Demon's Below. (Alberdyne and Lord Slug)

Demons Below

Medium Quest

Requirement: None

Reward: 2,000 zeni and +15 Hero Points

During your sleep you are visited by the Fortune Teller Baba, who hovers on her mysterious crystal ball. She asks for your help, promising you will be rewarded handsomely. Within a cave deep beneath the frigid cold Northern Mountains lies an old gateway to Other World. Baba had a vision of a girl possessed by demons going to open the gate. Head into the depths to investigate and seal the gateway before demons pour in from Other World.

Al never actually slept, he meditated. And whilst he did that, he traveled the astral plane. However, this time, something was different and he was no longer traveling across the astral plane of Kanassa. This was Earth-realm's Astral Plane and it made the youth feel a strange discomfort. He slept in the barracks of Capsule Corps. They offered their hired mercenaries a place to sleep and a solid meal. That was more than enough for Alberdyne Cormyr. He worked for a living and he had steady employ. Capsule Corps constantly needed hirelings for their various jobs around the globe. He was happy to be a part of that and was far away from his Father's legacy. He knew that he had to work to earn his place. I must start from the bottom up and work my way to my own destiny. So when his deep meditation was interrupted, not by the field sergeant, but by something within the Astral Plane, Al became concerned. His travels across the Earth-realm's Astral Plane had thus far proven quite boring. There was nothing like the Kanassan Tree of Life on Earth. Instead, Al saw a large snake in the distance when he walked about, and a large tower too. He had no idea what either meant at that point.

What he did know was that someone was staring at him. Turning towards the stranger, he saw a woman who was freely levitating off of the ground. Furthermore, she was sitting on top of a mysterious orb that he had never come across before. Taken aback, Al paused his fast-paced exploration once she addressed him.

"You are no Son of Gaia." She began. "What star is yours I wonder?" She asked.

"Come again?" Al asked. "What do you mean, Gaia?"

"Oh, I see. You are Xeno. Neither Namek, nor Changeling. Most interesting. But you don't have scales on your physique. No, what symbols those are!" She said, seemingly excited to spot the mysterious Kronith symbols. "You are a rare catch. I have asked for many to complete the task I have to ask of you, but you are the first, like you."

Al could feel something attempting to penetrate his mind. "Not on your life!" Al suddenly said, and released a telepathic discharge of his own back at the fortune teller. For a moment, she was almost knocked off of her floating orb. Al began to float as well, and he looked at her with quite a serious expression on his face. He tapped his temple. "It is quite rude to attempt entry without permission." Al drew his sword and walked over to the mystery woman. He pointed the weapon at her neck. "Explain yourself."

"N-now, now." She began, fear in her eyes. "I did not mean any disrespect and your power simply caught me off guard. I merely meant to see if you were worth the while!" She straightened herself, floating slightly away from the sword's tip. "Please lower that, there is no need for such gestures." Al lowered his sword only after a moment passed. "You are a strange one. You carry a Gaia-bound sword, but you are Kanassan. How mysterious a catch you are. But enough of that. I have lured you here for a reason and I must reveal what that reason is. May we combine our minds for a moment?" That time she asked for permission.

"Try anything funny and you can kiss your lease on life good bye." Al opened his mind to the woman.

When he saw the expression of pain on her face, he smiled. She couldn't handle floating around in his head due to all the psychic defenses that had been placed there. Once that initial moment passed, Al saw a cloud pass across his mind. Then, it cleared and he saw something quite terrifying to him.

"How can this be!?" Al immediately knew what he was looking at.

"You know what they are?" Came her telepathic response.

"C and B Class Marauders. They are Front-line scouts. Usually accompanied by a Demon Lord." Al explained.

"You know your stuff. Are all Kanassans this skilled?" She asked.

"Not all. But a few of us are." Al continued. "You want me to seal that Gate to their dimension?" Al asked.

"Yeah. Will you help me? I am not quite a warrior. I am just a guide and I can pay you well."

Breaking the telepathic connection was an easy feat for the Kanassan.

"Why did you sever the link?" She suddenly asked.

"I will expect payment." Al asked, suddenly quite serious. "This job will take me away from my usual job. So just remember that this is a one-time favour unless you can keep paying me."

"I understand. I thought you were pure..." She said with a sudden sadness in her voice.

"I am not my Father." The very thought of his Father made him angry.

"The Gate is already open. It must be sealed..." She said.

Al was already willing himself out of the Astral Plane. "Consider it done." He said.

***

When he awoke he was back in the barracks. Some of the soldiers slept, others were on away missions. I have some free time, why not? I might meat one powerful enough to actually pose me a significant threat. Al thought. Sliding out of bed, he switched into his gear and quickly left the Capsule Corps barracks. He stepped out into the cold, night air and looked in the general direction of the gate. Others, huh? Well they better not interfere with my mission. Al burst into a power flight, and his ki swelled about his person. A moment later he was off in the direction of the wild lands surrounding West City. He knew partially what he was going to find, but he needed to see it for himself. He soon saw the forest, but he was searching for the distortion that would signal the Gate. His face became grim. It's almost the hour...the hour I been waiting for. The grim expression was followed by a smile.

WC=1,031

“Slug oh Sluuuuuuuuuuuug....”

“...”

“Sluuuuuugy.....”

“... … ….”

“Hey Slug!”

“...That's Lord Slug to you witch!”

It had been nearly a week since Slug's ship had crash landed outside of West City. The humans and called it a meteor. The blast that Slug had used to send a large group of them to the next life? That had been called a ruptured gas line. The members of his crew and the technology of his ship? Well it wasn't the first time the ancient conqueror had seen the ruling body of a planet cover things up.

The lord himself had been deep in meditation since in a cave deep in the forest, far away from anything resembling civilization. He wasn't as young as he used to be nor nearly as powerful. Though he was far to proud to admit it, he'd been injured in the crash and it was taking longer than expected for him to recover.

Slug never opened his eyes. Instead he peered at the creature who dared enter his mind through his psychic senses. A short, purple haired, haggard looking old woman in black robes and a large pointed black hat. She riding an almost comically oversized crystal ball and she smiled at the old namek with a gap toothed grin.

“Gooood....” she continued to croon “I have your attention.”

“Just get on with it,” snapped the lord.

“I need your help.”

“Really?” asked Slug is disbelief. “You must have gone senile in your old age witch. What makes you think I'd help you?”

“Because I happen to know for a fact that you're not the strongest fighter on this planet and I know that most of them won't be very happy they know you plan to conquer it.”

“Are you black mailing me witch?”

“If that's you how want to put it...”

“When I become this world's ruler I'm going to see to it that you die slowly witch.”

“So you'll help then?”

Slug just sighed. “What choice do I have?”

“Good,” said Baba with a wide grin “you'll be working with somebody, a kanassan named Alberdyne. He's about an hour east of here towards that city where your ship crashed. Meet him there. He'll give you further details. And remember Sluggy, be on your best behavior.”

With a scowl and a sudden shift for the worst in his mood Lord Slug opened his eyes and his feet touched the cold rocky ground of the cave for the first time in nearly a week. Slowly he walked to the mouth of the cave. Once outside he took flight once again soaring above the tree line looking for the kanassan known as Alberdyne. The old namekian could feel it in his bones. Today was going to be a long day.

WC:483

The forests surrounding West City were densely populated by various sentient creatures. Al could detect the minds of many creatures as he traveled thanks to the telepathic command granted by his psychic powers. Various minds lurked about, all begging to be commanded by him. He smiled. Soon he came across the site, but something made him hesitate. Something that the woman had told him. There will be others. Great. I have to babysit them now too? They better not get in my way. Al thought to himself as he began the process of landing several yards away from the site. He figured he would encounter some demon scouts sooner or later, but those would be dispatched discreetly. He was purposefully landing in such a location to allow any other mercenaries that the witch may have hired to find him. Al was a freelancer for Capsule, a Sellsword. When the tightly packed earth came up underneath him, Al used his Ki Control to expand his aura as brightly as it would burn. Sure enough, the halo shined brightly, and occasionally, resonance bursts of pure power swelled out of his very soul. Each resonance seemed to affect the air around him, sparkling with pure residue of energy.

Al had grown strong.

He'd double checked his gear before leaving, and adjusted the Capsule Corps leather jacket so it hung neatly around his broad shoulders.

Al wore dreadlocks, and his body was covered with the symbols of the Kroniths.

As a pure Kronith, these symbols would begin to glow of their own accord from time to time giving the young Kanassan an eerie appearance.

Finding a sturdy oak to lean against, Al took a relaxed position. He leaned his left foot against the surface of the bark, and firmly planted his other foot against the soft earth. It was damp in the forest of West City, he knew the forest had a name. But he didn't care enough to learn it. Al could only stand there and wait for the "others" tht the mysterious witch had chosen for the job at hand. He was a professional, and professionals had a code. He would be certain to work with whoever came in order to complete the job at hand. Many thoughts passed through his mind as he waited for the other to arrive. The most important thought was the thought that bound Al to that world called Earth. I like it here.

WC=411
Alberdyne WC=1,442