[FFnut]

I lay down, weakened, defeated. I had been the leader. I had been the king of them all. My job was to lead them into the hands of those who would need our help. And yet I was defeated.
It was simple, in theory. All I had to do was help the ones who needed to keep the balance. Every time the balance began to tip, I was there. I granted them our power. I granted our power to them… I was such a fool. I did not realize that they had wielded the weapons forged by our creators. The weaponry that they possessed far surpassed my own power, or the power of any of the others.
But now it is too late. I glanced around at the others. The Fire Beast laid to my right, the Ice Queen to my left. So much promise. So much pain. There had to be some way… some way for us to win. Without the weapons, the creators had nothing that could threaten them. Including us….
I prayed that somehow, someway, we could win. But I knew my prayers would not be answered, because we were the ones who answered prayers. Some revered us as gods, but we were merely… summons, espers, guardian forces, eidolons, aeons, whatever you wished to call us. We were the servants, not the masters. We served those who needed our help. This time the creators didn’t want us to help. This time we had to be the masters. We had to take control of our own fates…

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Shiva: We’ve done it… again. The darkness has been defeated once more.
Ifrit: Indeed. It seems that we can always help vanquish the darkness after all.
Shiva: Do you believe what he says though?
Ifrit: About what?
Shiva: About the weapons.
Ifrit: I don’t think it’s true. I think that we are stronger than the weapons.
Shiva: He says that the weapons were made by the ones who made us…
Ifrit: It doesn’t matter. I think that our power is greater than the weapons.
Shiva: But haven’t you noticed that every time, both we and the weapons are used to battle the darkness? It’s impossible to tell which is stronger.
Ifrit: Even so, if the ones who made us were to fight us, I am confident that we would win.
Shiva: Indeed… Alexander has called a meeting… shall we attend?
Ifrit: After you, m’lady.

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I couldn’t believe what had happened. It was the Judge. He had betrayed us. The creator spoke of his treachery. The Judge had done this to us. It didn’t make any sense. We fought for the same cause. The cause of all of us, including the Judge. Why had he done this? Why would the Judge betray us? I was the ruler. I should have figured it out a long time ago. But I did not. I still haven’t. The Judge had no reason to betray us. If only he had not…
The Sage and the Master Of War… I can hear their staggered breathing behind me. Yet I am too weak to look, too weak to acknowledge my defeat. The creator taunts me. Why does he taunt me so? I cannot understand it. The weapons were the key, I have said this time and time again. The weapons were the only way to defeat the creators, for us to stay alive. We have failed. The next time there will be no help from us. If only the Judge had not betrayed us, if only we had the weapons ourselves. The weapons will stave off the darkness next time, but we will no longer be able to help. The Judge betrayed us… why…

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Alexander: I know you all wish to know the reason for my calling you all here today.
Ifrit: This had better be good, Alex.
Alexander: My name is Alexander, Fire Beast. You would do well to remember that.
Shiva: Only the king may call us by our descriptive name. You, on the other hand, Alexander, must call us by our real names.
Alexander: Indeed, Shiva.
Ifrit: Just get it over with, you big holy loser!
Alexander: Very well, Ifrit. I have called you all here to-
Odin: What do you want from us, Alexander?
Alexander: I am appalled, Odin, that you would think that I would only call you here because I needed you help.
Bahamut: I, however, second his statement, Alexander. What do you need us for?
Alexander: Well, Bahamut, I have come up with a plan revolving around obtaining the weapons and integrating them into ourselves, to become even more powerful than we are now.
Odin: Are you mad? Have you examined the repercussions of what might happen?
Alexander: There is a… marginal risk…
Bahamut: Still too much of a risk, Alexander. We will not go forward with this plan.
Alexander: No, we must. I’ve heard that the creators are coming for us. Without the weapons integrated into ourselves, they will easily destroy us.
Ifrit: Let ’em come, I say! Let ’em try to beat us!
Bahamut: Alexander, should the weapons be joined with us, we will surely go mad with power…

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I see a flash above me. I strain to lift my head. The creator who had taunted me falls to the ground. I look to see what has caused this. All I am able to see are the legs of a white horse… the horse of the Master Of War. I see the Zantetsuken, his blade, dripping with the creator’s blood. I watch as he sheathes the Zantetsuken and draws the Gungnir, his powerful spear, and charges down the rest of the creators. Except one. The one who holds… what is it that he holds? I cannot be sure. Now it looks like a red orb, one of the many prisons we’ve been hidden in until we were needed. Yet it flickers, changing color, shape, and form. It is most likely another holder for us. One that he will destroy while we are inside. The Master Of War turns to charge him down…

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Ramuh: It was a very good decision, m’lord, to not allow him to fuse the weapons to us.
Bahamut: Indeed. I sometimes question Alexander’s judgement. He said that we needed them to fight the creators, that they were going to do something to us.
Ramuh: Of course they won’t, m’l-
Odin: Ramuh! Bahamut! The creators are here! They’re fighting us!
Bahamut: No, this cannot be…

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It happened too quickly. I had known it had happened once before, but I never expected it to happen again. The creator called forth a creature from a world that we once saved from the darkness. This creature had killed the Master Of War before, but I hadn’t realized that the creator could make it happen again. I watched, miserably, as the Gungnir clattered to the ground. I tried to keep my head up, to watch what the creator would do… I suddenly felt a small shake in the ground. Something had come to save us… but what? I tried to turn my head, but soon it all went blank…

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Bahamut: Battle stations, everyone! Ifrit! Shiva! You two come with me. Odin, Ramuh, keep an eye on our backs… in case anything, ally or enemy, shows up. Alexander! Alexander! Where did you go? Where is the Judge? Where is Alexander?
Ifrit: Sir! We don’t have much time before they reach us. We have to fight now!
Bahamut: Alexander is missing… there’s no time. We have to deal with this threat now. We’re going to need a lot of luck…

***The rest to come next post (I didn't realize how LONG this thing was...)***