FDB: Two chapters for the price of one. This was part of chapter three until I cropped them both and made two chapters. Hope you like your Christmas present.
Chapter 4: The First of Many Battles
Ria and Kellee ran up the steps to the temple. They tagged each other repeatedly and ran off in opposite directions. They had cleared the steps to the temple and started running when they cam across something in the courtyard.
It was a Fayth statue. The statue depicted someone surrounded by bright yellow feathers. The face had a yellow beak attached and on its back was a patch of tan fur with a red ball on top.
"What's a Fayth doing out here?" Kellee asked.
"Don't know, Ria said. "All I know is it's mine." She walked up to the statue and started the prayer. She was soon pulled back by Kellee.
"I saw it first, so it's mine," Kellee said. Ria tackled the other girl and rolled them away from the Fayth. They rolled around on the ground for a while, both trying to get closer to the Fayth statue. Ria stood and stared from the other girl to the Fayth. Kellee smiled and pulled out a small Moogle doll.
"Can you summon?" Kellee asked.
Ria narrowed her eyes at her new friend. "Yeah," she said, knowing what was happening. She was being challenged to a summoner's duel. She pulled out her dagger and summoned Carbuncle. They both stared at Kellee, waiting for her to summon.
"You know, Ria," Kellee said, "you're about to see why I'm called Kellee the Spell." She shuddered and opened her eyes. The aura emanating from her eyes showed Ria that the Kellee she knew was gone. The red headed girl raised the doll above her head. "Summon! Cerberus!" Even Kellee's voice seemed different.
Before her rose a large iron gate. Darkness flowed out through the bars. From behind it, three pairs of yellow eyes shone. Carbuncle tensed up at this sight. The large beast then broke through the door and roared, dismissing the door. The dog was gray, save for the red streaks around its necks. Kellee stood next to the beast and smiled.
"This Aeon, Cerberus, is a very powerful ally to a spellcaster like me," Kellee said. "His abilities allow me to cast more powerful magic faster than ever. And it also allows me to do this." She waved a hand at Carbuncle. "Spell Seal!" Kellee commanded.
Cerberus opened its mouths and dark purple energy flowed from them. The energy seeped across the ground and underneath Carbuncle. It then solidified into a triangle with the head of the Cerberus adorning each corner. The center was inscribed with multiple symbols and seals. Electricity arced to Carbuncle, shocking it to the ground.
"What did you do?" Ria asked.
"Spell Seal seals someone's magic. They can still cast magic, but the more advanced spells are prohibited and the cost for each spell is doubled. Only one hitch though," Kellee said. "The seal isn't permanent. Cerberus can't do anything else if I want to maintain the seal."
"So you just wasted you time!" Ria said. "If Cerberus can't attack, how do you expect to beat me?"
"I'm going to cast my own spells at your helpless Carbuncle until I win." She raised her doll and pointed it at Carbuncle. "Flare!" The spell streamed from her hand right towards Ria's Aeon.
But Ria was prepared. "Ruby Light!" The red gem in the Aeon's forehead glowed. A green barrier appeared around Carbuncle at the exact moment the Flare spell contacted it. The spell shot back towards Cerberus and struck the three headed Aeon in the chest.
"What was that?" Kellee asked after she recovered. "How did you cast Reflect? Spell Seal should prohibit that!"
"That wasn't Reflect. That was Ruby Light. It's kinda like Reflect, except it will only last until it's attacked once. It was one of my Carbuncy's special attacks. And the jokes on you, Kellee. My Carbuncle doesn't know any magic for your Spell Seal to block!" Ria smiled. "My turn! Carbuncle!" She waved a hand to her Aeon. "Use Silence Buster on Kellee!"
A white cloud surrounded Carbuncle's front paws. The tiny green Aeon leapt at Kellee and planted both paws on her chest, knocking her over. Carbuncle was then pulled back into the seal by an arc of purple lightning. Kellee stood and tried to speak, but only a tiny squeak came out.
"What…that?" Kellee managed to choke out.
"Silence Buster casts Silence on whoever it hits. You can't use your own magic for a while, now!" Ria had just evened the odds.
Kellee's eyes narrowed in anger. She looked to Cerberus and then pointed at Carbuncle. The Aeon seemed to understand and took a step towards Carbuncle. At that moment, the seal beneath Ria's Aeon broke. Cerberus leapt at Carbuncle, fangs bared.
"Diamond Light!" Ria shouted. In a flash of white light, Carbuncle vanished. Cerberus landed on nothing. Kellee's eyes went wide.
"You can't talk right now," Ria said, "but I know what you want to ask. Diamond Light casts a spell on Carbuncle known as Vanish. Carbuncy's immune to physical attacks for a few seconds." After she said that, Carbuncle reappeared.
Kellee pulled a small vial out of her bag and downed the contents. She threw the glass tube at Ria and it rolled across the ground. Ria saw the words Echo Screen on the label. It was a cure against Silence.
"Cerberus!" Kellee shouted. "Time to show her your true power. Counter Rocket!" Cerberus' eyes lit up.
Yellow energy formed in its mouths. The light grew with each passing second. Ria steadied herself to counter with one of Carbuncle's abilities. Her eyes widened when she saw Cerberus fire the blasts not at her, but up in the air. The beams rained down around Kellee who smiled through the whole assault.
"That was Cerberus' Overdrive," Kellee said. "Counter Rocket casts two special kinds of spells on me: Double and Triple. And like their names imply, I can now double and triple cast all of my spells!" She leveled her doll at Carbuncle. "Firaga!" she shouted. Three Firaga spells streamed from her doll.
Ria knew that Ruby Light couldn't reflect all of those spells, so she used the next best thing. "Emerald Light!" Ria shouted. A green light surrounded Carbuncle and it quickly jumped out of the way of the stream of Firagas.
"How did that little rat dodge all of my spells?" Kellee growled.
"Unlike most Aeons," Ria said with a grin. "Carbuncy isn't limited to just one special attack. It has four. Each one a different light that casts a different spell: Ruby, Emerald, and Diamond Lights you've already seen. Ruby casts Reflect, Diamond casts Vanish, and as you just saw, Emerald casts Haste. It only has one more Light attack: Pearl Light. But that wouldn't be a good technique to use, since it casts Protect, defense against physical attacks."
"Then let's put the screws to you then," Kellee said. "Attack, my Cerberus!" Cerberus lunged towards Carbuncle, the effect of Haste gone. Then, Kellee raised her doll again. "Comet!" From the sky above Carbuncle appeared a swarm of about twelve comets. Ria thought Carbuncle could have handled four comets, but because of the Triple spell Cerberus cast on Kellee, Ria had to think fast.
"Carbuncle!" Ria shouted. "Use…"
Lucia and Andre both smiled as they stood facing each other outside the forest. Unbeknownst to them, there was another summoner battle raging just on the other side of the forest. Lucia started things off and summoned Quezacotl. She waited for Andre to summon his Aeon.
"Summon! Kjata!" Andre punched the ground and a large seal appeared beneath him. It was colored red, blue, and yellow, and each corner had a separate symbol: Fire, Ice, and Lightning. Electricity swirled in the air behind Andre. The seal started spinning and up from the middle jutted a large ice crystal, launching Andre into the air. There appeared to be some kind of beast inside. Lightning struck the crystal, freeing the front half of the Aeon. It looked like a bull with a ring through its nostrils. Except this bull had three pairs of horns and three pairs of eyes. Each set of eyes glowed a different color; the top pair were red, the middle yellow, and the lower set were blue. While Andre was in the air, a ball of fire formed in his hand, which he threw at the half of the Aeon still trapped in ice. This freed the beast from its frozen chamber. Andre landed on the beasts back and straddled him like a chocobo.
"Impressive," Lucia said. "I'll allow you the first assault so you can show me what it can do."
"Alright, then." Andre pointed a finger at the feathered serpent. "Attack the snake, Kjata!" The bull ran right for the serpent, but it flew into the air to dodge.
"It seems your Aeon is grounded, Andre," Lucia taunted. "My Quezacotl has more mobility since it isn't limited to the ground."
"I'll fix that," Andre said. "Kjata! Pyro Crystal!" Kjata's red eyes glowed. Between the beasts top pair of horns formed a red ice crystal that burst into flame. Kjata fired it right at Quezacotl. It hit the flying serpent in the chest and knocked it to the ground.
"Quezacotl!" Lucia shouted. Kjata walked over to the fallen Aeon. Lucia had to think quick. "Use Electro Quill!" Quezacotl flapped its wings and sent a swarm of electrically charged feathers at Kjata. It caught the beast in the snout and gave Lucia's Aeon enough time to leap back into the air.
"Lucky shot," Andre said with a grin. "But let's see what your Aeon does without its wings. Frozen Fireball!" This time, Kjata's blue eyes glowed. In the lower set of horns a large ball of blue fire formed, which quickly solidified into a large snowball. The ball streaked across the sky and struck Quezacotl's wings. The snow clung to them and dragged the Aeon to the ground.
"Now, Kjata, finish it with Silent Thunder!" Kjata's yellow eyes lit up. The middle set of horns arced with electricity. Between them, the space seemed to warp as the lightning heated the air. Lightning struck the center of this space at the same moment that Kjata released the soundless attack right in Quezacotl's face. Andre leapt off of the bull and walked over to Lucia.
"Guess your Aeon just isn't good enough," he said, sticking out his hand. "Better luck next time?"
Lucia slapped away Andre's hand. "Your arrogance is your downfall. That last attack was imbued with a Thunder attribute, right?" Lucia asked.
"Yeah, what's your point?" Andre asked, rubbing his hand.
Lucia smiled. "All you accomplished with that last assault was healing my Quezacotl." With a shriek, Quezacotl took to the skies, whipping its tail in Kjata's face. "Now, Quezacotl, show him how to use Thunder's true power. Thunderstorm!"
Quezacotl flew high into the sky and started flying in a tight circle. Clouds from all over gathered where Quezacotl flew. When a mass of dark clouds had surrounded the Aeon, Quezacotl flew straight down at Kjata, trailing an arc of lightning behind it. Quezacotl pulled out of its dive and let the strike hit Kjata. The serpent then opened its mouth and gatherd electricity in it. It fired ball of electricity at Kjata and the collision created a thunderous boom that knocked Kjata off its feet.
"And that is how you use Thunder," Lucia said, smugly.
"And this is how you win even after you lose," Andre said. "Kjata, take that overgrown garden snake out of the skies. Tetra Disaster!" Kjata got back to its feet. All six eyes glowed furiously.
"How can it do that?" Lucia asked.
"It's an ability called Kamikaze. Whenever Kjata falls in battle, it can use one of its abilities before it kills over completely. And this ability just so happens to be its Overdrive!"
A ball of white energy formed at Kjata's forehead as each horn fed red, blue, and yellow energy into it. It fired the ball right at Quezacotl. As soon as the ball contacted Lucia's Aeon, lightning erupted from it, engulfing Quezacotl and the surrounding area in electricity. Next, the lightning solidified into a large chunk of ice. The ice then shattered and each individual shard of ice turned into a fireball. The flames converged on Quezacotl as it landed on the ground in front of Kjata. The bull, eyes still aglow, rushed at the serpent and rammed all six horns into it. Quezacotl disappeared in a swarm of Pyreflies right before Kjata did.
"Looks like we're even," Andre said. This time, he was the one with the smug expression.
"Not quite!" came a shout from the forest. Ria rode into the scene on a chocobo. On her head rested a tiny Moogle. She threw an item at Lucia called a G-Returner. It looked like a Phoenix Down, but had a different strength to it, since it was used to revive Aeons. Lucia used it immediately, and Quezacotl reappeared at her side.
"Thanks, Ria," Lucia said as Ria rode up. "What is that thing you're riding?"
"It's my new Aeon. It's really two Aeons in one. This is Choco," she waved a hand at the chocobo, "and this is Mog," she said, referring to the Moogle. "Together, they're ChocoMog!" The Moogle on her head struck a pose and the chocobo warked with delight.
"How'd you get it?" Lucia asked.
"Well…"
"Carbuncle!" Ria shouted. "Use Pearl Light!" A milky white light surrounded Carbuncle as it cast Protect on itself.
Kellee laughed. "Now my Comet spells will take you out!"
"Not quite," Ria said. "Look!"
Cerberus' claws met with Carbuncle's spell and knocked the green Aeon away. Kellee's Comet spells then rained down upon Cerberus, her own Aeon taking the attack. Kellee growled in frustration as her dog struggled to its feet. Then, she realized something and started laughing.
"Your Carbuncle is out of attacks. You're finished."
"Not quite," Ria said. "We've been fighting long enough that my Carbuncle can use its Overdrive." Ria held up her dagger. "I've been playing the defensive too much. I think it's time for some offense. Carbuncle! Crystal Shower!" The jewel on Carbuncle's forehead glowed in every hue imaginable.
Carbuncle jumped into the air and a white beam of light shone from its jewel. The light settled on Cerberus. From Carbuncles jewel streamed a shower of rainbow hued crystals. They all flew into Cerberus and pinned it to the ground. The three headed dog then disappeared in a shower of light.
"Yeah!" Ria shouted, punching the air. "That Aeon is mine. Tough luck, Kellee."
"Why are you being so mean?" Kellee said in a timid, pathetic voice.
"I'm not being mean. You challenged me and you lost." Ria walked over to the Fayth statue and prayed. The Fayth emerged, a small boy wearing overalls and a straw hat, and entered Ria. She then spun around and held her dagger out.
"Summon! ChocoMog!"
She slammed the tip of her dagger into the ground and a patch of tall grass spread around her. She looked around, but saw nothing. Behind her, a small red pompom bobbed through the grass. She turned, but it sank away from view. She kept looking around and soon the chocobo snuck up on her. She turned and saw a chocobo with a Moogle sitting on its back. Ria patted the bird on the head and petted the Moogle.
After the summoning was done, she swung a leg over the chocobo and trotted over to Kellee. "You want a ride back to the port?" Ria asked.
"I want nothing from you!" Kellee growled. She pulled out a G-Returner and used it to revive her Cerberus. Ria panicked and kicked the chocobo into a gallop. Kellee rode her Aeon behind Ria, trying to catch up to her.
"And that's how I got ChocoMog!" Ria finished, hopping off of Choco.
"That's all well and good," Lucia said, "but where's Kellee?"
"What? Oh…" Ria turned around just as Cerberus crashed through the trees and landed next to Andre. Kellee cast Full-Life on Kjata. She told Andre that Ria had defeated her and that he'd better help her get revenge. Andre quickly complied and soon it was Quezacotl and ChocoMog versus Cerberus and Kjata. They're Aeons rushed each other, but they were interrupted.
"Yojimbo! Wakizashi!"
A stream of air and earth ripped across the ground between the Aeons. The summoners looked over and saw Saito standing next to Yojimbo, the latter just sheathing his sword. With a wave of his hand, Saito dismissed Yojimbo and strode over to Andre and Kellee.
"What do you think you're doing?" he shouted. "Stop wasting your energy fighting these meaningless battles and focus. Master Rone gave us a mission and we can't very well accomplish it if you waste you and your Aeon's energy. Stop this foolishness at once!"
Elayn ran over to Lucia and Ria and made sure they were alright. She gave Ria's new Aeon a strange look, but not much more. Saito walked over to her and bowed slightly.
"I'm sorry for my friend's actions. I hope you can forgive them."
"It's alright, Saito," Elayn said. "No one got hurt."
"Speak for yourself!" Kellee shouted.
"Anyway," Elayn continued, "don't worry about it. Let's just put this behind us and move on with our lives."
Saito smiled. "That sounds like a good idea. But still, I'd like to offer you this as a token of our apology." He handed her a small red Sphere. "This is something our boss gave me. It's an Aeon Scanner. More people today are learning how to summon. Whatever is summoned against you, this Sphere can tell you what you're up against."
"But don't you need this?" Elayn asked.
"Andre and Kellee have their own. If the need for one arises, I'll use theirs."
Elayn smiled and threw her arms around Saito's neck. "Thanks, Sai."
The dark haired man was surprised at the hug and even more surprised at the nickname, but he returned the hug nonetheless. They were interrupted by the sound of an approaching hover car.
"Hey, girls!" Rikku shouted. "Got this klunker fixed faster than I thought. Hop in." Lucia and Ria dismissed their Aeons and climbed in. Elayn looked back at Saito.
"I'm sorry, but I have to go. I have…important business to attend to."
"Now that you mention it," Saito said, "so do I. Farewell, Elayn."
"Bye, Saito." Elayn paused. She planted a light kiss on Saito's cheek, hopped in the hover car and flew off. Saito rubbed his cheek and smiled. His thoughts were interrupted by Andre slapping him on the back.
"Didn't Master Rone tell you not to get involved with anyone while we're here?"
Saito snapped back to reality. "Forgive me, Andre. It won't happen again." His face hardened again. "Let's go. The sooner we find this summoner, the sooner we can report back to Master Rone."
FDB: It's probably good advice that Saito not get involved, especially with his target. Happy Holidays, and as always, REVIEW!