied, "Oh, we're in some video game universe.  I knew I should have read up before I followed you here..."

[Shuten]

"Well! Well! Well!" A nasally voice spoke. One Sakura recognized instantly. "Yevon be praised!"

"Maester Meros!" Sakura ground out hatefully. Maester Meros stood there dressed in full regalia backed up by a group of Crusaders lined up behind them.

"Yes I'm sure." Meros spoke softly to himself. "Today will truly be a good day!" Turning to his troops Meros spoke.

"My Brothers in Yevon!" Meros spoke aloud. "This is the girl that Yevon has chosen for me!" Gesturing to Sakura.

"Alas she is also a Heretic and must be cleansed!" Meros voice filled with disgust as he continued. "However all efforts have failed so far... I am left with but one option..."

Sakura's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"I DECLARE THE TOWN MY BELOVED HAS JUST DEPARTED TO BE A TOWN OF HERETICS!!" Maester Meros spoke aloud. "DESTROY IT!!!"

"NO YOU CAN"T!!!!!!" Sakura screamed as she ran forward ready to draw her Sabre. Unfortunately...

"SUBDUE HER!!!" Maester Meros ordered. Sakura had no time to prepare as several Crusaders jumped on her at once and restrained her.

"Watch my Beloved." Meros said as he walked up and caressed Sakura's face. "Behold the dark fate of those who defy Yevon." Sakura simply spit in his face and glared hatefully as she struggled desparately to remove the chains she had been bound with.

"Such magnificent energy... Our Wedding night will truly be exciting." Meros laughed loud and long. A sound that filled all who heard it with dread.


Shuten

[acetalon]

Ace saw the shadow appear above them disapear and the figure land.  He couldn't make out a distinct face though, the person was facing away from them.  Something about that person...he thought wasn't quite right.  It sent a chill down his spine.

"Who was that?"  He asked himself silently.  Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw that everyone else had come.  He looked forward.  The path branched out into two way: the way the stranger took and the way to nowhere.  A part of him was pleading to ignore the chance occurrence and keep going, the other, and larger
more influential part of him demanded that he followed.

Looking over his shoulder again, he saw that they weren't making much progress in their conversation.

"They aren't going to miss me if I'm gone for a little bit,"  he thought, slipping away, silent among the many voices.

After a few minutes, there was a great deal of noise emanating from a city.

"What's going on there?  A party?  Well they sure are damn loud to be having a party,"  he thought as he strode past the gate.

[Kwokinator]

"Video game universe?" Kwok's eyes widened. "The hell?"

"If you didn't read up on it, do you know at least which game it is then?" he continued, not noticing Ace's silent departure.

[Shuten]

Sakura kept her face expressionless but inside she was boiling over in rage. Meros would PAY! Of that she would be certain. As she looked on helplessly she noticed a young man, no more than fourteen at most, run up to Meros.

"Maester Meros! The men found an Orphanage fillled with young children... We were wonder." The boy got no further as Meros slapped him with enough force to knock him to the ground.

Meros glared hatefully as he stomped down on the Boy's side. "Why must I be surrounded by blithering idiots?" Meros asked dramatically as he spread his arms wide.

"S... Sir?" The Boy asked as he struggled to his feet only to be struck down again. The Boy stared up in shock.

"Did I tell you to get up Brat?" The Boy merely shook his head. Meros growled slightly than quickly brought his emotions under control. "Listen up Boy because I'm only going to say this once." Meros knelt so that he was eye to eye with the Boy.

"The People in that town, every single worthless Heretic hiding in Human flesh.... KILL THEM!!!!!!" Meros screamed at the Boy. "Young, Old, Sick, and Healthy it does not matter! I WANT THEM ALL DEAD!!!!!" Meros then kicked the boy down the hill they were standing on.

"NOW GET GOING!!!" Meros ordered.

"You disgust me!" Sakura ground out. Meros simply smiled and kissed her roughly on the mouth.


Shuten

[acetalon]

OOC:  I've yet to play FFX, or get a PS2.  So someone please tell me if I'm doing something that goes against the grain of the story.  Thanks all ^_^

Ace watched people running around, some in terror, and some with fanatical religious zeal, from his spot leaning against a building.  He calmly stuck his foot out, neatly tripping a nearby soldier holding a torch who was gasping in pain.  The poor kid didn't even look old enough to drink yet.

"Wha?"  he sputtered.  Ace crouched beside him and held his energy kodachi to the man's throat.

"Pardon me, but do you mind telling me just what the hell is going on in this town?  From the looks of it, this isn't a party,"  He said.

"T-the lord decreed that this city be destroyed," he stammered.  "It is full of heretics and must be cleansed, he said.  I was ordered to tell the others to kill everyone."  He cringed and tried to shuffled away from the blade.  Ace kept it a steady distance from the boy's throat as he continued.

"And just who IS your lord?"

"M-maester Meros!  There!"  The man pointed to a hill not too far away, where Ace could make out several figures.  

"..."  Ace didn't know what to say, except to glare at the youth, who cringed and slid back some more to avoid his gaze.

"Get out of here, now,"  He said frostily.  "If I don't see you running towards the exit, I'll make sure you never do."

The youth nodded and ran as fast as his legs could carry him.

"So he's there, is he?"  Ace said to himself as he headed toward the hill.  "I always did have a soft spot for innocent victims."

[Shuten]

Maester Meros pushed his tongue inside of Sakura's mouth. Sakura's response made her opinion of the action abundantly clear. Biting down hard on the intruding organ she smiled cruelly as Meros screamed in pain and pulled away.

Meros vengeance was swift and brutal. "ou thtupid thitch!" Meros snarled as he slapped his *Beloved* with enough force to send her flying over the hills edge.

Meros snorted derisively before turning his attention to other matters.


Shuten

[acetalon]

"Hey, you.  Yeah, the one who just slapped that person I followed into this town.  What the hell do you think you're doing?  Do you get some sick twisted pleasure out of killing people, or this just some childish fantasy that you've always had that you delude yourself into thinking is the right thing to do?"

Ace unsheathed both his blades and stared at Maester Meros with a slightly irritated look.  

"And dammit, because of you I'm going to have to climb down his hill again to find that person," he muttered.

[RyderHakubi]

"Well, I did glance at the universe name... some Fantasy or whatever.  I was in a rush you know..." Angela said while pouting slightly...

[RyderHakubi]

Keril Palazzo calmly sat in his nice, relaxing pool, when troubling signals flared in the distance...

Taking time to grab a towel, Keril pressed a button on his watch, bringing up the smiling picture of Yamiko... "Listen Yamiko, about your current assignment...  For the moment, put it on the backburner as some people would say.  There is a town up ahead, as you can see.  I want you to save it..."

"Save it Lord Keril-sama?" Yamiko questioned...

"Yes, I want you to save the town.  Helping those in distress will give BESIDE a good reputation among the people, making it much easier for them to accept the grand unification..." Keril boldly stated while running his fingers through his very nice hair.

"YAMIKO WILL BLINDLY OBEY LORD KERIL'S ORDERS!" Yamiko proclaimed as she marched to her destination.

"Such wasteful enthusiasum..." Keril said with a heavy sigh as he cut the transmission.

[Kwokinator]

"Fine, fine..." Kwok relented. "You don't have to pull that face on me... it's probably one of the Final Fantasy games..."

"Hey, waitaminute..." he said after looking around. "Where'd Ace go?"

[Carthrat]

"Who knows? Right now, though, we have a chick to tail," Carthrat said, pointing at Yamiko. "She was scoping us before, so we may as well follow her and see where she goes. Besides, I'm sure Ace can take care of himself."

Carthrat sneaked off after Yamiko, not caring if the others didn't follow him.

[Kwokinator]

"Ooo..." Kwok looked into the direction of Yamiko, speaking in a monotone zombie-like voice. "Cute girl... follow..."

He began to follow Carthrat, but with a different goal in mind: find the cute girl.

[RyderHakubi]

And promptly was grabbed by the collar by Angela, who said in an uncharacteristicley deep, demonic-sounding voice, "And where... do you think you're going?"

[Shuten]

"Sick twisted pleasure you say?"  Meros asked dramatically. "Is it my fault that the citizens of this..." Meros gestured towards the town his men were attacking. "...quiet hamlet refuse to repent?" Meros than smiled cruelly and laughed loud and long.

"You know what?" Meros began to brightly and scream as energy filled his being. "I DON'T CARE!!!!" The glow faded leaving behind a demonic monstrosity.

"BEHOLD HEATHEN!!! GAZE UPON THE BLESSING OF YEVON AND DESPAIR!!!" Fanatic Meros' voice boomed.

"Now... DIE!!" Without wasting a second Meros' clawed hand shot out in an attempt to take out Ace's head.

At approximately the same time...

Sakura lay upon the hills side unseeing and uncaring. More people had died because of her. "I was such a fool!" Sakura thought angrily to herself as she thought back on all the Villages that had been destroyed in Meros obssessed pursuit of her.

The World was led to believe that Sin had attacked the earlier Villages that Meros obsession had laid waste to. Sakura was left with little doubt as to why no challenge was made of the reports.

An attack by Sin, as nightmarish as it was, was bearable compared to the endless scorn one received from being labeled a Heretic.

In the end it was a simple choice. Running had been futile and now another Village was being annihilated and this one would not have the mercy that victims of Sin were blessed with.

They would receive no help. Such was the fate of Heretics.

OOC: Fanatic Meros looks like a highly emaciated SoulTaker, Oh and Ace feel free to kill him in oneshot..


Shuten