Yaay! This is the first chapter! Read and enjoy!
Kalyi Fei: You used too many exclamation marks…
Star Equinox: Grr…get back in the story.
Kalyi Fei: Just saying…
Star Equinox: Whatever. Do the copyright stuff already!
Kalyi Fei: (E-hem) Star Equinox does not own Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Square-Enix or its affiliates, Nintendo, Gamecube or Wii…
Alida: Uhh…I think you should just start on the story already.
Star Equinox: Good point.
Chapter 1
The waters of Conall Curach rippled slowly and silently along the surface, hiding its secrets in its depths. Miasma curled and billowed, thickened in the air, and stretching beyond the horizon. The wetlands were blotted along the waters, speckling across the terrain. Wooden planks connected them, creating a broken, makeshift bridge between the isles.
A young Selkie girl surveyed the scene, feeling the weight of her ancestor's despair. So many Selkies had died along the exact trail that her footsteps were now following. "I hate this place," she muttered. "Whose smart idea was it to come here?"
"Yours."
Kalyi Fei glanced at her Clavat friend. "Yeah, well…" Kalyi muttered, "You agreed to it."
The Clavat girl looked over at her companion. "And you were the one who wanted to see De Nam."
Kalyi Fei made a face. "Now you're just being mean."
Alida raised an eyebrow. "I don't think so. A Clavat isn't capable of being mean."
"True," Kalyi agreed, "But you're capable of being obnoxious."
"Hey! Now who's being mean?"
The two girls giggled, continuing down their path. A stout little moogle flitted next to them, carrying the chalice.
Alida, the Clavat, was a little taller than Kalyi Fei, with short dark hair hidden under a Clavatian head plate. Her Clavat coat was worn from their travels, but it still proudly bore her family crest in its golden threads.
Kalyi tucked a strand of silvery lilac hair behind her ear. She wore the traditional Selkie travel clothes, but they were as well-used as Alida's clothes. A speck of chain mail peeked out from her sleeve. Also, she was left-handed, which was unusual for a Selkie. Her anklets and wristlets were tied with a band of cloth, protecting Kalyi Fei's joints whenever she had to move quickly.
Kalyi Fei hurried over join her companion. She wouldn't admit it, but she felt safer when they stayed close together. She glanced at the small moogle that carried the chalice. "You're okay, Mog?" she asked.
"Kupo," the Moogle answered through its clenched teeth. It seemed tired from carrying the chalice in its mouth. "I'm fine."
Alida hefted her shield in her hand and sighed. They had been traveling in Conall Curach for a day and a half, and they still had a long way to go before they reached the Myrrh Tree. It would only be their second drop, and they would need one more before they could head back home to Tipa.
Tipa. Alida smiled, remembering their village. Ever since she and Kalyi had volunteered for the Caravan, neither of them had been able to see Tipa during the spring and summer. Those months were set aside for gathering myrrh. Then, six hard months would have to pass before any caravan was able to return to its hometown. When the fall and winter months pass, they had to start all over again.
Alida missed Tipa. . She missed the bright sun beating down on her skin, the chirping birds, and the sweet smell of the wild flowers. When she and Kalyi Fei were little kids, they would race across the hillside, picking the blossoms that grew within the village. And then—
"Look out!" Kalyi Fei shoved Alida out of the way as a frigid cold blast of ice swept across Alida's cheek. Alida hit the wooden planks, instinctively throwing up her shield in defense. In front of her, a large Gigan Toad reared up, ready to throw its next attack. She glanced behind her, seeing the waning effects of a vicious blizarra spell.
Kalyi Fei was already on the move. She charged up a focus attack, and released a dual psi blast from her racket. The Gigan Toad flinched, and swiped at empty air as Kalyi Fei sped off, preparing another attack.
Alida activated the fire magicite on her ring. The little red orb blazoned a bright glow. "Flamestrike!" Alida yelled.
Kalyi Fei shot a look at the Clavat, and gave a curt nod. Within seconds, Kalyi Fei's prism bludgeon had tongues of flames leaping from it, as a fiery dual blast slammed into the monster.
"Bull's eye!" Alida raised her sword, centering a focus attack. She released its power, allowing her weapon the carry her to the beast, as she rammed her feathered saber into its side.
In anger, the toad lashed out, but Alida blocked the attack with her shield. Kalyi Fei moved in, ready to deliver the ending blow. "Kalyi!" Alida screamed. "Look out!"
Kalyi Fei turned around, and immediately did a somersault, flipping out of the way of a thunder bomb. "Give me another flamestrike!" Kalyi yelled.
But Alida was having problems of her own. The toad, with renewed strength, had begun to cast blizerra again. Alida was doing all she could to avoid the attacks on the narrow planks, and swiping at the toad whenever she had an opening.
Kalyi raced forward at the purple bomb, interchanging her weapon to her Butterfly Head. Earlier, she had fused a blizzard magicite into the handle of her weapon. When she was close enough, she charged up a focus attack.
A pink circle of energy suddenly encompassed around the Selkie. Oh no… Kalyi was trapped within her focus attack, unable to dodge the spell.
She forced herself to wait, timing it at the right instant. "Hyaah!" she yelled, releasing the attack when the bomb was in range.
She leaped out of the circle not a moment too soon. Boulders plummeted down from the sky, slamming into the target. At the exact instant, Kalyi rammed her racket into the bomb, and simultaneously kicked it. A frigid cold block of ice circled the bomb before it shattered and went down in an instant. Kalyi immediately fled off in the opposite direction as the bomb started to convulse.
Alida saw what was happening to the bomb. "Come on, ugly!" she yelled at the toad. "Nyah nyah, can't catch me!"
The toad obviously didn't understand the gibberish language of this strange creature, but it could sense the mockery. It hurdled forward, as the Clavat ran toward the bomb. She then sped off where Kalyi Fei was waiting.
Alida's timing was perfect. The bomb exploded right next to the toad. The force wave knocked the toad over, ending the battle.
"Yea!" Kalyi skipped over to where the monsters had once been. "Tipa, 56. Monsters, 0."
"Monsters had better be zero," Alida said, walking over to Kalyi. "Tipa can't survive if they even score one point. But, how long have you been keeping count?"
Kalyi shrugged. "Since we left our caravan," she said. "And what was that for?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips. "Using my monster to finish off your monster? Unfair!" Alida giggled.
Kalyi knelt down, examining the spoils of their battle. "Toad oil and gil." She hefted the golden coins in her hands. "Sweet." She pocketed the gil. After their trek, they would divide their treasure between each other. But for now, Kalyi got to carry the gil. She loved the sound of the gold coins clinging inside her wallet.
Alida plopped down next to Kalyi, who motioned to Mog to put the chalice down and take a break. "If you think about it," Alida said, scraping the toad oil into a little jar, "we already won point-wise. The most the monsters could score is two points."
Kalyi glanced at her friend. "Two points?" she asked.
Alida blinked. "Yeah. You and me. That's the most they could score." She wondered why Kalyi was confused at this.
"Alida! Shame on you!"
"What?"
"What about Mog?"
"Huh?" She glanced at the little moogle behind her, who was patiently waiting for the two girls. "Mog doesn't count!" Alida retorted.
"'Mog doesn't count?'" Kalyi repeated, giving a pretend look of shock to Alida. "How could you say such a thing? Just because he doesn't need Myrrh to survive, doesn't mean he's not part of our Caravan!" she picked Mog out of the air, giving the little moogle a hug. "How could you be so mean?"
"What I meant is that the monsters never attack him!" Alida answered. "There's no way how he's ever going to get hurt!" She rolled her eyes. "Besides, the way you treat him, the little guy couldn't be happier."
"What do you mean?!" Kalyi said.
In all of this, Mog didn't mind. He was used to constantly being hugged by Kalyi. He didn't mind, just as long as no other moogles were watching. In that case, his face would become redder than his little bombom.
"And," Alida said pointedly, "you're the one who's always painting his fur and opting to carry the chalice when he's tired!"
Kalyi released the moogle, who took his place, flitting in the air. "You know, Kupo," he said to her, "I was waiting to cast a spell for your flamestrike, kupo."
"You were?" Kalyi said. "Oops. Sorry, Mog, I didn't hear you."
"See?" Alida sad, turning to Kalyi. "Instead of pestering me to give you another flamestrike, you could have combined your power with Mog."
"Oh sure," Kalyi muttered. "Blame the Selkie."
--
The three caravanners trudged through the marshes, attacking any monster that they happened upon. It was almost the end of the second day, and they were nearing the split where the ground becomes more solid footing.
"There! There he is!" Kalyi Fei pointed in the distance, where a Selkie youth was kneeling over a bridge, gathering water in a little jar. "De Nam!"
De Nam didn't stir. He screwed the lid over the little jar, and proceeded to fill another jar. "De Nam!" Alida yelled.
Kalyi Fei look confused. She was sure he could hear them. Why was he ignoring them?
The two girls half run, half walk, over to where the Selkie was contently filling up jars. Mog followed after them, carrying the chalice. "De Nam! Wait! Kupo! Slow down!" Mog cried, straining to keep up with the other two.
De Nam didn't take notice until the caravanners were only a few feet away from him. He glanced up, looking confused. "Oh no, not again…" he muttered, more to himself. "I thought if I ignored it, it would go away…"
"De Nam," Kalyi Fei ventured hesitantly, "What are you talking about?"
"Scram," he snapped at the two girls as he packed away the jars of water. "I have enough trouble with the monsters and miasma."
"De Nam?" Kalyi asked, a little surprised. She took a few steps toward the Selkie. De Nam rolled his eyes, and turned his back on her, and continued to pack the little jars of water. Mog fluttered forward, careful to keep both girls in the protective aura of the crystal.
The aura's barrier fell over the Selkie scientist, who stopped, looking confused. The air he was breathing was clear of miasma. Slowly he stood up, staring at the border of the aura, where the miasma shrank away. "Wait a minute," he said, "that can't happen…"
He whipped around. "Kalyi Fei?" he asked, surprised. "Is—is that really you?"
"Of course it's me!"
He stared at the two girls, bewildered. "What—what are you doing here?!?"
"We came to see you!" Alida answered.
De Nam smiled. "Well, that's great! Oh…wait a minute…"
He stepped out of the chalice's protection, re-entering the miasma. A sharp, painful pang hit his lungs. He took a deep breath from shock, swallowing more miasma.
He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "I—I shouldn't really stay in your chalice's aura…I'll lose my resistance…"
De Nam turned around facing the two girls. He smiled, trying to sound casual "So, how have you two been?" he asked. "You're getting my letters, I hope?"
"De Nam," Alida asked, worry etched in her voice. "What—what happened a moment ago?"
De Nam's eyes fell, as he averted his gaze to the waters. He heaved a sigh. "I guess it's pretty obvious," he answered after a while. "The Miasma is making me go crazy." He shrugged hopelessly. "I keep having hallucinations, and I keep hearing things. Just yesterday, I thought I saw the caravan from Shella, and the day before that, I saw my mother…who's been dead since I was fourteen…."
He jumped at the last sentence. He hadn't meant to let that little piece of information slip of out of his mouth. He glanced at the two girls. "Your mother died?" Alida asked in surprise. De Nam rarely talked about his family.
De Nam gave a small shrug, knowing it was pointless to hide the fact. "Yeah…" he muttered solemnly. Unsettling silence surrounded the trio. The only sound that could be heard was the soft bubbling of the marshes, and the occasional growl of a monster puncturing the air.
Kalyi Fei stood across from De Nam. The borderline of the crystal separated them, almost as if they were in different worlds. Kalyi who was protected by the crystal, and De Nam who was constantly being plundered by the miasma. They had both come from the crystal's world, which protected them from the deadly gas. But De Nam had willingly entered the Miasma, in hopes of finding a way to survive in it.
De Nam cleared his throat. "Well, I don't want to keep you two waiting. I know you have a duty to fill." He glanced at his samples of miasma-infected water. "Oh dang…"
"What is it?" Alida asked. De Nam held up a jar of crystal clean water. "The miasma disintegrated when I entered your crystal's aura. I gotta fill them up again…"
Kalyi gave a small smile. "Hehe. Sorry?"
He smiled wearily with them. "You girls go along. I got work to do."
They nodded, moving along their path. Before they were out of earshot Alida called back, "We're really, really sorry!"
He didn't respond beyond a simple wave of his hand, before he disappeared into the swirling mist of the Miasma behind them, leaving them alone once again to continue their journey.
--
"Think we'll see 'big-ugly' again?" Kalyi Fei asked. She swung her arms to and fro, trying to have her blood run freely in her veins. She was tired of the cramp aura of the crystal. Besides, even though it protected her and Alida from the poisonous gas, it couldn't drive away the dampness of the air.
Alida shrugged. They had been traveling for three days, and they were almost close to the tree. Then Alida added, "If you stay far, far away from its treasure, I'm sure we'll have no problem."
Kalyi Fei pouted. "But I'm a Selkie! I like treasure…" She gave a mournful look to her friend.
Alida couldn't help but crack a smile. "Your 'Selkic love' for treasure nearly got us killed last time." Alida teased. She stopped in her tracks, throwing her head back and lifting her chin. "But lucky you, I was there to protect you."
"Hmmm…" Kalyi Fei raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Was this before or after you got caught in its petrification spell?"
Alida gave a mock sour face to the Selkie. "It was before you got caught in the poison spell."
Kalyi Fei gave a weary smile. Her clothes were stained from their battles through the marshes. Dirt and dried mud had crusted in their armor, and Mog wasn't any better off. His fur, usually a soft silky white, was covered in mud. Besides, it would take another two days for them just to get back out of Conall Curach.
They pushed forward, the number of monsters noticeably dwindling. They had half a day left before they would reach the tree. Kalyi grabbed her friend's hand, and gestured forward. "Up ahead."
Alida took a long deep breath. She was obviously tired. "A Nightmare…"
Ahead of them, a gigantic purple behemoth pawed the ground. Its stinger was arched and curled, poised above its broad back. Two gigantic horns protruded from its 'head', with the mouth centered between. A dirty white mane jutted out of its back.
"Yup, that's a perfect name for them if you ask me," Kalyi Fei answered. "It's the first one of our trip."
"There's another monster next to it, Kupo." Mog said.
Kalyi strained her eyes through the thick miasma. "Great. Don't we have enough problems? The nightmare's hard enough."
Alida and Kalyi crept over, preparing for the attack. Alida pulled up her sleeve, revealing an intricate golden bracelet laden with different magicites. She selected one, removing it out of its pocket. The Life magicite swelled to its original size. She then placed it under a Thunder Magicite. The Life Magicite shrank to fit inside the pocket, fusing itself together with Thunder to create the spell Holy. She continued in this manner, until all of the pockets were filled with Magicites. After that, she fused a spare Fire magicite with her extra Defender sword. "Hey, Kalyi?"
"Hmm?" Kalyi responded. She herself was busy fusing spells in her bracelet and weapons.
"How much have we scored against the monsters?"
Kalyi Fei did some quick calculations. "A hundred twenty nine." She smiled. "Ready to pump up that number?"
--
After a few more intense hours of fighting, the three friends entered a large swamp-like area. A circular spit of land rose from the center, with three raft-like bridges surrounding one side. In the center of it all, a ring of treasure stood temptingly on the circular patch of land.
"Ooh…Treasure…" Kalyi Fei glanced longingly at the treasure chests. She fingered with the handle of her butterfly racket.
Alida smiled. "Don't you dare. If we can dodge this particular battle, I'm all for it."
Kalyi Fei smiled. "Oh come on, Alida. Don't you ever wonder what's inside those chests?"
Alida shrugged. "Yeah, I do. But it's not worth risking a fight with the Dragon Zombie. Now, come on. Let's go get our Myrrh."
Kalyi glanced off in the distance, where a Myrrh Tree stood, drooping its long leafy branches, tantalizingly signifying the end of the caravanners' long trek.
The three of them moved forward, careful to keep a safe distance from the circle of treasure. Kalyi Fei took one last look at the treasure, still wondering what it may be that they hid. She stopped.
"Uhh…Alida?"
"Huh?"
"What's that in the center of the circle of chests?" Kalyi asked.
Alida followed the direction of where Kalyi Fei was pointing. "I—I think it's a gremlin…" she trailed off. They looked at each other. "Uh-oh."
Sure enough, it was a gremlin, its maroon little head gleefully bobbing up and down in the center of the chests. It seemed unsure which one to open first.
A deep rumbling sounded from the sky, echoing across the plains. "Oh no…" Alida muttered.
"Hey! Get outta there!" Kalyi Fei picked up a rock and flung at the circle of treasure, trying to scare the gremlin away. But it was too late. The Zombie Dragon was coming.
"Dang…" Alida threw a sidelong glance at the Myrrh Tree. And they were so close too! "This just had to happen…" she braced herself for the upcoming battle, making sure that she had a holy spell ready at her fingertips.
The earth began to shake wildly. Alida and Kalyi Fei grabbed on hold of a nearby tree, bracing themselves. "If this was going to happen," Kalyi muttered, "We should have gone over and checked out the treasure…"
Mog teetered the chalice in his mouth, anxiously watching the shifting clouds. "It's coming, kupo!" he cried.
"Yeah, that's pretty obvious, isn't it?" Alida muttered.
A loud roar thundered in the sky. Then, a ghostly form of a dragon soared across, glaring at the all too familiar faces of the Tipa caravan.
It crashed on top of the circular spit of land, slamming into its coveted treasure. The treasure underneath it flattened and disintegrated. "Doesn't that kinda kill the purpose?" Kalyi thought irritably. And besides, she wondered, how in the world does the treasure materialize again? And when?
The gremlin was conveniently squashed, but the three caravanners would have much more preferred fighting a gremlin compared to the Zombie Dragon.
It covered the entire spit of land, forcing the Tipa caravanners to crowd around the rafts. It was glaring red, blurred flames compensating its entire body. Piercing yellow eyes glared menacingly at the caravanners.
"Quick! Cast Holy!" Kalyi yelled. Alida immediately engulfed the dragon in the blinding spell. It materialized, howling in pain.
"Charge!" Alida and Kalyi Fei surged forward, weapons raised high. "Wait Kupo!"
--
--
Alida: Ooh…Cliffhanger. Sweet. But what happened to all the other fighting scenes?
Me: (squinty glance at Clavat) -later!-
Okay…I know it's not much, but come on people, it's only the first chapter. More is abound. I just have to get through the entire 'explaining' ordeal first.
Alida: This is an ordeal? How is this painful????
Kalyi Fei: (still doing copyright) Uh…Coffee pots…Oh! We're finished?
Me: Point in case.
Kalyi Fei: Please read and review!
