The Glitch IV - Inversion (Ch. 1)

[Agent Fisher]

Decimus spurred his horse forward and shouted back to the group.

"I'll ride ahead. That way if there's a trap, I spring it, and then afterwards, you all will think better of me." Jack joked.

[Shark Bait]

Ted's minions returned to his side after helping Matthew, Theodore then mounted his skeletal horse and immediately realized the problem with a real life skeletal horse. He could feel the bones of the horse's back very clearly even though the saddle, he once again hung back not wanting to spook the other horses, this was going to be a long day.

[LadyTevar]

Leah watched Decimus ride off ahead, and privately thought about calling him back. After all... if he springs a trap, they'd have to save him from it. Instead, she slowed her horse down so she was level with Thog. "Why am I seeing Decimus as such a problem?"

[Charon]

Matthew heard Leah inform him he could sleep and didn't wait a moment later. It became quickly obvious that the man had been on his last legs of wakefulness as he quickly passed out, not even the bumping of the cart waking him from his slumber.

[Dark Silver]

The group traveled the three days to the mountains without any further attacks. Occassionally, Yuffie and Auron appeared, traveling near them, and the man in the red coat appeared, with a large bag of doughnuts.

The man in red had introduced himself formally as "Valentinez Alkalinella Xifax Sicidabohertz Gombigobilla Blue Stradivari Talentrent Pierre Andri Charton-Haymoss Ivanovici Baldeus George Doitzel Kaiser the Third, don't be afraid to call!", but Yuffie laughed and told him "Stop being silly Vash..."

The sound of his real name illicited a groan and a face fault from the Humanoid Typhoon, which had him quickly regaining his feet before they got to far ahead.

"I really wish you people would stop doing that....." he bemoaned, hoping up on the wagon next to Matthew.

During the entire trip, Vash and Yuffie remained the two talkative, always attempting to converse and "visit" with the group, making small talk, laughing around the night campfires, and being pals.


Zelda, or at least her alter ego Sheik, wasn't seen again after that first day, and Auron remained aloof, at night resting on the perimeters of the campfire, staring into the darkness, as if in wait.

------ ------ ------ ------

It was the third day since Bob Page's visit, and his announcement that he was sending another to "assist" Adena in the takeover of Zion. She was nervous, Page was angry, very angry. So much that he threatened her with the Nullcron...

No, it wasn't a threat. Bob Page never threatened. It was a promise. He was going to throw her into the ravenous null, they would rape her, drain her of her life, and then turn her into one of them...

She shuddered at the thought, then wondered if she really was doing as bad as Page said. If even Charlock, her sponsor on the Council, was disappointed and angry with her....

Her rumminations where interrupted by the sudden change in the air. She could feel it, taste it.

The chill ran down her spine, her eyes widdened.

He was here. The one who the Council had sent to help her...to take over from her.

She tried to compose herself, but the sudden silence of the antichamber was oppressing, stifling, unnatural.

"Gre...greetings..M'lor..." her voice caught in her throat as the man stepped from the darkness. He was tall, just over two meters in height, his hair was yellow enough to be almost white, his bangs spiked slightly, while the rest fell to his shoulders. His flesh was pale, and his lips a unnatural blackish-red color.

They had sent him...one of the few she dared hope they wouldn't. She could see the odd collection of blades hanging from his belt at his back, and the massive sword he held in his right hand.

The darkness seemed more so with him around, his footfalls were unearthly quiet on the stone. A few quick steps and he was before Adena.

"Cloud..." she said the name beneath her breath, almost as much as a curse, as it was laced with fear.

"I am here to find Him," Cloud's voice was soft, laced with venom, "And you...I am here to fix your mistakes."

Adena swallowed deeply, squirming almost beneath his hard gaze. Cloud stepped towards her, and his shadow fell across her face. Her eyes widdened and her mouth opened for a scream which never came.....

------ ------ ------ ------

Mid-day, of the third day, the small group had finally arrived. The entire morning was spent travelling through the foothills of the Charnal mountain range. Sheik made his first reappearence, reporting to Auron the path was clear of any obsticles, and more importantly, Adena's goons.

Above them, not two miles away, the stone fortress stood, silent, alone.

It seemed to call to them.

[LadyTevar]

On the journey, Leah was often seen to be rubbing the contact stone, like a talisman for luck. She acted happy, talking to everyone, including Yuffie, and flirting with Vash just to make him blush.

At night, sharp ears could hear her whisper briefly into Darek's stone, but not what was said.

Now that she was in front of the fortress, she held the contact stone tightly in her fist, raising it to her lips just long enough to whisper "I'm here...." before tucking it safely away in her pouch.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Justin was weary of that thing. It allowed their enemies to track their movements without the need to actually devote minions to the task. He wanted to take the contact stone from her, but feared the damage it would do to her, and the group as a whole, so he let it pass.

He was however, working on his spellcasting for the entire three days. Making sure his spells were able to be used, and that he coule shift into his alternative forms.

[Charon]

Matthew had spent much of the first day of travel asleep. During that time both Vash and Yuffie had appeared and had voiced their concerns for the unconscious man. When Matthew had finally woken up his eyes openned barely, and seeing the vague form of a face above his he grogily openned his eyes, his vision focusing on the smiling face of Yuffie. "Nice to see you feeling better." Matthew in a groggy state had replyed that it was nice to see that he was being well watched over before passing out for a few hours more.

When he awoke again Matthew was feeling considerably better, though very hungry. Seeing that Yuffie was gone Matthew felt a twinge of sadness for a moment, slipping off the cart unsteadily he made his way over to the group as they sat at a campfire, eating a meal. Matthew grabbed food and then proceeded to tell them everything. How as Ottoman he'd been a Dark Paladin that had been using them to gain dominion over the area. How his real name was Matthew Hielmer, a 27 year old book store owner. It was that same night that they came to a conclusion on what had happened with Matthew and Jack. They hadn't drunk the potions before. That had been the only thing anyone could think of that had been different. Glowering Matthew had thought on this for awhile before going off to find Yuffie, or maybe Vash. He had to get some answers.

He found Yuffie hanging upside down from a tree branch waiting for him. "Hey there, so you're feeling alright huh?" Matthew smiled "Yeah, a lot better." Yuffie dropped down from the tree and grinned at him. "I kinda know how that feels. When I have to get on the airship it makes me real quesy." Yuffie's face turned a shade of green. "Just thinking about it makes me a little sick."

Matthew laughed and sat down on the ground, his back against the tree Yuffie had been in. "Yeah I... wow, it's really weird thinking about how... nevermind."

Yuffie tilted her head to the side and knelt down beside Matthew. "Huh? What d'ya mean?"

Matthew looked at her, wishing it was with his eyes and not Ottoman's that he did. "Well, I mean, I played the game you were in, and now talking about it with you... well it's weird."

Yuffie grinned. "Don't worry about it. You'll get used to it eventually."

Matthew smiled back. 'Yeah, I'm sure I will."

There was a pause of a few moments as they looked at each other before Matthew turned away, coughing. "So, uh... I'd really like to know some of what's going on. I mean, it's nice and all running around like a headless chicken but I think we have the right to know some things."

Yuffie had turned away a few seconds after he had. "Right, answers. Well I can tell you what I know." The ninja sat down next to Matthew and leaned her back against it. "What'd ya want to know?"

"Well. How did we get here? What was in those potions that made the others crossings easier? Why did mine hurt so much?" Matthew shivered at the memory. It was something he'd never be able to forget.

Yuffie looked at Matthew, her eyes sorrowful at his pain. "I'm sorry. I don't know anything about that."

Matthew sighed and looked up at her. "Ok, well what about Adena? Who is she? Does she work for someone else?"

Yuffie paused for a moment in thought. "Adena is...a dark elf. We don't know where she came from, but we know she controls somethings which we thought were dead and gone."

Matthew raised an eyebrow. "What things?"

Yuffie sighed and looked up at the tree branches before responding. "Dark things, creatures which served a greater power. Monsters, all of them, thier called he Null."

Matthew nodded slowly, taking the information in. "Null..." Matthew looked back towards Yuffie who was smiling at him. "So where are Tifa and Vincent and Cloud and the rest of them?"

Yuffie looked distant for a second. "Thier elsewhere.. Tifa went looking for our friend Cloud...Vincent said he had to check things out...not sure on everyone else. I think Barret is still at home with Marlenee."

Matthew nodded and looked away for a few seconds, taking this information in as well. When he looked back he saw Yuffie didn't have her usual smile on her face. Smiling Matthew decided to joke a little with her. "This isn't anything like Tron is it?"

Yuffie looked at him blankly for a few moments, the joke obviously going right over her head. She smiled though, recognizing that it had been a joke. "If you mean Cybus, you gotta see the Game Grid...."

Matthew nodded and placed his back firmly against the tree again. Forgetting that Yuffie was a game character for a moment Matthew leaned his shoulder against hers and smiled. "You'll have to take me to see it some time."

Yuffie blushed for a moment and then returned to her normal smiling self. "Yeah, it'll be great. You and me..." Yuffie added almost as an after thought. "And everyone else." Yuffie looked back at Matthew for a few moments. "Maybe I'll get to see what you really look like too." Again there was a pause as the two looked at each other before Yuffie got up and brushed the grass and dirt off of her.

"Well, I better get back to scouting."

Matthew lazily got up as well. "Yeah, I better go tell the others this stuff."

Yuffie looked at Matthew, biting her lower lip. "Leave out the stuff about the others ok?"

Matthew smiled and bowed extravagently. "Of course m'lady." Feeling more chiper Matthew stepped back where the others were and told them all that he'd learned, leaving certain choice parts out.

-----------------------------

Matthew spent much of the second day relearning his abilities, though he doubted many of them would be of any use anymore. They'd be going up against bad guys now, most of his abilities were meant to hurt good guys. Matthew learned that while he still had to say the prayers to his dark god, he didn't have to mean them, that had been something he'd been worried about. When he wasn't practicing he was trying to get a better feel for the world, get to know his fellows better, and spend some time with Yuffie.

-----------------------------

The mid-day of the third day of travel arrived and Matthew was in his full armor, looking up at the castle. "Suddenly, this seems like a really really bad idea."

[SirNitram]

Albert spent the three days hard at work. On day one, he wore himself out, practicing his fighting. His style was growing into a mix of fencing and Thog's berserker offensives, which emphasized his obscene reach and hitting power.

The second and third day of travel were spent working with the healer's kit and a few peices of equipment he had collected while practicing fighting. While most snorted at the idea of him running down low-level mobs to practice fighting, he had picked up plenty of rusty swords.

Now, he had gotten the alum salts from the healer's kits. And with the care of a chemistry wiz, he was extracting the aluminium from the salts, and mixing it with the iron oxide. The powdery stuff that was produced was kept in cloth bags with fuses.

When asked, he simply smiled. "If they cheat, we cheat."

[Agent Fisher]

The mid-day of the third day of travel arrived and Matthew was in his full armor, looking up at the castle. "Suddenly, this seems like a really really bad idea."

Jack, who was riding next to Matthew, muttered under his breath, just loud enough for him to hear.

"I've been saying that for three days now."

He fidgeted in his armor.

"Damn things look a whole lot easier to wear in the movies."

[Comrade Tortoise]

"Indeed. WHich is why my armor is light and I have high Agility" Justin said. This was true, his mind was essentially in Elwyn's body, which means he got all the perks.

[Rukia]

Rory had taken advantage of every spare moment of the journey to practice her abilities. It wasn't hard fighting hand to hand, she was a nine and tenth degree black belt in Judo and Jujitsu, respectfully. Sparring came easily, she'd been doing it all her life, and being in Sivri's smaller and lighter body had it's advatages. She had a bit harder time learning to use her weapons. But she caught on quickly. She spent a few hours in the night talking to Vash, he was good company. She asked for a gun several time stating that she could handle that better but he couldn't get one for her. She even showed Leah some self defence moves, just to be on the safe side.

======

On the morning of the third day the Castle loomed up from the ground. Rory felt sick, they weren't ready.

"Ok we're here we saw it... can we go home now?" She said with a weak smile. "No? Shit.. I didn't think so." She hung her head.

That night she sparred a bit with Albert and with one of Ted's helpers then climbed a tree near where Vash was staioned. She swung down, holding the branch with her knees causing her to be upside down and face to face with Vash.

"Heya!" She chirpped.

[LadyTevar]

Even Leah was having second thoughts, looking up at the castle. "He promised we'd not be harmed. He said we'd get able to get answers, and get back home," she reminded the nay-sayers, as well as herself. "And like Albert said, even if it is a trap, we're prepared and ready for it."

And she was, having prayed for spells that would protect them, strengthen them, and heal them.

[Agent Fisher]

"He promised we'd not be harmed. He said we'd get able to get answers, and get back home," she reminded the nay-sayers, as well as herself.

"You'll forgive me if I'm not really trusting of a guy who's been possessed."

[SirNitram]

"Did you listen at all? His body in the real world is possessed, like ours." Albert sighed.

[Dark Silver]

"I will send Sheik ahead...." Auron said calmly, "We should make camp here, and await her return.

He didn't give a order, he just moved to prepare a fire.

They would listen to him, or not.


------ ------ ------ ------

Darek Steele watched them from the eastern tower or the fortress. He had watched their entire approach.

"Leah..." he said softly, fingering the contact stone. She was so close. Thog was with her, as well as Sivri...

A frown crossed his lips, something was not right. He had already sent Sedin and Thalian away when he knew they were close, and he has sent their detachment of Null elsewhere. There were a few Errors and two Warhammers he kept in reserve, but they were ordered to not accost the group, instead they were kept to guard the prisoner on the ground floor, the goblin witch. Something did not feel right though.

He hadnt heard from Adena or her little fools in nearly two days, the Null's had changed slightly, more stolid, more frenzied in thier activities. There was change on the wind.

Whatever it was, he meant to kept Leandra and Thog safe from it. He already feared the worst occured to Adena, though he could sense nothing from her, and that meant someone new was in charge.

"Hurry beautiful...time runs short"

[LadyTevar]

"Leah..." he said softly, fingering the contact stone. She was so close. Thog was with her, as well as Sivri... "Hurry beautiful...time runs short"

Leah suddenly reached into her pouch, pulling out Darek's contact stone. It glowed in her hand as a message was passed to her ears alone. The glow faded, and she looked to Thog, then to Auron.

"We have to move now. Darek's just warned me that time's running out," she informed the group. "I think he's managed to distract them, somehow, send them out looking elsewhere for us." He had not said so, but those in the party wouldn't know that from the sincerity in her voice. "It won't hold for long.. we have to move."

[Agent Fisher]

Jack shook his head. No, this is stupid.

"Thats what he said? Cause this feels bad."

[SirNitram]

Jack shook his head. No, this is stupid.

"Thats what he said? Cause this feels bad."

"As it should." Albert grunted. "Thank you for the obligatory Star Wars reference. Let's get on with it."

[Comrade Tortoise]

Justin didnt like this one bit. But there was no other choice

"well, lets stop beating around the bush and see what the hell is going on. I am warning you, if this is a trap, I will show no mercy to your friend."

[Charon]

Matthew looked over at Auron and then back at the others. "Nothing I can say is going to convince you to wait until the scout gets back is it?"

[LadyTevar]

Leah bit her lip, looking towards the castle. She felt they should go now, just trust in Darek... but she could tell it wasn't going to work out that way.

"... How long until she's back..." she asked, resigning herself to being outvoted by the rest of the party.

[Dark Silver]

Thalian and Sedin, astride their dark wolves, were gloating. The army of Null they had at thier command, ten massive Warhammers, four Dewmthrowas, and a smal horde of Bit Errors, had been successful in a mission they took on their own behest.

Darek had sent them to the north, but they had decided to going to the south, to locate the ones which were transposed. Their searching had managed only one of the twenty that had been pulled through, a goblin witch, who was tied up and strung on a pole held up between the two Dark Rider's mounts.


They'd be back at the tower soon, they'd present thier prize, and lord it over the Warrior that they were right, he wasn't. Then they'd teleport to the Dark Keep, and revel in the joys of Adena's body.

A low growl from the worgs alerted them to the nearness of another group. Thalian merely smirked, as a spell revealed them to be humans....

Humans on Zion. Another batch of the group that was pulled in.

They sent the Null ahead, the hulking forms surprisingly agile and silent, as they disappeared into the foothills.

------ ------ ------

"... How long until she's back..." Leah asked, resigning herself to being outvoted by the rest of the party.

The sudden whistling sound from above, followed by the impact of a massive warhammer in the middle of the camp, right at Vash's feet broke the somber mood.

"Not quick enough," Yuffie, as Vash fell backwards in a faint, her own bommerang weapon held at the ready.

[Charon]

Matthew dismounted off of his horse and drew his shining blade, covered in his thick armor his moves were less then agile and were more clunky than anything else. Ripping off his helmet so he could see better Matthew looked into the forest, watching for the next attack.

"I've never seen a hammer like that in this game."

He looked up at Yuffie. "We aren't the only ones with out of game reinforcements, are we?"

[Comrade Tortoise]

Justin through quickly, stoneskin wouldnt do him any good against those things, his only hope was to outmaneuver them. The spell was on his lips immediatly.

"Obidh ciaros knaght"

His already impressive agility improved immediatly, hopefully he would be able to dodge those damn things.

His staff was at the ready, and spells were at his lips. Now his mettle would truley be tested