My thoughts spun around me like some kind of bewitched Moogle. I dipped in and out of focus, too overloaded to clearly comprehend everything going on both inside of my mind and outside of my body. What was clearly defined order and simple coordination collapsed so quickly into mass chaos and destruction. Certainly, this all had to be a dream. Yes, that was it, an embarrassing night on the town ended with just a little too much wine, and I was sleeping it off in the barracks, like a good little soldier…
"Agh!"
Just as my reality began to slip away from me once again, I was jerked forward, slamming my chest into the pommel of my riding harness. Shaking my head, I glimpsed around me, soaking in my surroundings.
Yes, this corrupted coast of withering coral and dead algae, all tainted with the corruption of a Primal, this was where I truly was. Either that, or someone had simply stopped cleaning the barracks.
"Kweh!"
A chirp from my bright yellow steed alerted me of her observation of the fact that I was now lucid. Hell, even in the middle of a crisis, she could still read me like a book. They say all Chocobos have a certain sense of insight when it comes to the sentient races, but Ayumi took that assumption one step further.
"Aye, lass, I'm here. No need to worry even a tad, we'll be back at the Drowning Wench by the end of the night. Whad'ya say, girl?"
"Kweh!"
"Aye, then, pick it into high sails!"
At my urging, Ayumi blasted forward, making most of the scenery next to me seem like a simply blur, much to my relief. I wanted to put as much distance between that place and myself as possible. The entire situation felt off, and wrong in every imaginable way.
Never once before in my life had she been wrong about anything, her data was always flawless, and the cornerstone of the success we'd been having in recent years. No, something had ran afoul with the entire mission, but it was beyond my deduction to say what it was. All I could hope is that someone made it out of that Nightmare besides myself. It would be enough that I had to flee a battle, but would be worse if I was the only man left to tell the tale.I'd be branded a milk-drinker for sure, maybe even cast out of the Maelstrom, who knew. They say there's only one good way to treat a man who has fled from death…
A sharp bite of pain knocked me out of my lamentations, reminding me of the real world. I felt down to my lower left chest, and drew it back. My finger was coated in a deep black blood, my own coagulated life brew.
"Ugh, one of the slippery little demons must 'ave caught me with a spear. I ever see them wretches again, I'll tear 'em limb from limb, I will."
I cursed my foes to the night sky, to no one in particular. It was no hidden fact that I held pretty deep grudges when someone, or something, crossed me. This would simply be another chance to add to my list of things to hate.
The night sky above me was clear as the day had been, shining a thick lunar ray along our route. Even in something as pure as moonlight, the land seemed to radiate poison and disease. Leviathan wasn't any kind of pestilence monger, but he sure did a damn good job of spreading it wherever he went. I felt my own lungs beginning to heave simply breathing in the swampy air.
"The sooner we're out of 'ere, the better."
"Kweh!~"
Ayumi picked out the tone of my voice, knew what I wanted. She put a little more drive into her sprint across the Sahagin territory, making me all the more worried about her as she ran. If something happened to her on the way, we would both be stranded in this place, something I would sooner die than consider.
"Easy, there. Don' be so hard on yer'self. We'll get there in enough time, Ayumi."
She slowed down slightly, cooing quietly at hearing my voice again. She likely thought of me more like a brother than just another rider, and I owed it to her to not push her too hard, when I could. I just didn't have it in me to watch her burn out for my sake. I would be more than a little bit sad if she happened to fall apart because of something I made her do.
Then, without myself realizing, I drifted back into my own mind, letting Ayumi enter a sort of autopilot mode, finding the way back to the Tidegate on her own. I just couldn't find it in me to focus, let alone steer a Chocobo. The last thing I remember seeing before I zoned out was the bright moon on the horizon, calling me back home. The rest of the trip became nothing but blank space.
Two, three, four hours could have gone by in that time. I was unsure of the progression of it as we approached the Tidegate from a distance. I didn't really give a damn about how long it took to get there, I just wanted to be on the sane side of the world, now more than ever. I felt myself going crazy looking at everything in sight. Regardless, it was a welcome sight to behold.
"There she is! Double time, Ayumi, we're goin' home!"
As Ayumi picked up her pace, I reached behind me to ready the signal horn I carried, which would alert the guards upon the Tidegate of my presence, letting me past. As I reached down, I winced once again at the pain in my side but wrote it off as simply pain, nothing more. A piercing wound was going to hurt, and I knew it. Another scar to add to the collection, another wound to have the medic bandage.
But… it didn't simply feel like another wound, not quite. It burned quite a bit more than it usually would, and the bleeding seemed profuse. The wound would have clotted by now, and scabbed over slightly. I had a hunch that I was stuck with something far worse, but put the thought aside as I raised the horn to my lips, and blew with all of my might.
A mighty roar rang out from the horn, filling the air with a low, loud tone, that could likely be heard for miles. I held out the note as long as my lungs could handle, then let it drop from my mouth. Hoping the men had heard it, I stowed the horn , and took up Ayumi's reins once again. The wall was about a Yalm away, but so massive that it could easily be seen from twenty with the naked eye. Such a massive object could not easily be missed, no matter how you looked at it.
Ayumi turned onto the makeshift path leading up to it, the home stretch, when I began to lose vision. The colors went first, which were hardly noticeable at night, but then my eyes felt as though they could not focus on the largest of things. Like I had been drinking too much, my eyes lost their edge, I couldn't control where they went, could barely tell where I was going. My hands were the next to go, falling off of the reigns and limply swinging at my sides. Things were shutting off,one by one, I felt myself becoming more and more a sentient vegetable, useless and dying. The wall was close, I could tell that much, but aside from men shouting and the doors opening, I had no indication as to whether or not I was actually on the other side or not. I felt Ayumi halt, and myself slide off of the harness, unmoving onto the ground.
I was effectively blind now, my thoughts sparse and almost absent. I felt cold, I already could feel the kiss of Death upon my lips. It had been so long, I was ready to face him at last…
"OUT OF MY WAY! GET OUT OF THE WAY, NOW!"
Heh, ever the prompt savior. I was unsure if she would come, but I knew that voice could belong to no other. No one would be making her way through heavily armed pirate brigades like she would.
"Seymour… Shit, he's losing blood fast! Too much… Too much… Wait a minute, is that?... By the Twelve, he's been poisoned. STAND BACK, EVERYONE, GIVE ME ROOM TO CAST! Damn you, Hanji, I am not letting you die tonight! Stay with me, damn it!"
The last thing I could remember was the warm grasp of magic, and the dimmed, sensual screams of panic erupting from Y'shtola. She always had be the show off, it seemed, even when I was bleeding out in front of her.
Greetings, once again, all. This is the beginning of the Official Reboot of the series. This time around, the chapters will be much more detailed, and now that I have had a lot of practice with writing, much more planned and constructed. Updates will follow approximately a semi-weekly schedule, I hope.
Welcome back, and welcome aboard
Cheers, Mates, and see you soon