Episode 29: Back In Black

It was a cloudy morning at Crescent Cove, and some of The Legacy members were still asleep in the cabins. Shiva was the first to rise and she could see that everyone was still resting so she decided to quietly step outside. Once outside she looked in some of the old cabins and found some fishing rods and bait. She sat down by the water and caught a few fish that were near the surface. It wasn’t long after that she was able to gather enough to make food for the others. She carefully cleaned the fish and set them to roast over the firepit she found. As the meal cooked, she felt her mind wandering a bit. Something heavy was on her mind but, she could not put a finger on it. For now, she sat alone just listening to the wind.


Anthi was fast asleep against the furthest cabin snoring happily as she ever could. She had fallen asleep from her first turn at night watch not too long before. It didn’t take much to keep Anthi down as she was used to light sleeping. Anthi knew should anything arise she was able to wake up at a moment's notice. Right now, her focus was sleep as there were others staying awake right now to look over for enemies; all that mattered to her was the comfort of where she was. The person at watch right now was Trunks but, something was off with him. He stood keeping a lookout for enemies, but his mind often wandered on its own. His mind was filled with visions of his past and a dark part of him kept breaking into dark thoughts. He struggled to grasp what was real and what wasn’t; he faced a tough road ahead if his mind stayed on this path. Dorion slept in the cabin not too far from where Shiva was cooking. Dorion ended up sleeping against the wall because the pain in his shoulder was so strong from the night before. His shoulder was back in place but, he would probably feel it for a bit. The sound of the crackling fire woke Dorion up and he rose to his feet to see who else was awake.


As Dorion walked out of his cabin he could see Shiva was sitting alone. Her face was relaxed but he could sense that her mood was somber. He walked over and placed his hand on her shoulder and wished her a good morning. Shiva responded happy as always and right away asked how his shoulder was feeling from his injury. Dorion lets her know that he is fine and that he didn’t expect it to get any worse from here on out; they just needed to be careful on what they do in the times to come. Shiva agrees and wonders what is on the horizon for them, and her words seem to catch Dorion’s attention.

Dorion asks if Shiva senses something from Hydaelyn and Shiva shakes her head no and explains how she hasn’t heard from her in some time. Shiva mentions how Hydaelyn will only come to her now in dreams and even that lately she has been struggling to see as her mind is covered right now in a heavy fog. She senses that there is something wrong and she isn’t sure if it's sadness from the things they have witnessed so far or if she was connecting to an energy within the group.


Dorion understands what she feels as he tells her about what happened with Mika the night before. Dorion mentions to Shiva that Mika was Delgado’s Guardian and he felt that killing her was the final connection he had to his brother. He often misses Delgado but knows they can’t change what was done so long ago.  What hurt Dorion more was calling to Jai to help dispose of her body, Dorion explains to Shiva that at one time Jai and Mika were very close and when Jai saw her lifeless body, he could see something in Jai change. He felt that Jai was done with his fieldwork for the time being so he asked if Jai could return home to Fairytail to help Yue lookout for Jayne and the others.

From a distance Trunks could see Shiva and Dorion talking but, he did not go over as his mind was still all over. Apart from him wanting to get moving so, he decided to try and wake Anthi up. Trunks tries to wake up the young female with a cookie had stored in cloth from the last time he was at Fairytail. Anthi is surprised to see that Trunks had such a snack hidden in his bag and armor and tells Anthi that he is full of surprises that keep him sane. As Trunks says such an odd thing he walks towards Shiva and Dorion leaving Anthi to wonder what was up with him.
Dorion walks over and greets Trunks but, Trunks brushes past him and walks towards the edge of the docks to discover some rotted (some skeletal) remains of villagers that once occupied this area. Dorion asks if Trunks is alright but, he does not seem to respond which makes Dorion wonder what is going on. Trunks turn around and has a bit of tear in his eyes and says that seeing things like this are sometimes the hardest for him and he felt that they shouldn’t have passed away. Dorion agrees with Trunks but, mentions as in life the fate of others can’t be helped. Both Shiva and Anthi seem to be at odds with the men’s conversation and Shiva asks where Tefh was as she has noticed she was the only person not present.


Anthi looks around in surprise as she does realize that Tefh is not present. Dorion had spoken to Tefh before her watch ended last night and he said that she wanted to leave to make formal orders with the Dregs, along with a reason for her absence from them. Tefh felt confident in leaving Anthi behind with the group promising that at the moment she would be able to pull her weight. She left Anthi a Scrimshawed Fishbone for good luck and promised she would be back as soon as she could return to the group. Dorion had even given her a linkpearl to keep in touch with. As Dorion discusses Tefh’s whereabouts, Trunks suggests they go back to Fairytail which makes Dorion wonder why he was so eager to getaway.


As Dorion tries to analyze the situation, everyone’s linkpearls begin to ring; it is a call from Leric. Shiva answers first in fear of the worst and asks if Leric was okay. Leric responds letting her know that he is fine but, there are some major interferences, and The Legacy needed to come to Aleport as soon as possible. Dorion listens to Leric’s words and agrees that they will head out shortly and meet him. As The Legacy gathers their weapons and items, Trunks mouths the words to Dorion that everyone will die and smashes one of the boats that would have carried them to Aleport.

While Anthi and Shiva gathered stuff from the furthest cabin, Dorion grabbed a hold of Trunks wrist and looked him in the eyes to try and see what was going on. For a moment Trunks continued his blank stare before coming to and looking at Dorion confused. Dorion held onto Trunks for a moment and whispered to him to get himself together before the girls got back. He knew that even putting Trunks on this ship was a flight risk but, Trunks did his best to keep his cool. Trunks hands shook and Dorion knew that whatever was bothering Trunks would have to be something they dealt with in time.

Shiva came back just in time to catch a little of what was going on to hear both men tell her that it was just fine. Dorion stood between Shiva and Anthi and asked for Trunks to board the boat first. He silently went on and sat in the front so Dorion could keep his eye on him. For their journey, Dorion promised Shiva and Anthi that nothing would happen to them and that they would be safe on this boat. Shiva’s spirit was unsure but, Anthi kept her spirit up mentioning her good luck charm and her love for the sea. Hearing Anthi’s words and hearing her talk about her homelands seemed to put the young mage at ease for now.


After an hour on the sea, The Legacy found themselves in Western La Noscea once more, but this time in the small seaport town, Aleport. Upon docking, Dorion called Leric and let him know that they had arrived. Leric called for them to join him in the first doorway on the left as soon as they arrived. Once inside they found an abandoned infirmary where Leric was seeking shelter for the time being.

On one of the tables, Leric had an opened map with notes and coordinates written all over so The Legacy could see that in a weeks’ time, he had found a lot of information out. His face was stern as always, but his expression showed that he had found something big. It was also odd to see him out of his doctor attire and a rapier by the table but, The Legacy was glad to see that he was well. As the group made their way inside Leric noticed a new face among the group and he wasn’t sure how to react.

Dorion explained to Leric how Anthi and Tefh came to Fairytail and were members of the Eorzean Military. Leric took a liking to her right away and thanked her for helping keep Eorzea safe and to apologize for the chaos their kind had caused. As much as Leric wanted to have a casual conversation he knew that this was not the time to just have one and that they needed to discuss the matter at hand. He grabbed some notes and pictures he had to show The Legacy.


Leric explains how he and his brother were working side by side on intel but the two decided to see their research from two vantage points; one brother in the Thanalans while the other was stationed in La Noscea. Jai had contacted Leric with information on Mika which prompted him to travel to the closest primal in the area. Mika did send out one last cargo ship before her death and the shipment contained a large sum of Aetherial crystals. Upon careful monitoring, the crystals were brought into the Sahagian lands, and heard of them speaking that the summoning would be soon once they found a certain item they were looking for. Leric tells that they are looking to sacrifice a creature with a lot of aether to give Leviathan the strength to return to Eorzea once more.

Shiva gasps at the thought of Leviathan returning to the Seas which also surprises Anthi as she had not heard that name in some time. Shiva expresses concern about The Legacy fighting Leviathan as he is not something easy to mess with; let alone having someone new like Anthi be at risk. Anthi appreciates Shiva’s concern and Leric does as well which prompts him to ask; should Leviathan be summoned would Anthi be willing to face him if he were to emerge? Anthi expresses to The Legacy that she would be willing to fight a primal. As a member of the Eorzean Military, she knew what she signed up for when she joined. She expressed that she had been training all her life to fight a primal as that is to be expected when you are part of such a Grand Company. Anthi says it doesn’t matter what happens to her life but, if she was able to use her own to protect Eorzea that is what mattered most.


As Anthi talks to the others, Trunks begins to manically laugh and reminds the group that they will all die. Leric quickly turns to Trunks and rushes towards him for saying such words, but Trunks does not flinch at all. Trunks puts his hand on Leric’s shoulder and tells him he plans to gut Leric like a fish and in that moment Leric knows that something is wrong with Trunks. Leric places his hand on Trunks and compels him to fall to his knees and as Trunks does so Leric can see a dark aura deep within Trunks’ eyes. Leric says that Leviathan may have to wait as the real problem at hand was the darkness taking over Trunks.

Shiva rushes over in fear of the man she loves and asks what they can do to extract it from him. As Leric tries to answer her question another soul is present, and the feeling of another dark entity is nearby. Leric chants a spell to keep Trunks down for the moment and The Legacy rushes outside to see what was outside of the building.


As the Legacy leaves the building, they find their path barred by an unknown figure, features completely obscured in strange and unfamiliar armor.  Chainmail and plate rustle in the ocean wind.  It bears no weapon that they can see, but an aura of danger clings to it regardless.  The figure doesn't speak, though its head moves as if scanning the group.  It raises a finger and points at Shiva.  A raspy voice echoes from inside its helm it asks for a male.
Shiva walked over slowly to try and hear the voice better asking the figure once more who are they looking for? The unknown soul asks for the fool and judging by the voice Dorion knew who it was right away. Anthi raised her gun in suspicion but, Leric asked her to lower her weapon as he saw that Dorion too was backing up Shiva. Dorion asked what Zakuro was doing her (let alone without Tuya) and why she needed Trunks so badly. Zakuro mentions that she is no longer patient and needs to see Trunks. Unsure of why Zakuro was so hostile Shiva goes inside to get Trunks with Leric although the two of them feel that there is no need for him to be present. Leric can feel the hold breaking on Trunks as he hears Trunks’ twisted laugh coming towards them.


Zakuro raises her finger to point out that she sees Trunks and Trunks looks to hear in amusement. Shiva is unsure if Zakuro was here for all the wrong reasons but hears Zakuro call Trunks a pretender and that he has trespassed on the wrong path that was set for him. Trunks continue to laugh and tell Zakuro that this reunion was imminent. Zakuro tells Trunks that he has spent too much time in the shadows, and it is time to expel the power that he had borrowed from her.

A part of Trunks wanted to continue to serve the darkness that clouded his mind and hearing of what he did earlier Trunks broke free of Leric’s magick and ran for the Sahagian lands. He shouted to Zakuro that if she wanted to take it from him that she would have to fight him. Zakuro can see that Shiva and the others were ready to try and calm Trunks down seeing that Shiva was already running after him. She was ready to take that darkness from him but, she also knew that The Legacy would stand in her way a bit. Dorion suggests that Zakuro help them for the moment so that they can get Trunks out of beastmen's lands. She agrees for now although it is not her first choice on how things should be handled. They followed Trunks deep into beastmen land to now see him standing there confused on how he got there in the first place. Shiva is unsure how he keeps flipping the switch between the man that they knew to this man who was mad. As the group stood together the Sahagian came and it was time to fight.


Leric grabbed his rapier from his jacket, a silver rapier covered in red roses...he raised his hand over the blade and sends a magick blast slicing one of the Sahagian sending it bloodied to the water. Shiva tried to focus on the task but her mind is so worried about Trunks before she could draw her staff a Sahagian sent a watery blast knocking Shiva off her feet. Trunks stepped in balancing between his two personalities and began to taunt the Sahagian and antagonized them to take their best shot at him. The Sahagin aimed some type of poisonous venom but instead struck Zakuro's gear and some stings her skin. Zakuro could feel the cuts multiply across her body and visibly staggered for a moment. She was not used to feeling the pain this acutely; she let out a hiss of pain but kept steady on her feet. Dorion tried to rush in to help Zakuro when a Sahagian decided to go after him.

The Sahagian shot a spear deep into Dorion’s shoulder leaving him in instant agony. Anthi sees what is happening and steps up to the plate. Anthi taps on the box at her side a few times and grins as something a lot bigger than an eye rolls out. She finds the biggest cluster of Sahagin that she can and throws it with all of her might into the middle. Before it detonates though, she aims her rifle and fires once, forcing the bomb to explode and turn three of the flashbacks into nothing but mist. Shiva smiles and cheers Anthi on as she rushes forward giving the others a chance to move in. Zakuro had the perfect opportunity to establish the perfect spot for an attack. With swift moves and agility like no one else, Zakuro comes in and slices a Sahagian once more. As Dorion falls back in pain Leric rushes over and tries to help but, the Sahagian see this as a chance to strike and knock Leric on his feet. With Leric vulnerable Zakuro move forward and killed another Sahagian.


Shiva rushed in and grabbed her staff and flipped back into a poll. With her staff Shiva runs it into the salty waters creating an ice spear that she slammed up from the water and killed a few of the Sahagian instantly as well; Dorion watched in surprise to see what she was capable of doing. Trunks flipping between personalities once more wanted to show Shiva up and took a Sahagian into his hand and began to crush its head into the footpath they stood upon. Dorion finally had a chance to attack when suddenly a group of Sahagian jumped in after him and pinned him to the ground. The fish creatures called him the betrayer to King Eden and wanted him dead. Anthi and Zakuro worked together side by side to attack when suddenly they got surrounded as well. Leric rising from his feet decided to step in. A gust of wind passes past Trunks and Anthi as Leric suddenly flies across the deck to find a pile of Sahagian on Dorion. A deep voice booms out of Leric growling at the Sahagian to get off Dorion as he bites deeply into the neck of one of the Sahagian. With his teeth, he sinks in deep into the creature's neck before tearing it off of the body leaving blood to fly in the air. The look in the eyes of Leric is of a killer; something The Legacy has yet to witness. With his free hand, he throws his rapier stabbing one directly in its chest. With the then pulls Dorion away trying to ease his friends’ pain from the spear.

Shiva could see that Leric created an opening and she too decided to take a chance and try to fight. One of the Sahagian struck her in her lower back and ribs but she refused to go down. As she fell she quickly got to her feet and hit another back with her staff. As Shiva attacked Trunks did as well.

Trunks’ hand lifts to his face as he begins to gasp for air and beat his head against the ground. His body drops limply to the ground he crawls between Zakuro and the others as suddenly a faint glow and wind come around him. He uses watch sanity he has to heal everyone before falling unconscious once more as if it was the last chance his humanity could come through.


Shiva watched as Trunks falls and moves him off to the side for now for his safety and tells the others to have her back. Dorion now feeling a surge of energy from Trunks flies past Shiva and grabs his staff and sends a group of Sahagian that were attacking into the water, with another move he calls upon his magick and shocks them all in the water. Anthi watches in awe before getting hit by another group of creatures which prompts her to grab her gun and aim towards the beastmen. Watching Anthi carefully, Zakuro finally sees a break in the wave of spears and extends a hand. A fist-sized orb of shadow flies forward, flying past the front line of Sahagin and blowing a hole in the chest of one of their backline casters! Anthi continues to fight and now found a chance to pull out her sidearm, but the creature slaps her hand away and makes the gun slide over to Shiva. Zakuro finds space to swing at full power, splitting one of the Sahagian in two from hip to armpit! Shiva slides the gun back to Anthi giving her a chance to shoot the beastmen directly.


Zakuro deflects another Sahagin's attack, her hand shooting up to grab it by the neck with her right hand, then brought the nodachi up, slicing through its neck below her hand with one quick, clean movement, letting the body and head fall lifeless next to her. As Shiva slid the gun over to Anthi one of the Sahagin grabbed Shiva by her hair dragging her across the ground as she calls out to the rest of the team. Anthi unhappy by the sights she sees kicks a Sahagin that was hounding her to the rear and pulls out the rifle once more. This time she flipped a few switches and instead of a bullet, a steady stream of flames spew out and literally roasts some of the Sahagin alive. Seeing Anthi's attack gave Leric the chance to fight as well. Leric rushed forward and struck down another Sahagian. The final Sahagian dropped to the ground and The Legacy finally had a window to escape.


The air was silent, and Shiva was down on the ground checking Trunks for a pulse. She could hear him breathing heavily, and she was worried about what could happen to him. Zakuro tells the group that they are safe for now but, it is time for her to consume his darkness. Dorion battered and bruised agrees as he hangs onto Leric for strength. Shiva reaching for his hands can feel the chill of his skin from his armor which concerns her. Zakuro says that they are wasting time and that they need to go as soon as possible.


As the group prepares to lift Trunks, Trunks slowly sit up in an eerie manner and his eyes dart towards The Legacy as he rises to his feet on his own using his sword to lift him up off the ground. The group is unsure if this is the man they knew or the dark spirit that possessed him. Shiva carefully approaches him and asks if he is okay and he tells her that he is fine. Shiva carefully tries to help him gather himself as he struggled to stand on his own. Trunks’ face winces in pain and suddenly he stares at Dorion and Zakuro differently. The deadly blood lustful smile returns, and he grabs Shiva by the neck and spins her around. Trunk rears back the sword and slices Shiva right up the back covering himself in her blood as he begins to laugh hysterically.


Dorion and the other scream as Shiva drops heavily to her knees. With the blood rushing down her back Shiva tries to chant a spell to heal herself but the pain is so strong for her. Leric rushes to Shiva to help her use his aether while Dorion rushes to Trunks and tackles him to the ground asking for the others to somehow constrict him. Trunks leaps back to his feet grabbing Dorion by the throat and drawing back his blade once more. Trunks tells Dorion in a possessed voice to long live Queen Death before impaling Dorion straight through the chest staring into his eyes in agony as he cries.


Dorion looks down his arms trembling as he sees the blade in his chest. He can feel the blood rushing down his shirt. Dorion tries to pull the blade out but he cannot move it. Leric drops down from helping Shiva tossing Trunks to the side and looks to Zakuro. Leric exclaims to Zakuro to get Trunks and the others out of here before he does worse. Shiva presses down on her linkpearl through shortened breaths using the ice within her to cover her wounds and calling upon Master Akane. Dorion shakes violently as Leric carefully removes the blade from his back and takes off his jacket wrapping it around Dorion for pressure. The wound was deep but not enough to take out the young man. The blood loss was great and Leric knew that they had to get him out of here fast. As Dorion fell into unconsciousness Leric held Dorion and the rapier in his holster began to glow a bright red. Leric warns Zakuro once more to leave with Trunks and the others before he guts Trunks right in front of them.


Zakuro agrees and grabs Trunks helmet off of his head and using it to strike him unconscious for the time being. Anthi reaches out to Shiva and helps lift her off the ground and tells Shiva she will help her move until they are somewhere safe. Shiva thanks Anthi and continues to chant the spell she needs to in order for them to move forward.


The group returns to Aleport for now and place Trunks’ unconscious body onto a bed where Shiva is left with Anthi and Zakuro. Shiva cries in fear for the man she loves and is unsure how to save him. Anthi sympathizes with the young mage and tries to console her and let her know in time they will figure something out. Zakuro pulls off her coifed helm. Her face and hair are drenched in sweat. As she catches her breath, she holds up a finger, giving herself a moment to roll her left shoulder, which pops back into the joint. Zakuro tells Shiva that she came back to get him off that path and they would find a way to do so. Shiva questions how they could save him and Zakuro proposes an idea. Zakuro suggests that they find a way to enter his mind and consume what is there. Anthi questions how Zakuro knows so much and Zakuro mentions how she and Tuya were once members of The Legacy and had learns things along the way that had them forge a path of their own.

Shiva reminds Zakuro that although she and Tuya were now on their own journey, she feels that they will forever be a part of The Legacy. Shiva rises to her feet and says to the women that she will put Trunks under a spell and when they are recovered and Leric comes back they will face Trunks head on to rid him of Death and The Darkness. As Shiva places the spell upon Trunks, she whispers to him how much she loves him and she has a plan to tap into something to bring him back. Shiva crawls onto the bed opposite of Trunks and places herself into a meditative state; what was she up to?