The Legend of Heroes (Series 1, Book 5) Morals

Chapter 94: Rouge & Strife

October 21st, 2962
11:04am

      Last time, the group in the past was separated by Orc Forces that had ambushed them within the woods. Edward, Necromancer and Clockwork had left to the Old Fortress of Dol Guldor. Arno, Link and Ryuga went with the Dwarves of Erebor and Bilbo Baggins. Alex and Gandalf still have been gone since early morning, so they are somewhere still in Middle-Earth. But Link and Arno had to fend off some Trolls first so that Ryuga and the others could get to safety. Once Link and Arno defeated the Trolls, they were greeted by an old friend to the both of them, Adam Rouge.

"Adam...!" Arno muttered under his breath as tears began to roll down his cheeks. He got up from the ground, ran towards Adam and gave him a hug. "(Hugs back) Hello again Arno, I told you we would meet again. (Pats his back, and looks up at Link) Your Highness, I see that you have returned in tip top shape." Adam stated to Link, who was getting himself up from the ground. "Yes I have, thanks to Mort and Vapor. Although I must ask you this, what are you doing here in Middle-Earth?" Link asked him. Arno let go of Adam and walked back to Link, and stood beside him. Adam sighed, and began to speak. "I am here on private business. But I didn't expect to be seeing all of you here in the Past. I am sorry you two, no matter how close you guys are to me I can not indulge in my work." Adam explained. "So you are here for an actual reason then? How about you help us like in Albion, since we may come across what you need to do." Link offered him, and Arno added on, "Yes! That would be just like old times back on the Jolly Roger!" He said with excitement. Link then looked at Arno with a confused expression. "He was with you on the Jolly Roger as well? Could you please enlighten me on this." Link asked kindly. Adam placed his sheathed sword onto the ground and he too sat down on the ground. Adam started a tiny fire in the middle of the ground and spoke to them,  "Allow me to explain, you two may need to sit for this may take awhile. (Arno and Link sit down) I believe that Arno had told you that I was there on the day he and his brother Matt were separated? (Link nods his head yes) Good, then I don't have to explain much then. About a couple of years after that event, I had no work to do so I took up a job aboard the Jolly Roger. Captained by a very infamous pirate named Captain Hook. However, he didn't go by James during this time. He called himself Killian Jones, and he took me as his Quartermaster. It was about 17 years ago since that had happened." Adam began to explain. "17 years? But that was also when Arno and Roxas had gotten separated, if I do remember." Link stated. Then Arno began to speak, "Yes it was. Me and Matt had originated in Twilight Town to begin with. When Matt had left, me and Roxas met each other. Shortly before Darkus took him, I even told him that he was a brother to me. As for when I met Adam again, I didn't know if he was the exact same man that had appeared in fire. He was looking like how he normally is, (Points at Adam) Like that." Arno explained. Link tried to gather all the info he heard and then he responded, "I see. So then Captain Hook recruited you from there?" Link brought up. "Yes. Now I must say this to you, I lied about his age. (Link looked puzzled) Captain Hook was really 25 years old, and I was 24 at the time. Meaning we got along really well." Arno stated. "*coughs* They dated. *coughs*" Adam signaled out to Link, who then understood what he was saying. Link then slapped Arno across the face, "You dated your commanding officer?? Didn't you eventually create a mutiny against him as well??" Link shouted. Arno was rubbing his chin, "Just saying you have the slap of Zelda. And to answer your question, yes I did. I dated him for a short bit and I also had took the Jolly Roger from him. We had a falling out about a treasure we found and we couldn't argue anymore. So we ended it right there, and as my revenge I staged a mutiny and took the ship for myself." Arno explained. "Ahh. I can understand that now. (Looks at Adam) Now what about your ship story? Have anything to share?" Link asked Adam, who began to speak again. "Hmm. (Thinking: Should I say the embarrassing stories with Arno or just legit tales that me and him had? I will save the joking ones for a later time) Ah, yes I have one. (Link listens in) It was the first venture out to see that I had with Arno. The sea breeze was gentle, waves weren't that rowdy, and the sky was just as clear as a glass pane. Our Captain had found leads of a interesting spot of land that held some magical properties and a lot of ancient treasure. Of course the crew would rather have the ancient treasure instead of learning about magic. This island back then was known as Atlantis, the sunken city-" "Did you just say Atlantis?" Link broke him off. Adam sighs, "Yes I did. We actually found Atlantis, even Arno saw it for himself with those two eyes of his." He said. "It's true Link, we went to Atlantis. Thankfully, the Jolly Roger was able to transport in between worlds. We somehow ended up over the Ruins of Atlantis." Arno explained. "What happened after that??" Link asked with anticipation. "Let me finish. (Link calms down and listens in again) As I was saying, we were just over the sunken city of Atlantis. I remember that Arno was so amazed of what he had saw that day. His eyes glistened like the sun shining on the glorious ocean seas. Hook on the other hand, no pun intended, he had an eye on another prize here in this ancient city. It was a stone, a magic stone that had the ability to make anything the way you want, for a price of course. The Philosopher's Stone." Adam continued on, "This stone has been in many legends of almost every civilization in the cosmos, dimensions included. Killian wanted this stone so that he could regain his lost hand, so he had sent me and Arno down below the seas to retrieve the stone. We put on scuba gear and dove off the starboard deck, into the watery depths below. Arno, this next part I shall allow you to continue with." Adam offered to him, and Arno accepted. "I will. Now Link, before I do continue. What is your knowledge of the Philosopher's Stone and of Atlantis?" Arno asked Link. "Hmm, from my understanding Atlantis was sunk due to a powerful storm and earthquakes. As for the stone in Hylian Text, it says that it is a Stone of the Damned. The Royal Family didn't necessarily like the idea of how you could make anything with a single object." Link replied. Arno stroked his chin, "I see. To finish where Adam left off, we were swimming down to the sea floor and we eventually began to search the Ruins for the stone. Atlantis was rather small than on the sea floor due to the corrosion of water currents and such. So it was somewhat easy to navigate through it, then came the sea beasts, which made it somewhat difficult. I do remember correctly, Adam was actually running away crying. (Laughs)" Arno had explained z and Adam slapped Arno's shoulder in a jokingly manner. "Well its not my fault that my fire magic is useless in water!" Adam said as he began to laugh afterwards, and Link joins in as well. "We outran the sea beasts in time, and found a nearby cave. Through there, we had one of the swabbies blast the cave entrance thus blocking the entrance... And our exit." Arno had continued with the story. Then Adam added on to it, "This cave was dark. But luckily in there was less water, so we rose up to the eatery surface within the cave. I used my fire magic and it illuminated a short distance around us. We walked through the cave's twisted passages to try and find some sort of exit, and we found none. But what we did find was a strange chest in the middle of the cave's atrium, with the symbol of Atlantis encrusted onto the lock. Arno was very amazed at the sight of that chest, ain't that correct?" Adam said to him. "Well of course it was. It's not every time you see a great ancient treasure on your first voyage. (Laughs) Well at least for a pirate that is, I understand that you found a lot of gold and ancient stuff on your ventures, Link." Arno stated. "You don't need to apologize, I can understand that very well. Especially with this whole dimension thing. (Laughs, then looks at Adam) You may continue." Link stated. Adam shook his head and returned to speaking,   "We didn't have time to open it in the cave, so we took the chest and went back to the ship. Once there, Killian inspected the chest and told me to open it. When I used my fire magic on the lock, it didn't even melt. The other crewmen used their swords, axes, harpoons and even a cannon. The lock never budged open, nor was it scratched. We believed this chest could only open itself when the time is right." He explained. "That chest is still on board on my ship too, it never opened ever since we had found it. Meaning, there is something enchanting it to keep it shut in the eyes of greedy people. I am greedy, so I can see why its still closed after all these years." Arno had laughed and Link joined in as well. "That was actually a very interesting venture you two had. Now may I ask as to how you guys got separated? That is if you can tell me." Link asked them. The two didn't answer however, as Arno grew sad when Link had mentioned that. Adam picked up his blade and held it over the fire. "I had very important business that I had to attend to, and it actually led me to his brother. Yet that is a story for another day, for there was an important reason to why I came to find you two." He stated. "What is that?" Arno asked him. "There is a monster here in Middle-Earth, who also used to be a friend of mine in the past. His name is Kyzár Warlôck, but you know him as Scourge the Harbinger. Whom if my knowledge is correct, is working alongside Darkus Azu Tex." Adam began to explain. "Oh yes, I remember now. He was the one that attacked Alex back in Fiore, and he is also Prince Matthews' brother, who came from a parallel world called Dragonis." Link said. "You are well informed, but there is something else that you may not know. Scourge is plotting behind the scenes, not even Darkus knows about it. Unless he deems him worthy to know what he hides. He also is the true reason to why Matt and Arno were separated on that day. (Arno clenches his fist) Arno, I have faith in you. Don't let the anger consume you like it did to your fa- never mind what I said.  Now before I leave I will give you this last advice: Stay away from him, no matter the cost." Adam had explained. He stood up, snapped his fingers and the fire diminished and walked away from the two. But Link got up, "Wait! (Adam stops and turns around) What should I do about Torvald and Vanitas?" He asked him. Adam leaned his head downward and said, "Torvald Baxter, the Raven. All I must say is don't let him get to your head like he had done so in Albion. As for Vanitas, your old friend Sora is dead. I am sorry to lay that news onto you, but its true. That being is someone entirely different who had taken control of Sora's corpse, due to how much Darkness that was in his heart. Do what must be done, and kill him." Adam explained to Link, who felt his chest and a tear fell down. Then Arno stood up, "Wait. (Adam looks at him) You were about to say the word 'father'. You knew my real father?" He asked him, but Adam turned away for he couldn't bare to say the whole truth, so he only said the usual story, "Yes I have. He was a good man... I am sorry but that is all I can say, for it isn't my place to say it. Goodbye heroes of the League of Angels, until we meet again." Adam vanished in a Vortex of fiery flames, and all was left was a small smoke cloud. Link looked at Arno, "It seems that we both learned something today that we didn't want to learn about." He said to Arno, to make him feel better. However the pirate walked away from Link, "Come on! We have to get back to Ryuga! (Thinking: I have to stay strong, no matter what secrets is being kept from me.)" Arno stated and Link only shrugged his shoulders, then walked on to find Ryuga and the others.

2:00pm

    Elsewhere, we return to Darkus and his group as they continue to walk along the path to find the Heroes. Scourge looks around the woods in an alarmed state, for he smells something. Darkus turns around, "Scourge? May I ask what is wrong?" He asked him. "Someone is following us, there is no doubt about it! You were just too focused on the mission to find the Arkenstone, that someone could have slipped past us!" Scourge shouted. "Shouting like that will definitely get us spotted by someone." Vanitas stated. Scourge snarled, and Zeref took a look around the area. "Actually father, someone is following us. I sense light magic, but yet also dark magic within the same body." He stated. Darkus walked to Zeref, and felt the presence as well. "We know you are there! Come out!" Darkus shouted towards the brush ahead of them, and only birds flew away. "Birds were following us, not a person." Vanitas said in an annoyed tone. Darkus grew angry, so he created a ball of dark fire in his left hand, then tossed it into the woods. It lit a couple of trees on fire and then it began to spread into a wildfire. "That should draw him out, they always run from burning woods. (Turns around) Come, we will wait for our spy to show himself outside of these woods." Darkus stated with an evil grin. Him and his followers ran on ahead, as the wildfire behind them went out of control. The girl that had been tailing them showed up from being invisible, "So he knew that I was following them? Damn! Then again, I knew that this wasn't going to be easy. (Branch falls down behind her) AYYEE!! I forgot this forest was on fire!" She then ran ahead.

    Outside of the burning woods, the girl got out alive and had a couple of burns on her shoulder. "(Heavy breathing) That was a close one. But I have to stop that fire, before its too late." She stated. The girl turns around and raises her arms in the air, with the palms of her hands facing the fire. Light began to shine around her hands, then a beam of energy shot at the dark fires that were plaguing the woods. Within minutes, the dark fires were extinguished. The girl then laid onto the ground, "There we go, now the wildlife can be at peace." She said. As she was laying down, she felt a sudden pain in her legs and in her arms. She was beginning to stand up, like as if she was forced to stand up. "What!? What is going on?!" She shouted in a panic. Then a voice was heard, "So it wasn't a him that was chasing us after all, it was a she!" The voice said aloud, and the girl was forced to turn herself around to face her captors. It was Darkus, Zeref, Vanitas and Scourge. "Oh no.." She whispered under her breath. "Come over here little one. (Makes hand motions and the girl was forced to walk over to him) You will tell me why you were following us, or you will die." Darkus demanded her to answer, but the girl shook her head no. Darkus sighed, "You just made this much harder for yourself girl. Scourge, if you will please." Darkus ordered him. Scourge walked over to the girl, and punched her beside the head knocking her out. "So what now, Darkus?" He asked him. The others gather around her, and Darkus smiles. "We will wait til she wakes up, then we will use her as a hostage against the Heroes. After all, they can't resist a good ol damsel in distress. (Evil laughs)" The others then laughed alongside Darkus, for they now have the girl that was trying to follow them. What will happen next for Darkus and even the others? Stay tuned.