Final Fantasy EXE
By: DarkHybridChild
Notes: This chapter's been in the works for years, almost completed, and then left to collect dust. Well, not anymore! I finally got off my lazy butt in order to finish it. It's still not quite to my liking, but better than nothing, right? Right! So, without further chattering, I bring to you the new chapter!

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Madoi and Dingo ran down until they reached a dead-end. "Uh-oh..." Dingo said slowly as they stopped. Behind them, they could hear the shouts and yells of the soldiers behind them. "Trapped. Just our luck. Now we're gonna get caught and thrown into the prison cells for the rest of our lives!" He worried heavily, eyes darting around frantically like a caged animal.

Madoi, however, remained calm. A large smirk appeared on her face and she chuckled heartily. "You worry too much," She chided before she pulled something from her pocket. It was a small stone-tablet the size of her hand and it held several small orbs in small slots in it. She held it up and the stone began to glow. In an instant, her form changed and her cloak and clothes dissolved away and a bright light engulfed her just at the moment the guards appeared around the corner.

"Wh-what is that?!" One of the guards cried in shock. Fear of the unknown waved through the slightly large group and Dingo had finally recovered from his fear of being trapped and it turned into a grin. "Scared?" He taunted, pulling out a handful of small, but sharp knives from inside of his cloak. "You should be." He finished with a large smirk.

When the light faded, Madoi stood there, wearing a long black, with blue and red lining robe with the hood pulled up over her pink hair, a long staff in her hands. At the top, a gold Phoenix was set, wings spread widely and the bottom had a long, sharp gold dagger at the end. When the girl looked up, she had a more sinister expression on her face, eyes glinting in glee. "Do you like...magic?" She asked in a low voice, amusement masked in her raspy tone.

In front of them, the guards trembled a little, but they stubbornly held their ground. "We'll stop you!" One said courageously.

"Heh, fool." The girl muttered under her breath. "Fine, then. If you're so eager to meet your demise, then why don't you just...ibburn!/b/i" At her last word, she slammed her staff down into the ground and suddenly a circle of flames roared up around the soldiers and engulfed them. Screams were heard from it and yells of terror, some voices begged for mercy.

Dingo watched for a moment, before glancing to the sadistic expression on the girl's face and shuddered. Feeling a little sorry for the idiots, he finished the ones still alive quickly with a few flicks of his wrist, the daggers flying from his dextrous fingers and piercing into their throats, instantly killing them.

The girl snorted. "The fools deserved it." She turned and looked at her partner. "We should move. More will be coming soon." Nodding, the male retrieved what daggers he could, the one's that hadn't been incinerated by the fire and pocketed them. Then, the two of them started running again, the girl's long robes billowing behind her in a mystic flurry, an aura of arcane lore seemed to follow her as she went.

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"And now, the time for the Inheritance is upon us!" The Minister proclaimed, arms thrown high into the air. The crowd below went a-buzz with excitement and wonder.

By now, Netto was about to go mental on the man, he was so bored! This was so boring, and he couldn't take standing there any longer! He had been fidgeting ever since he watched Laika flee down the hall. He was worried. He wanted to go help. Besides, it wasn't like he was even going to make that much of a difference being here. He wasn't the older of the two, the true title to the throne belonged to Saito, not him. Even if his Mother and Father proclaimed them both to be the next rulers together, that was unthinkable and absurd!

Saito was more fit for the role of being ruler than he was. And Netto particularly didn't ever want to think of the concept of ruling an entire country! All he wanted to do was get out and go on adventures, see the world, fine-tune his magical skills he'd learned. He wanted to go out and see the things he'd only heard about from Laika and Search and read of in books. He didn't iwant/i to devote his entire life to serving a country who didn't even know who he was on the inside!

Beside him, Saito too, worried silently. He was fidgeting lightly, shifting back and forth on his feet, wishing things would hurry up. He could feel his brother's anxiousness and there was a tense aura between the two after Laika left, the sudden trouble had them worrying for their friends. He wanted to go check, to help his older friend, but he was not a fighter. Unlike Netto, he never devoted his studies to arcane magic, he never saw the need for it.

He always wanted to help people, the sick and hurt. He studied on aiding magic, working upon mastering even the most difficult healing spell that the Royal Archives knew. His brother had opted the other path, learning all of the elemental and other deadly spells that could damage any whom he so chose to harm with his magic.

"Let the Princes step onto the altar and let the Goddess' blessing be bestowed upon them." The priest proclaimed. There was loud cheering from the crowd below and the two shifted anxiously again, before slowly approaching the large, white altar to the right of them. They paused for a minute at the base of it, looking to one another for a moment.

Saito nodded slowly before he stepped up first, slowly moving over to the left side of the large stone table there, before Netto followed after, taking his place on the right. Their eyes met and Saito mouthed a few words to his twin. The other stared back nervously, but swallowed and nodded his head boldly. Their hands extended and took one another before their eyes closed. A glow surrounded each of them.

Saito's held a gentle, blue glow around him that swayed slowly in a calm manner, while Netto's had a bright gold that lashed and whipped about like an untamed animal, curling and dispersing rapidly. They slowly started to speak, reciting words they'd been taught since they were little, having to prepare for this moment.

"O Goddess, hear our prayer;

Our spirit pure, thy hand unfold.

Lend us your blessing, so may Cyberia's peace still reign.

Beloved Goddess, we offer thee our hearts and souls to your everlasting love."

After a moment, a bright, white light errupted around them in a beam, the light shining down directly from the sky and surrounded the altar. The crowd below gasped loudly at the sudden sight, staring with awe and fascination as the light grew not dimmer, but brighter.

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Laika ran down the halls, one hand on the hilt of his sword at all times as he did, eyes searching, expression forcibly controlled. He made his way down from the upper most levels down to the bottom to first look for where Search was. When he made it to the ground floor, he slowed, glancing around cautiously. He didn't see anything out of place, or any sign of a fight. He looked over towards the far left Corridor, not seeing anything.

The hair on the back of his neck prickled slightly, giving him an involuntary shudder. His instincts were telling him he needed to go elsewhere, but he had to find Search first. He had to make sure he was alright. He pushed the feeling aside and cleared his mind of the panic that had been slowly trying to creep into his mind again. He turned down the hallway, and started slowly down it. He didn't have to go far before he saw a door slightly ajar. It was a closet, nearest to the entry way.

Knowing something was off, he went to it and pulled it open. A moment later, Search's knocked out form swayed, and Laika all but snagged the other and pulled him out of the room, looking him over to make sure nothing was wrong. "Search?" He questioned, shaking the Knight. They didn't stir. "Search!" Laika lightly slapped at his cheek to see if he'd get a reaction and there was none.

"A sleeping spell..." The aqua haired Knight mumbled to himself, before setting the other down carefully, he fished through a pouch on his belt, before pulling out a thin vial. He knelt down next to Search's sleeping form and uncorked the vial before holding it under the others nose. The other inhaled slowly a few times. Laika watched as the other's eyelids started to twitch and a few more moments later, they snapped open and Search looked around dazedly, eyes unfocused before clearing again.

"Search," Laika said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Ugn," Came the weak reply before the orange-haired soldier shifted a little, his full consciousness coming to. His eyes widened. "The castle!" He cried, looking up at his other. "Two knaves got into the castle!"

Laika's eyes narrowed, looking grim. He nodded slowly and helped his brother to stand. "Are you harmed?"

Search shook his head. "No, just a little dizzy. There was no fight."

Laika frowned again, looking down the hall. "Come, Search. We have to find them before the ceremony is over. We can't have them stealing the royal treasures or kidnapping anyone."

Nodding, he followed the aqua-haired Knight as he went back down the hall.

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"Well, guess we can't win them all," Enzan chuckled as they came to a dead-end.

"So now what do you suppose?" Blues replied, looking around the place.

"Mmm... That's the question of the day, isn't it?" The thief looked around again, slowly approaching one of the walls.

"Enzan?" The other questioned, brow raising.

"The dead-end is rather abrupt, don't you think? Surely, the castle can't be this small... So, naturally, there must be a secret room, or tunnel. Look around for some kind of switch in the wall or floor." They turned towards said wall, giving a slight pat to it with his hand.

"Enzan, you can't be seriously thinking--?"

"Blues," Enzan's voice had changed. It was quiet, but the tone was sharp, piercing. Any humor the other had in their expression was completely gone. Blues flinched when he heard it.

"H-hai, Enzan..." Reluctantly, the long haired thief headed towards one of the walls and slowly began to run their hand along it. He inwardly sighed again at the things he did for his partner.

TBC

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AND SO, I leave it here! Yes, you may all kill me for this. I don't mind. xD Oh! I also have this: http://ijuuinseira. livejournal. com/20034 .htm Put this together and you'll get to see the still-in-progress 'Character sheet' I've made for you all so it will be easier to follow along! =D Well, until next time, peeps!