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RubyEclipse
Dec 25, 2003, 07:25 PM
Hello again everyone.

This is a story I wrote in just in time for christmas. This a short story that should at least keep you interested, but I will warn you-- it's a bit different than most of my stories. It will also tie in, for those of you who want to know more about the plot devoloping in my stories.

One final thing--- I would like to dedicate this story to Everyone in the Fan Fics forum-- without you guys, such as M. Blackhawk, Auto, Garanz, and hikosaka,(as well as many more) I may have never continued my fan fics.

Thank you for all for everything.

--Ruby Eclipse



--The Greatest Gift of All--




Thud.

Footsteps echoed in the dark as I shoved my hands into the pockets of my trenchcoat. My breath fogged in the still, cold air, and I moved onward.

Crunch, Crunch, Crunch....Snow-Snow as far as the eye could see. It was still falling, the precious snowflakes sparkling as they shimmered to their home below.

I shivered. Slowly, ever so slowly, the snowflakes drifted down. No wind was there to chill my bones, and I stopped, examining the snow covered trees all around me. It was beautiful-- Like a scene from a crsystal clear, prestige picture-- and I stopped for a moment, my breath continuing to fog as I admired the view.

Ding....Ding..... Ding...

I tensed suddenly. There were ringing the bells. I needed to get back.

The snow crunched again as I walked faster, trying to reach the newly rebuilt central dome, our pinnacle of human creation on this planet.

Ragol. A planet similar to coral; plants, animals, water. The only thing it didn't have was intelligent human life. Or so we thought.

Yet... perhaps that was a good thing. coral was destroyed due to mankind's ignorance, a mistake we vowed never to make again. We realized earth was tearing itself apart far too late to stop it. After realizing our attempts were futile, there was really only one way we could survive.

Relocate.

A fancy word for "retreat". Run away. That was the plan. The found a planet, far, far away, named Ragol. The plan for relocation was, perhaps ironically, named, "The Pioneer Project." But we were not the true pioneers...


Chirp!

I shot my glaze to my right, and saw sitting in the snow a family of three Rag Rappies. They looked like a mix between a chicken and a three foot teddy bear.

"They must be cold..", I thought to myself, before realising that they, unlike myself, had down feathers to keep them warm.


A beacon of red light flew from the top of the central dome. The processions were beginning.

-----------------------


I walked through the sliding doors of the new central dome's front entrance, and immediatly found my way to Tryell Hall-- not really a hall, more of a large room used for speaking to large numbers of people.

And tonight there would be a speech.

There were rows of Pew like benches, with cusioned velvet that extended from one end to the other. These were spaced a few feet apart, so that there were many rows, and it was thus capable of seating a large number of people.

I examined the crowd, looking for familiar faces.

And then I saw her.

The radiant red hear, the sparkling blue eyes---

--Ruby Eclipse.

She was sitting in the front row, and it looked like she was talking to someone in the seat to her right... but I could see nobody there.

I scooted into one of the rows farthest back, sat down, and exhaled deeply.

People slowly trickled into the room, and one of them sat down next to me.

He was a FOmar, said his name was Destri, and unfortunately for me, he appeared to be quite talkative.

I ignored his endless questions and attempts to start a discussion, shoving my face into the collar of my black trenchcoat.

"Haven't I seen you somewhere before?", he asked.

I almost laughed. "No," I replied. "I'm pretty sure you haven't."

"But.. you look so familiar!"

"Just forget it."

Finally, after about ten more minutes had passed, Principal Tyrell walked into the spotlight.

"Greetings, my citizens, my friends, and even my family.

Fate has been kind to us. Though many conflicts have happened, and many lives have been lost, in recent months our 10-nation alliance has once again come to its senses, and we are unified as one!"

Applause.

"It is this night, this eve of december the 25th, that we come here to honor those who have fallen for the cause of unifying our nations once again."

He produced a list, and began reading names.

As the list went on, it was almost as though someone was playing a sad, dreary piano song. Sniffles broke out in random places, families mourning for their lost.

".. Talim, Umi,..." He continued.

And then finally...

"Jade Malachite."

In the front I could see ruby start to cry. A small hand reached up to touch her shoulder, and I suddenly realized who she had been talking to.

She now had a child.

Half an hour later, the principal finished his speech, and the people left to head to their houses and begin their plans for Christmas.

I sat in the back, watching them all leave. No longer were their thoughts readable by me... I could feel them now, I didn't even have to try. It was natural...

After they had all left, I saw ruby get up in the front.

A small boy with green hair stood up and grabbed her hand. He looked to be five or six years old, but I knew at maximum he could be only five months old. So why did he appear to be so much older?

Ruby now had long hair, streaming down past her shoulders, and the boy's green hair was cut fairly short, with small spikes of it sticking out in random directions.


They opened the doors, and a gust of cold wind blew past them-- I was following silently behind. I had to be silent.

"Mommy, when does santa clause come?"

"He will come when you're fast asleep..", she told him. "And remember, you have to be a good boy or all he will leave you is a monomate!"

"Yes, mommy! I'll be a good boy!"

I was following them as they walked into a part of the forest, heading only on a trail through the middle of trees. It was dark now, and slowly, ever so carefully..

...I drew my sword. It was time to carry out my mission. My one goal before I left. They would never even notice it, they would never see it happen-- for my blade was quicker than light itself.

I raised it over my head as the boy said something else to his mother.

"Mommy...", he said softly. "When is daddy coming home?"

I froze.

Though I could not see it, I could sense a tear run down ruby's cheek. Her voice was weak and unsteady.

"He.... he will come back.... when the time is right, Jade."

The boy's name was Jade?

Never mind, I thought to myeslf, and I tensed, ready to strike.

A hand grabbed my sword from behind, and a spun around, sheathing it quickly.

It was a HUmar, dressed all in black, and he drew a purple looking saber quickly.

"Don't touch her.", he said firmly.

--- End of Part 1--




<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: RubyEclipse on 2003-12-25 16:35 ]</font>

Spartan117
Dec 25, 2003, 07:32 PM
that good. Hmmm... an assasination attempt... wonder why http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_confused.gif ? Keep it coming.

Gnarled_rose
Dec 25, 2003, 07:32 PM
Whoa, that was cool. I'm looking forward to chapter 2. I only found one problem.
There were rows of Pu like benches I think you might mean "pew". Unless Pu is some kind of decoration/art style. Then I'd have no idea what it means.

RubyEclipse
Dec 25, 2003, 07:43 PM
Thanks for the feedback guys!

And now I present to you the conclusion of...

The Greatest Gift of All

Part 2





"Don't touch her.", he said firmly.

I laughed.

"Dark Diamond.." I said, and he gasped as he looked at me. I knew he could not tell who I was, but few knew his true name.

"Who... who are you?", he questioned.

"You would be best to leave me alone."

"I cannot! As ruby's guardian it is my job, until the day that I die, to protect her and her family from harm!"

"Her family?", I asked him.

He raised his purple saber, and tensed. "One more word and I will spill your guts onto the cold, snowy ground."

I was merely a shadow; my black clothing and dark features camoflauging me into a shady silhoute.

Then I realized ruby and her child had been watching the whole time.

Dark Diamond threw something at me, which passed directly through my stomach as though I was a thin fog, and landed behind me.

"Ruby! Run!", he yelled, and the two took off immediatly.

I walked up to him slowly, and drew my sword. The blade glowed a bright green.


He attacked at my head, and I deflected the blow and spun my sword in a circle, sending his lavis cannon on to the ground nearby.

"What!?" he exclaimed. "There are only two people in this world that can defeat me!! Ruby, and--" He looked at the writing on my sword.

He gasped.

"No... No-- You aren't!!!---"

His face hit the cold snow a few seconds later.

---------------------


I broke through the door of the house minutes later, and found Ruby standing in the doorway, her large red sword drawn, and her son huddled up in the corner of the house behind her.

"Mommy!!" he yelled.

I stood there in the doorway for a moment, the wind blowing through, sending flakes of snow into the house, and making my black trenchcoat wave and her hair blow backwards.

"Ruby..." I said. "I have come with a message."

I drew my sword.

She tensed. "I'll kill you!!", she screamed. "Who are you!? What do you want with me!?"

"I have come with two purposes, and one mission. Yes... two seperate purposes.."

"Kill me and my son? I will never let you do that!"

She swung her sword at me, and my blade was in my hands in less than half a second to block the blow. She swung her sword again, and again I blocked.

She made a few more swipes, tears running down her face as she did.

Finally, with one hand holding my sword, I thrust my other at her neck.

I grabbed it, and puller her towards me.

And then...


... I kissed her.

I looked full into her eyes, blue and sparkling, and she looked back into mine, bold and bright green.


I could see the fear inside her, and then the fear turned into amazement, and finally into joy.

I released her, and she took a step back.


"J-Jade!?"

"As I said before, I have come with two purposes...


...the first..."

I walked over to my son, and offered him the handle of my sword.

"This is rightfully yours now, my son. It is your destiny to wield its true power, and then, when you do this, you will realize that I am there with you.

My soul lives on in this sword; keep it safe, use it wisely. Do noble things with it, as would I, and then, you will realize the ultimate truth.

He slowly grabbed the sword's handle amidst his tears, and nearly dropped it, surprised at its weight, but caught it before it hit the ground.

I bent in, and kissed him on the forehead. "I love you, my son."

"Daddy?"

I nodded.


I stood up again, and Ruby ran over and hugged me.

"You're... you're back!" she said, the tears flowing down her face."

"Yes... And now I have fulfilled my first purpose... now... I must fulfill the second.."

I leaned close to her face and kissed her again, her grip tightening.

"I missed you so much...", she said.

"And I missed you as well... "

"And now that you're back, you can finally be with me again! And our son, I named him jade-- after you-- he needs you too!"

My gaze fell to the floor, and then went back up.

"Ruby... I did not come here to kill you... I came to say goodbye...... I cannot stay."


The feeling of sorrow that one gets as I did when I stared into her eyes cannot be said through words. It is sadder than sorrow itself, more terrifying than pure evil. It is the harsh realization that all hope has been crushed.

For that split second, the blue sparkle left her eyes, and I almost wanted to cry myself.

"What...?" she said, with no emotion in her voice at all. Hoping it was just a bad dream, hoping I would say "I'm staying here with you!" instead of what she had heard. Instead of the harsh truth.


"I'm sorry, Ruby. I cannot stay here physically. My physical life ended months ago.

I came to say goodbye.... I came because I was never given that chance, but now I am.

I love you ruby, and I will always be watching over you, and our son, jade.

I love you both dearly...

..never forget this. For I will never forget you. Always will my spirit watch over you, and anytime you are in need, just remember that. My power and strength will come to aid you.

I kissed her again, a tear running down my cheek as well.

"This is my Christmas gift to you both....

Goodbye...

...my love.."


I slowly turned transparent, and a beacon of light from high above engulfed me.

Finally, I dissapeared, and after the beacon of light dissapated, Ruby fell to her knees, and my son quickly ran into her arms.

The two sat there, hugging each other and crying, for a long time.

After a while ruby asked "was.. was it all just a dream..?"

Jade sniffled, and slowly held up the large, green sword.

"no, mommy... look.."

Ruby began weeping again as she saw it.

My son stood strong, holding the sword, and he read at last the writing engraved into the blade:

"Jade Malachite"

The other words that had been engraved were now gone; for the sword was now his, and its writing would be his as well.

That is what is special about that sword; the engraving changes to the true thoughts and feelings, deeds and doings of its owner.

So why was it blank aside from his name, you ask? Because he had just been given the sword, and had not yet chosen his path in life.

"Jade Malachite". He read it aloud once, and a light eminated from the sword, flowing into his hands and body.

It is with this that my chapter in the great saga of ragol is forever ended. My purpose in this life has been fulfilled...

...And as he stood there, the sword glowing and his eyes sparkling, I watched from far above.


A magnificent new chaper in the fate of ragol....

...had begun.


--The End--

Gnarled_rose
Dec 25, 2003, 09:44 PM
Well, if your next story is as good as this one, I may just have to track it's progress obsessively.
Nice job...No, REALLY nice job. Incredible.

Garanz2
Dec 26, 2003, 05:56 PM
Wow.

Simply wow.

I love your writing style Ruby. (EDIT: Oops, I called you Jade lol) For some reason, I could just imagine it all, which is unlike a lot of things I read nowadays. Glad to see you're back in the fic writing business, and looking forward to your next fic!



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Garanz2 on 2003-12-26 14:57 ]</font>

Sagasu
Dec 28, 2003, 03:35 PM
Awesome http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

Love the origionality, surely you have quite a well of talent.

Skett
Dec 28, 2003, 07:54 PM
Wow, that was great. Kinda depressing though. I hope your next fic is this wonderful. Depressing.

RubyEclipse
Dec 28, 2003, 11:58 PM
Thank you everyone for your feedback! Yes, this fic was depressing I hope (that was what I hoped to achieve with it), and my next fic is in progress right now.

Once again, thanks everyone for your comments and support!

--Ruby Eclipse

Blitzkommando
Dec 29, 2003, 03:36 AM
That was a very good job. I'm somewhat new to the fanfic section but if that is any indication of what there is here to offer I can safely say that I won't be disapointed. The mood was hightened by the fact I was listening to World With Me at the time. It worked hand-in-hand with the mood. Again I say good job at a nice short story.

White_Knight
Dec 30, 2003, 12:04 AM
I have to go with rose I will have to follow your next story if its as good as this and I fell sorry for the living chars and can sort of relate to the dead one at having to see the one I cared for most in the world change.

RubyEclipse
Dec 31, 2003, 10:45 AM
My next fic is now up, and you should be able to find it fairly easily.(Not many fics have a title name like "Opaliscous"):)

If you would like more info on some of the chars you saw in this fic, I invite you to check out a couple of my other FanFictions: The Adventures of NiGHTS and Fuji, and also The Return of NiGHTS and Fuji.


Again, thanks everyone for your comments and support!