Cost of Cowardice

“Terra! Terra, where did you go?” The boy of about ten years yelled out as he transversed the dark realm in search of his companion, although he no longer had any idea as to the young woman’s whereabouts. With a sigh, the Onion Knight leaned against one of the massive stone pillars in the area, attempting to catch his breath after running for almost ten full minutes. “I-I’m too young for all of this.” He said in between pants, the boy’s blonde hair soaked with sweat, a small collection of hairs grouping into a small ponytail of sorts that would flow with the wind. The plumed helmet the boy wore didn’t help very much with temperature regulation, the boy tempted to simply remove it in order to better cool down.

Still, the Onion Knight knew better as he held his golden blade up against the crimson armor which covered his torso, knowing that a surprise attack from Chaos’ forces could come at any time. He had a job to do as a warrior of Cosmos, and he wouldn’t let the Goddess down due to his own shortcomings. Kicking his white cloth boots a few times to stretch his legs, the Onion Knight decided that he did need a rest, falling back and sitting on his white cape as he took in several deep breaths. “I might be the youngest of Cosmos’ forces, but I can’t just give up…I’ll find Terra for sure…that’s enough of a break!” The young boy cried out as he forced himself back on his feet, now racing off once more to seek out his friend.

“He is rather fast indeed. Fairly cute as well, for a child.” Nora said to her accomplice with a small smirk, the beauty currently standing atop one of the stone pillars. They were all this realm appeared to consist of, same a shifting energy flooring of course. “The World of Darkness. To think that a place like this would also be absorbed. Then again, I do believe it suits you pretty well.”

“Hmph. It doesn’t matter what exists in this realm right now. Soon all will return to the dark. The poor Onion Knight simply races against a Destiny he cannot conquer. He doesn’t see how the darkness beckons him forth.” The old witch floating beside Nora commented, the two yellow heads around her hips snapping out at the thought of prey. The Cloud of Darkness’s outfit always impressed Nora, the woman simply wearing a dark cloak fashioned from the darkness itself to cover her naughty bits. Still, Nora could tell that she cared not about fashion or anything even remotely associated, simply determined to enforce the rule of darkness over all else. “Into the darkness he travels, seeking a friend no longer here. I shall await him there.” She said, now vanishing in waves of black energy as she prepared for her own attack.

Nora cocked her head to the side as she considered joining the Cloud of Darkness’ assault, although she wondered just how to rid of the dark entity when she had changed the Onion Knight into another of her daughters. “She’ll make a cute one al-” Nora cursed as she found herself summoning up a barrier, a burst of arcane energy splattering against the protective field as it shattered, Nora’s eyes widening in response. “What is this…magic that can rival that of a Goddess…Cosmos? It can’t be…Chaos?” Fear raced in the woman’s mind as she weaved between the pillars flying away as several more blasts of cobalt energy flew around her, her pursuer apparently keeping pace quite well.

“I don’t have time for games, so why don’t you just appear before me?” Nora stated coldly, a pink mist now flowing in the World of Darkness, Nora smiling a bit as she landed between two pillars. “I’ll handle the Knight myself…but you’ll succumb to this right now. Now your first command is to stay while I go secure-” Nora cried out in agony as a burst slammed straight into her the woman slamming into a pillar as she fell to the ground, fear and rage burning though her mind. “N-No one can resist me…what…are you?”

“Simply a man who believes in righteousness.” Came the gruff response as a dark silhouette formed amongst the mist, Nora’s eyes unable to understand why this was happening. The mean clearly was within the mist, he clearly breathed in the mist. The mist was supposed to cause the change of anyone into one of her beloved daughters…yet it had no effect on this one person? What magic was this, to prevent the works of a Goddess from being unfulfilled? Nora attempted to scramble to her feet, pink energy buzzing around her figure as the man’s form became clear.

The identity of Nora’s opponent puzzled her as he now stood before her, resembling no one she had ever encountered before. Truthfully, he was a bizarre sight to any who came to look upon him, a man of about six feet in height currently wrapped within what appeared to be several cloaks, the flesh itself encased in cobalt bandages. Nora quickly gave him a full body glance, seeing his feet shrouded by the blue coverings that ascended his body. A shroud of red and blue covered his body in the form of various cloaks and capes, the man’s face perhaps the most enigmatic feature of all. A stretch of bandages that covered the upper left corner of his head concealed the man’s left eye, his right shimmering a bright orange as he gazed on at the epitome of beauty. A large scarf covered his mouth, while patches of brown hair could be seen where bandages did not cover the rest of his head.

“What a queer sense of fashion you possess. If you were one of my daughters, that would be corrected at once.” Nora said with good humor as she flashed the man a smile. It quickly contorted into a vision of rage, however, as she glared at the man. “Yet you seem to have thrown that option right out the window. Who are you, to resist the works of a Goddess. I, Norosis Erotcus, find it unsuitable for such a being to exist. Unless, Chaos sent you to deal with me. That’s it, isn’t it? He knows why I removed-”

“I assure you, Nora. I have no affinity to any of the Gods that rule this twisted world. I have simply come to this place after learning of your own presence here. I realized that you already forced another realm to submit to your rule, and I cannot say I encourage such methods.” The man shook his head, now pointing at Nora as if to give an order. “You should cease your efforts at once. I do not wish to harm you, but I will be given no choice should you continue to alter the fates of these people.”

“Alter the fates? By improving such pathetic lives? You know it too, don’t you? This world is trapped in a cycle. Even with Garland gone, it will continue until I deal with the other sources. I am granting them freedom from the cycle as well as their sad existences. I am making them more than they could ever be, stranger. It would be wise of you to realize this while you can.” Nora said, willing to risk a fight with the man if she had to. She had been caught off guard before, but as long as she was on the offensive, it would be an easy victory.

“Hmph. Even after being imprisoned you understand so very little. In that case, allow me to educate you, woman.” The man floated into the air now as soared after Nora, bursts of energy soaring after her. Nora launched a counter assault as she fired her own barrage back at the man, now smirking as she called upon Luxory’s element. Time froze, the man suspended in mid-air as Nora began charging up a massive orb of energy, knowing that upon impact with it, the man would be no more.

“It’s been fun. Truthfully though, it has not been. No one should dare to challenge a Goddess, especially not a pathetic man. I’m afraid that the punishment for a violation of this caliber is death itself.” She blew him a kiss as she hurled the roaring sphere of power at the man, ready for him to vanish once and for all.

“As one already judged unsuitable for existence, you do not have the right to punish others.” Nora’s eyes almost popped out of her head as the man dodged to the side, time still stopped. It resumed shortly after as the bursts of energy resumed raining around them, a pillar now obliterated by Nora’s fierce assault as she watched the man continue his pursuit. “It is because I am a man that I must continue to battle you.” He cried out, Nora clenching her teeth as he got closer. In a flash of light, two blades met, Nora once again shocked to see the results. Two blades, one pink and one blue, currently met, both of similar and intricate designs. Crying out, she attempted to push the man back, Nora unable to stand this pursuer anymore.

“You gain nothing by delaying by efforts, stranger. If anything, you only submit yourself to a doomed fate. Becoming one of my daughters…that is a blessing…but you…you must be cursed for your defiance!” Nora roared with rage as her blade shimmered with light, a long wave of energy flowing in a crescent as she slashed out, the man simply vanishing and re-appearing behind her with little effort.

“You may call me Aron, lost Goddess. That is my title, after all, not stranger. And to be cursed? I am already cursed far beyond anything you could conjure up against me. That is why I seek a cure.” Nora quickly turned to face the woman, yet only found fragments of his physical figure present as the enigmatic man began to vanish. “Stop your actions, Nora. I will be forgiving this once, but should you continue, I will be forced to neutralize you.”

“…who does he think he is!?” Nora cried out, the pink haired woman panting as a whole line of pillars were torn asunder by a bout of rage. How could any man stand against her, a Goddess. Even if she was recovering from her imprisonment, she still should have possessed much more power than any other. Had some fourth God entered the fray? It didn’t make sense to the woman as she stood there, every now and then hearing the distant burst of darkness as her supposed ally engaged her opponent. “…I cannot lose focus…I must carry out my plans as usual…he’ll just have to die if he gets in my way again.”

“Fall, young knight!” The Cloud of Darkness called out, a massive beam of energy slamming into the ground as her opponent jumped to the side, not willing to end up dead quite yet. What the Onion Knight lacked in size, he more than made up for in his incredible speed, the warrior now leaping toward his foe as his sword became a whirl of quick and deadly strikes. He would have caused harm to the dark being had two small yellow heads not whirled out and knocked him away, the Cloud smiling as she began conjuring up several orbs of darkness around herself.

“I don’t care if you submit yourself to the dark! I won’t give up my hope!” The Onion Knight cried out as he fired several bursts of light to cancel out the dark, now bounding off the ground once more as his attire changed. What flew towards the Cloud of Darkness now was a ninja in full crimson cloth armor, the boy’s face masking his look of concentration as twin kunai slammed into the small heads, each crying out in pain as the Cloud began charging up another burst. The Onion Knight refused to give her the time required, however, how throwing a handful of shurikens at his foe as the Cloud wrapped herself in her dark cloak, the small throwing stars bouncing off with no effect to the woman’s health.

"What a pathetic young boy, hiding from the dark-” The Cloud roared in pain as she felt the Onion Knight’s back attack, the ninja having warped behind her to perform one last, devastating attack as he reverted back to normal, now landing on the ground as he turned back to face his foe. The Cloud of Darkness moaned as she felt the damage effect her full form, wisps of darkness floating away as a dark portal appeared behind her.

“I am not afraid of the dark. That’s why I will fight it!” The Onion Knight countered, blade pointed at the witch as he assumed a battle stance, ready to continue fighting if the need arose. “I believe in the light though, the light of hope! As long as I stick with that, there will be no reason to fall to the darkness!”

“Such a foolish gesture…you’ll see. The darkness will consume everything. It just needs time.” The Cloud realized that if she remained here, she would perish, destroying all hopes of her dreams coming true. She would have to retreat right now, to slumber once more. By then, the boy before her would have perished with the passing of time, after all. Closing her eyes, the Cloud of Darkness entered her dark slumber as she vanished with the darkness, saving her plans for another day.

“Well done, brave knight.” The new voice of this kind woman caught the Onion Knight off guard as he looked for the source, although none appeared before him. “That’s right, there is no reason to fear the dark. It’s something that only takes a bit of understanding to grasp, and that is all. You lose all fear of such a silly concept. However…I will give you all the reason you need to fear me.”

“Who is there? Come out right away?” The small boy turned around with fear of the unknown, his blade jabbing out randomly in his frenzied hands. While the Onion Knight may have been able to conquer the Cloud of Darkness, he had at least been able to see her. This time, there was no sign of the foe the boy’s childish instincts already telling him that flight might be superior to fight in this instance. “I-I took down her, don’t think that I’ll go easy on anyone who has plans to harm Cosmos or any of the others!”

“My, what a brave little youngster you are. You are almost kind of cute, little Onion Knight, but I think something is indeed off…that’s right. You are a boy. Boys aren’t very cute, now are they?” As Nora’s words infiltrated the boy’s head, the Onion Knight couldn’t help but slowly nod his head, sword dropping to the ground as his body became lax and unresponsive. Why was he doing this…why were these words causing this kind of reaction. Yet as the Onion Knight looked over his body, he found the Goddess’ words appearing to be even more correct. Being a boy, it was no fun. It meant he had to fight, wearing the annoying, bulky armor that currently adorned his thin frame. He didn’t want this. He didn’t want to keep fighting.

“That’s right, little one. Boys are icky creatures. That is why I am going to change you into one of my daughters.” A veil of pink light surrounded the ten year old now as he gasped, not really out of fear, but surprise. Against him, it really did feel relieving, as if all the pain, all the weariness of fighting, had vanished. Sure, he knew that the strange sensation burning within was new, but as long as he listened to his mother, things would be okay.

Nora smiled as she remained atop one of the pillars, watching the entranced warrior bellow her. The young minds were always easiest to control, she reminded herself with a smile, and this one was no exception. She meant everything she said as well, already wondering how much she’d fawn over the little girl she would create from the figure bellow her. “So, how does it feel, my little princess? To be a girl?”

“I-I’m a girl? I-I don’t feel like it, mother…” The Onion Knight responded. He was being honest, his body still that of a male, and his mind didn’t seem changed either to reflect upon any mental changes that the boy had gone through. He was still the armed ten-year old who had beaten the Cloud of Darkness, no more, no less.

“Really? Well, that’s because you just need to stay focused, little one. I think you are absolutely adorable, don’t you? I love the way your hair looks today, do you think I did it alright?” The Onion Knight smiled cheerfully as he nodded, helmet falling away as the boy’s blonde hair bloomed like a flower, flowing all the way down to the small of his back. He loved how his mother had done it today, recalling the beautiful woman sitting her down before a mirror as she gently combed it back. When she had commented that it looked like an onion, the Onion Knight had even let out a small giggle. His mother had even been kind enough to put a few berets near the front of his light locks, only adding to how cute it made him feel.

“I’m so glad you like it. Besides, that’s how my little eight year old should be, not having to worry about the problems of being a double-digit child just yet, right?” The Onion Knight giggled a bit, as he was indeed eight. A bit of baby fat returned to his face with the mild regression, making his already adorable little face even cuter. The boy had hit a growth spurt at age nine as well, causing him to shrink several inches, but he didn’t mind. As long as his mommy thought he was pretty.

“My little darling, I love your little face, just as adorable as ever.” The knight’s face turned scarlet as he blushed, although an adorable little smile belonging to that of a young girl deemed happily across it. Pretty green eyes seemed to become a bit brighter as the baby fat made her cheeks a bit rounder, her nose a bit cuter. Pouty, soft lips now quivered as the boy threatened to cry, everything bellow his neck that of a boy. His mommy wouldn’t love him if he looked like that.

“Oh, why are you crying, little one? Do you not think you are pretty? I think you are as cute as a button. After all, that dress really does show off your little, girly body quite well!” Nora giggled as her magic took effect, her essence seeming to wander down from the knight’s head as the changes became apparent. The boy smiled at once as he let out a soft, girlish giggle, his entire body tingling as the changes coursed through him. Only minor altercations occurred as the changes continue, as boys and girls are only so different in physical frame at a young age. Still, aside from the baby fat that lingered, he was now very slim, although far more graceful. He squeaked out as she let out a blush, now truly a girl in every sense of the word. The Onion Princess did think she was cute, or that’s what her mommy told her anyway. Especially with her nice dress that her mommy had made for her! Indeed, the red and white gown seemed fit for a cute princess like her, fitting her body quite perfectly. With red satin around her neck, the girl felt quite cozy, giggling as she noticed how cute the frills running down her front really were. And of course, it poofed out, the girl giggling happily as she twirled around several times.

“My adorable little girl…I’m glad  to see you so happy. Here, you shouldn’t need this, but just in case some big meanie tries to take you away.” Nora said as she gave the girl a sheathed dagger, the Onion Princess apparently knowing exactly what to do with it as she attached it onto her dress. Her giggles only continued as Nora kissed her several times, the girl attaching herself to the man with a smile as she nuzzled away at the Goddess.

“Mommy, am I being a good girl? Because I worry at times that I might doos something you don’t really like. I sorries…” The Onion Princess looked a bit sad as she turned in place, Nora finding the sight simply adorable as she scooped the girl into her arms and kissed her.

“Not at all, you little cutie. You are being a very good little princess!” She smiled, tickling her daughter’s gloved hands as the princess in question unleashed a series of giggles. “Someday you’ll grow up to be very beauty, you’ll even have boobies like your mommy does! Just have patience and enjoy your days as a little girl, okay?’

The Onion Princess beamed happily as she kissed her mother. “Okays! Oh mommy, you makes me so happy all da times! I love you, mommy! But this place all dark…I gonna go redecorates!” She giggled as she ran off, Nora left stunned in place.

“I love you, mommy!” What was this voice…this memory…so faint…yet so clear. Shaking her head, the Goddess shook it off. It would take much more than some familiar sentence to shake her. All of her children loved her, so it would make sense that the loving phrase should be so familiar. After all, she had to make sure more would continue to say such things as she thought upon her next target and how she would change him. But still, those words…why did they touch her so?