Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Final Fantasy: The World of One ❯ Adamantine ( Chapter 5 )

Final Fantasy: The World of One

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Final Fantasy, the characters within and all terms with relations to the said game series are registered trademarks of Square Enix. The original characters depicted in this fanfiction piece are copyrighted to the author. Thus, nothing in this fanfic can be used without the author's, or the game producer's permissions.

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This fanfic is rated PG-13 for strong language, violence, alcohol and suggestive themes.

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Adamantine

"There, Long Horn Island." Anne pointed to an island as they were viewing the sea from a cliff. "You can find a cove with a large deposit of Adamantine there, since that island is a breeding area for Adamantoise."

"Um, what is Adamantine anyway?" Vincent asked.

"Um, well, Adamantine is the fossilized shell of an Adamantoise. It's ten times stronger than Mythril, though few people really know how to create Adamantine weapons, since it requires a sacred flame and a special forge to create one." Anne explained.

"And Masamune is one of the few?" Vincent asked.

"Of course." Anne answered. "Sir Masamune came to this island with his grandson about seven years ago, stranded and shipwrecked. We took him in, and he shared with us his gift of weapon forging. Normally, we would have abandoned him, for we wish no contact with the outside world, except for worthy Summoners. But, even if he wasn't a Summoner, we accepted him, because we knew that he had righteousness in his heart."

"Which reminds me," Vincent asked. "Why do you Summoners seclude yourself from the rest of the world?"

"The Ancients." Anne said. "If the fact that the Ancients, a virtually powerful force of Terra, existed was revealed, think of how many governments and organizations will try to grasp that power. It happened once, with the Dark Lord, and it would be best if it would not happen again."

"I understand." Vincent said. "Can I ask two other questions?"

"Why not?"

"Yes, the first." Vincent began. "How are we to get to Long Horn Island? It looks like it's miles from Madan Sari's shore."

"That's no problem." Anne answered. She closed her eyes, and stretched her arms. "Come to me, Sea Guardian, and answer the prayer of the humble host who summons thee."

The horn in her crown began to shine, and when Vincent looked to the sea, he spotted a massive whirlpool spinning underneath the cliff they were standing on. Vincent heard a melodious roaring, and the sky began to dim a bit. At once, something began to rise from the whirlpool, a serpentine body, but it was made of a rising wall of water. It began to take form, and in a flash of light, it had taken the form of a gigantic serpent, with wings like those of a dragon. The serpent drew its whole body upwards, which seemed to be at least about eight miles long, and lowered its head to the level of the cliff. Its eyes focused on Anne, whose horn had stopped shining, and was looking the serpent in the eye.

"YOU SUMMONED ME?" The serpent thundered, which made Vincent jump.

"Levia! I'm sorry, I think you were taking a nap?" Anne asked candidly.

"Levia? Leviathan?" Vincent asked.

"Yes, this is Leviathan." Anne answered. "The ANCIENT Leviathan. The real Leviathan. Not just some illusion created by a Summoner."

"Hmm... so you're the real Leviathan." Vincent said.

"AH, AND YOU BE THE ONE WE RESCUED FROM THE DEEPS?" Leviathan answered. "IT BE THAT YOU ARE A FINE YOUNG WHELP. WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU TODAY, LADY ADRIANE?"

"Um, yeah... Leviathan, this is Vincent. Anyway, can you take us to Long Horn Island? We need to get some Adamantine for Sir Masamune."

"AH, NO PROBLEM AT ALL, LADY ADRIANE. JUST CLIMB UPON MY HEAD ONCE YOU ARE READY."

"Thanks a lot, Levia." Anne said.

"ANYWAY, I DO THINK THAT IT BE TOO DANGEROUS FOR YOUR TO WANDER TO THAT AREA." Leviathan said. "ARE YOU SURE YOU WISH TO GO THERE?"

"Don't worry, Levia." Anne answered. "Vincent here's a sword expert. I think he's more than capable of protecting me. Besides, I'm not a little girl anymore, I'm already 15. I can take care of myself."

"AH, YES." Leviathan said in agreement. "SO, THEN, VINCENT. LADY ADRIANE'S LIFE IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. IF YOU LOSE IT, THEN YOU SHALL DIE SHORTLY AFTER, IF YOU HAVE NOT LOST YOUR LIFE BEFORE."

"Alright." Vincent said with a nod.

"Okay, so Vincent, what's the other question?" Anne asked.

"Yes, um, Anne, I'm a swordsman. A swordsman is useless without a blade in his hands."

"Oh, yeah!" Anne said. "Levia, did you happen to see if there was a sword or a blade that didn't rust out on that sunken liner we were exploring the last time?"

"WHY, YES. I'VE FOUND ONE."

"Can you give it to us for a while? Vincent needs a weapon." Anne asked.

"ONLY IF YOU HELP ME EXPLORE THE TROPICAL ISLANDS SOUTH OF HERE." Leviathan answered.

"Gee, thanks a lot, Leviathan!"

"THE PLEASURE'S ALL MINE, M'LADY." Leviathan answered. At once, a blast of water erupted from the water near Leviathan was hovering above. And, then something was falling from the sky at very quick speed, and it landed in front of Vincent.

"Hmm... a Buster Sword..." Vincent said as he picked up the weapon. It didn't have any decorations or anything special attached to it; just a plain single-edged sword about three and a half feet in length and about one-fourth of a feet in width. In comparison to his old Flame Saber, this was an easier weapon to wield. He swung it around for a test, and he found it quite shabby, but still okay. He threw a stone into the air and slashed. It landed on the ground cut in half. "Not bad."

"Wow, with skill like that, I think I don't have to worry." Anne commented him.

"Thanks..." Vincent said.

"Looks like you're ready then." Anne said. "I think I should change. These garments aren't really for exploration." She took out a small crystalline blue ball and let if float in front of her at her chest's length. In a blink of an eye, she became bathed in blue light, and it looked like her blue and white robes had melted away and she was wearing nothing. Vincent had his eyes with his hands, thinking that Anne would go naked in front of him.

"Hey, what's with you?" He heard Anne say.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Anne wearing what looked like a white ninja gi top, coupled with white shorts, leggings and a pair of Japanese-looking sandals.

"Um, I think I haven't seen anything like that..."

"Um, yeah. It's called a Dress Sphere, which can hold one exchange of clothes. Here in Madan Sari, It's really popular. Sometimes, when you're in a hurry to change your outfits, you can record an exchange of clothes inside a Dress Sphere, and then you can access it anytime, anywhere by summoning its power from inside the Sphere."

"An artifact that lets you change outfits, huh? Women sure know how to use magic and cosmetics." Vincent said.

"Okay, let's go." Anne said as she hopped onto Leviathan's head. "C'mon, Levia won't eat you, you know."

"If it makes you happy... WHOA!!!" Vincent sighed. He jumped onto Leviathan's head and stood at an area next to Anne.

At once, Leviathan flew into the air at a considerably fast speed. Vincent was knocked off his feet and fell flat on his back.

"Hey, I forgot to tell you... stay seated when we're riding Levia." Anne said.

"You should have said that earlier." Vincent said.

"Oh, it's my bad." Anne said. "Anyway, we should be able to get to Long Horn Island in a short while. Why don't you just sit back and enjoy the ride?"

"Yeah, whatever you say." Vincent said.

Anne took a very deep breath and exhaled. "The sea breeze feels really good." She told Vincent. "After some lessons with my mentors, I usually go with Levia here and we'd explore different parts of the ocean. We'd then find things in sunken ships and then bring them back to Madan Sari."

"Must be fun." Vincent said.

"It is." Anne said. "But, you know, I want to know, no I want to see with my own two eyes what's beyond the ocean."

"Beyond the ocean?" Vincent asked. "You mean the mainland?"

"Kind of like that." Anne replied. "Sure, Madan Sari is a great place, but, I want to see the world beyond it. I don't want to just live my whole life in some secluded island. I want to go on exciting adventures, you know, fighting really big dragons and win uncharted lands for your country and all that."

"How did you know all of that?" Vincent asked.

"From the ships we explore. We usually find a lot of things in the sunken vessels- jewels, items from the mainland, stuff like that. I also found this really neat diary that had records of the person's exploits, pictures and whatnot. I've already told Levia about how I want to see the mainland. He agrees with me, but he says I should wait until I'm older."

"YOU ARE STILL TOO YOUNG TO VENTURE ON YOURSELF AFTER ALL." Leviathan answered. "YOU SHOULD WAIT A YEAR OR FIVE."

"I know Levia, but I can't stop myself from thinking about it."

"Take it from me, Anne." Vincent said. "The life in the mainland isn't all adventures and fame. Just look at what happened to me. I'd say I like the life here better."

"Okay, but we'll talk about this later, okay?" Anne said as Leviathan came to a stop in front of a shoreline that had a rock wall with a small cave opening. "We've arrived here at Long Horn Island. Now let's go get that Adamantine and return to Sir Masamune on the double so he can make you a good weapon."

"Alright." Vincent said.

"I'LL BE WAITING HERE. BE CAREFUL AND DON'T BE TOO LONG."

"Yeah, yeah, we hear you." Anne said, a bit annoyed. "Why does Levia keep treating me like a little girl?" she whispered to Vincent as they entered the cave.

"Hey, he's just worried about you. Vincent replied. "Anyway, it's a bit dark in here."

"No worry." Anne said. She then closed her eyes the way she did to call on Leviathan. "Come to me, brilliant creature, and shed crimson light! Carbuncle!"

At once, a small glistening flash appeared in mid-air, and from it jumped out a white, furry, fox-like creature the size of a cat, had ears comparable to that of a rabbit's and had one large, glistening ruby gem on its forehead, which illuminated the cave with a bright red light. It let a soft "uki", ran towards Anne and rubbed against her right leg.

"Carbuncle, eh?" Vincent asked.

"Yes, but only an Avatar. The Ancient Carbuncle has light blue fur and has the gift of speech." Anne said, kneeling down and patting the Avatar's furry head.

"Hmm... I see." Vincent replied. "Anyway, let's go get the Adamantine."

And so, the duo went deeper into the cave, guided by Carbuncle's light. They passed through tunnels and tunnels of solid rock, and for after about some time, they saw a sort of green light emanating from the other side of a tunnel.

"There it is!" Anne said excitedly as she ran towards the green light. Carbuncle followed, but then disappeared in a flash of red light.

"Hey, wait!" Vincent said as he ran after her towards the green light. When they reached the area where the green light was coming from, they were astonished at what it was.

It was a large area, which the ceiling seemed to be hundreds of feet above them, with the whole area itself the size of about two football fields. At the center was a large lake full of clean, clear water, and which from the bottom came the green light. Actually, it came from the green crystalline matter that was found all under the lake's surface. Also, there seemed to be an underwater cave that was at the lake's bottom.

"Oh, so that's how they get in here." Anne said.

"Who?"

"The Adamantoise. We're lucky we haven't run into some while going here. They say that Long Horn Island is both a breeding place for Adamantoise, and a turtle burial place as well. That explains why Adamantine, which is from and Adamantoise's shell, is abundant here." Anne said, pointing at the green crystalline matter.

"So that's Adamantine?" Vincent asked.

"Yes, Adamantine ore is like that. But, upon being tempered, it changes color, ranging from deep blue to metallic gray." Anne explained. "C'mon, let's get some of that ore and get out of here."

"You mean... dive underwater?" Vincent asked.

"No, not really."

"Okay, so how do we get the Adamantine?"

"Okay, I'll summon Garuda to remove some of the water. After which, you can go and cut down some chunks of Adamantine. Put them in this bag. Just hurry up, since Garuda is a powerful spell, and I'm not really strong enough to keep here there for a long time, okay?" Anne explained, giving him a rather large cloth bag.

"Cut down some chunks? Isn't Adamantine supposed to be very hard?"

"Yes, but, if you cut down at the base, at the soft rock under the crystals, it should be easy to do. So, ready?"

"As if I have another choice." Vincent said.

"Okay..." Her horn began to shine, and she said in a firm voice, "Come to me, Queen of the Air, and gather the power of the Wind Sylphs! Garuda!"

A flash of green light, a shade lighter than that of the Adamantine, began to hover above the lake. At once, a being with the appearance of a woman, but with the head, body feathers, talons and wings like that of an eagle stepped out from the light.

"Garuda, can you use your abilities to suspend the water a bit while Vincent gets some of the Adamantine?" Anne called out to the figure.

Garuda nodded, and flew upward. At once, a large tornado began to cause the water to rise. The tornado rose upward, and when it had carried the water to the ceiling of the cave, The more shallow parts of the lake had become dry land, exposing the green crystals.

"Okay, Vincent. You can get the Adamantine there now."

Vincent jumped down to the shallow parts, and used the Buster Sword to `uproot' some of the green crystals that were there. After a short while, Vincent had gathered a considerable amount, and the bag was full. "Anne, I think I've got enough. How are you holding up?"

"Fine." he heard Anne say. "I'm just fine. Now hurry up and let's get out of here."

Vincent slung the bag over his right shoulder and began to climb up. Upon reaching the top, he was greeted by Anne, who immediately dismissed Garuda. She then sat down, gasping for breath as if she had run a few miles in a few minutes.

"Hey, you okay?" Vincent said, rushing to her side.

"H-hey, <gasp>, you took <gasp> too long, <gasp> you know. Garuda's <pant> really hard to <gasp> summon." Anne said between breaths.

"Take it easy, wasting too much effort isn't really good for anyone. We'll rest here for a while before we return to Madan Sari, okay?" Vincent told her.

"Wow... I didn't <gasp> take you <gasp> sensitive <gasp> type."

"Whatever."

"Anyway, we got the Adamantine, so Sir Masamune can make you that weapon, huh?" Anne said.

"Yes. I hope this will be enough." Vincent said.

"Hey, don't worry. That will be more than enough. I just know it."

"Okay, so you feeling better?" Vincent asked.

"Yeah. Come on, let's get out of this place." Anne said, standing up.

No sooner had Anne spoke those words, they heard a low growl, and they felt something... big, was behind them. They looked behind to see what it is.

Behind them was a large creature resembling a sea turtle, but only if a sea turtle was about ten feet tall, and looks as if it weighs a ton. It had rows of razor-sharp teeth in its large jaws, and had a shell that was somewhat green and black, and had some specks of emerald green material all over the shell. It was leering on them both, and then emitted a high-pitched roar.

"A... An Adamantoise..." Anne said, scanning the beast.

"It's blocking the exit." Vincent pointed out. The Adamanoise was between them and the way from where they came from.

"So... what do we do?" Anne asked weakly.

"We'll have to beat it to pass..." Vincent said, brandishing the Buster Sword.

"But, isn't there any other way?" Anne said.

"Yeah... two." Vincent said and he ran towards the Adamantoise. "You can swim through that cave underneath the lake, or two, you can be turtle food."

"Yikes... I guess no other, huh?" Anne said.

"You're right." Vincent then slashed at the Adamantoise, who just absorbed the hit. Vincent jumped backward in surprise. "It didn't even graze it?"

Trying another attack maneuver, he dashed quickly and appeared a few feet above the beast. "BRAVER!" he shouted as he brought down a vertical slash. But, it didn't hurt the monster. In fact, it looked like the attack just made it angrier. "What!?"

"Hey, that's not the way!" Anne shouted out. "If you want to beat an Adamantoise, you must know how to cast Lightning spells."

"I know." Vincent said quietly. "But I don't know any magic spell."

"Don't worry. I've got that part covered." Her horn began to glow again. "Come to me, brilliant sage, and rain down thine Bolt of Judgment! Ramuh!"

A flash of electric blue light, and Ramuh appeared, although he was wearing dark blue robes instead of the oak green ones Vincent had seen earlier on. Ramuh then threw his staff onto the ground, and it shot out lightning bolts that simultaneously hit the Adamantoise.

"Yes!" Anne cried out in triumph. But, it was too early to celebrate. When the dust cleared, they saw the Adamantoise had hidden in its shell to prevent itself from being shocked. It then reappeared, and then started to shake its forelimbs vigorously.

"Uh-oh, it's going to use Sand Storm." Anne said. "Better run."

And the duo dodged behind a large rock. After a few moments, they felt a strong gust, and dust particles and rocks began to fly at random. Good thing they were protected by the rock, else they would have either been carried away by the wind, or get hit and knocked out by one of the larger boulders.

"I don't believe it." Anne said as the wind was slowly dying down. "That turtle should have been fried. Ramuh makes short work of those."

"That's an example of a really strong monster." Vincent said. "You can't just expect them all to just take a shot like that lying down. If you want to defeat an enemy, you'll have to figure out its weaknesses and plan out a strategy to bring it down."

"Hmmm... I've still got a lot to learn about fighting..." Anne said.

"Don't worry. You'll learn fast from experience." Vincent said. "As for now, we'll need to find a way to hit that foe with a Lightning attack from the inside. We can't make it crawl out of its shell, so we have to find a way to make lightning hit it from the inside."

"But, how?" Anne asked. "The shell's hard, and I don't think we can pierce through it..."

"Pierce, huh?" Vincent said. "... THAT'S IT!!! Anne, you're a genius!"

"Huh?" Anne asked baffled.

"Just stay behind this rock until I give you the signal, okay?"

"Alright... HEY!" Anne said as Vincent ran off. "What are going to do?"

"Just wait." Vincent said. He ran towards the Adamantoise, and just a few feet in front of it, he quickly dashed to the left side. When the Adamantoise faced there, he quickly jumped backwards, and ran to the right. The Adamantoise was not moving, but it was constantly facing different directions because of Vincent's movements.

"A... Amazing..." Anne said as he saw Vincent running and jumping around, constantly evading the Adamantoise's attacks.

Finally, the Adamantoise got impatient, and started to motion for another Sand Storm. Seeing this as his cue, Vincent jumped towards the wall, using the rock formations on the wall to move up higher. When he found a good elevation, he closed his eyes, and began to concentrate his energy on his sword. The Buster Sword glowed red, and began to emit light of the same color.

He then dived downward, his sword aimed down. The Adamantoise was too slow to move away. Vincent's dive impaled the sword into the Adamantoise's back, and from which he juped away, unarmed, and began to run towards the area where Anne was hiding.

The Adamantoise, driven berserk by the searing pain on its back, began to thrash around in a blind rage.

"Now, Anne, cast Ramuh!" Vincent shouted out. "Aim for the sword! Aim for the sword!"

"Huh? Oh! Now I get it!" Anne cried in excitement. Her horn shone, and after mumbling a few words, Ramuh once again came in the same flash of electric blue. "Attack the sword on the Adamantoise's back!"

Ramuh once again threw his staff towards the ground, and once again, It shot out powerful bolts of electricity. But this time, it was not for naught. The sword conducted the electricity past the hard shell, and into the insides of the Adamantoise. The force of Ramuh's lightning was so strong that it had cracked and broken the sword it was conducted from. What soon followed were loud, high-pitched shrieks , which was finally ended by a loud THUD when the Adamantoise fell limp on the cave floor.

"Wow..." Anne said.

"We make a good team..." Vincent added.

"Yeah... too bad the sword broke."

"Now let's get out of here." Vincent said, slinging the bag once again. "We need to take this t Masamune."

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"Hmmm... so, I take it you have the Adamantine?"

"Yes..." Vincent said as he lay the bag in front of Masamune. "Hopefully, this will enough."

"Hmmm... oh ho!" Masamune exclaimed as he saw the contents. "You kids have brought me enough Adamantine for about THREE swords!"

"So, does that mean you'll make me a weapon now?"

"Hmm... of course. Now, anything else?" Masamune said.

"Yes..." Anne said as she took out a small bag. "Sir Masamune, here are the two halves of the Spiritstone, the Mind and the Body Ceffyls. The time has come for them to become one again."

"I see..." Masamune said. "Alright, I'll be working first on Vincent's weapon, and then I'll get to that. Well, then, off you two go, night is falling."

"Yes, sir." Anne said as she and Vincent turned to leave.

"Hey, one last thing." Masamune said. "Catch!" He threw a wooden sword towards Vincent's direction.

"Huh? What's this?" Vincent asked as he caught the wooden blade.

"The other half of our agreement." Masamune answered. "You are to train Hikoichi. You will start tomorrow."

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Me: Mwaaaahhhh... That's it, another chapter. Now I'm going back to sleep... ZZZZZZZZZ