Bah. I lingered over this chapter. I don't think I like how I ended it, but it did have to end. I love how quickly I've been updating lately, in comparison to how utterly behind I can get sometimes. Bleh.
The title ties in with the poem this time! :D (And I think I almost typed possum instead of poem, by mistake, just now.)
Words: 2,432
Onward! (I use this one a lot, don't I?)
Fool's Paradise
Chapter Seven: Epidemic
Not all diseases come small, you know.
Sometimes a plague will kill in plain sight.
Not quite invisible,
But nonetheless unstoppable.
There was something touching my foot.
"OH MY GOD-" I screeched aloud, kicking at the generic Sinspawn that had stumbled onto my flesh with the terrified demeanor of a teenage girl in a horror movie. The insect-like monster tripped over its own legs into another Sinspawn, which toppled over to fall on yet another Sinspawn, and then I had three or four or maybe even five creepy crawlies suddenly seeing the weaponless sixteen-year-old as a particularly appetizing target. Perfect.
Maybe it was the adrenalin wearing off from my tango with terror (Ooh, look: alliteration!) along the side of the ship, but I was a lot less scared by this situation than I should have been. Well, I would assume I was, since I was making quite a few mental jokes and using a certain type of sarcasm I'd gained from my years spent in Lyssa's company. However, there was still the expected, oh, I don't know… fear for my life? Seeing as I was quite defenseless.
The Sinspawns' little claw-thingies skittered and clacked together as the three… no, no; it was definitely four… buggies that had noticed my presence closed in. The panic began to set in as the adrenalin started to pick up again.
Weapon, weapon, weapon, I chanted inside my head as I scanned the debris-strewn deck for anything even remotely weapon-like. There was nothing but water and Sinspawn and pyreflies and I took a few cautious steps back toward the railing as my personal attendants fluttered their wings with glee. Well, martial artists say that your body is a weapon… then again, I'm not a martial artist….
That didn't stop me from kicking lamely at the side of one of the Sinspawn.
Ahem… seriously… it tottered. I didn't knock it over or anything, it didn't even stumble; it just sort of swayed sideways a little, like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Then it was back to making bug-noises and it clawed at my foot and left this little scratch that hurt like hell. The Sinspawn's wings began to sort of flicker, like they did in-game. (I never really found out what happened if you didn't stop it, but I figured it would be really bad.)
I said some words that my mother would not be proud of as I hopped on one foot, and then I dropped into a sort of crouch, swung forward, and kicked it again, awesome-style. Just like I'd seen in those karate movies me and my cousins would watch. And harder than last time. Much harder.
This time I found out just how heavy a Sinspawn's exoskeleton was; but it wasn't exactly thick. There was a nasty crunch as the insect's weight kept it from being sent flying, but it definitely stumbled into the 'Spawn next to it, and I think I left a dent in it. It stopped the flickering thing and made some angry clicking noises that might have meant something in Sinspawn-speak, but obviously I couldn't translate.
I let off a triumphant "Ha!" just as another human being managed to reach me through the swarm. I grinned as I recognized the main character of this game, Tidus, who slayed some of the Sinspawn in the surrounding area, freeing up my time enough to look around some. I threw my gaze over the rest of the deck and saw several deckhands fighting off their own Sinspawn with swords and knives and staves; Lulu was over near some particularly surrounded passengers, actually, and Kimahri was defending Yuna who might have been trying to summon, and Wakka was tossing his blitzball with full force at the menacing figure of Sin in the distance (Don't ask how it kept coming back… was it magical?).
So, on the subject of Sin… I finally got to see the beast, you know. And it was every bit as huge as it seemed. The entire thing cast a shadow on half our ship, even from as far away as it was, and this wasn't even the whole Sin; just a part of it. It was way bigger than a whale, which I usually related it to, and take that from someone who's actually seen one in real life (A whale, I mean). For a moment my breath deserted me, but then my mind was dragged back to the present and I was forced to reply to Tidus. I think he was asking me if I was alright here.
"Well, I'm… okay," I stated after a moment of thought. I was casual for the situation. A bit awkward. Still on an adrenaline high, and paired with my apparent badassery with that one Sinspawn, I felt good for a normal Earthling teenager in the middle of a chaotic battle with Sinspawn in the center of the ocean. "For not having any sort of weapon or fighting skills, you know…" He didn't comment on that, apparently rather preoccupied with the situation.
"I have an extra here; you can use it for now," the blond blitzer offered just a bit breathlessly, sweat running down his face. I gave him this really confused expression that he didn't catch as he reached into a pouch on his waist. Was it some sort of… gun, or something? What else could fit in that little pouch?
"Holy-" I gasped as a handle appeared, and stumbled back in utter shock as Tidus pulled a freaking sword out of that little thing! I kept muttered questions under my breath, but they went unheard over the general clamor of Sinspawn, the ocean beneath us, and, of course, the horrified passengers. "How did that- that doesn't even… what the hell?"
Tidus held the blade out to me, and I tensely noted that it was the same one Auron gave him. The one from Jecht. Ooh, I feel like I'm intruding now…
But apparently Tidus didn't care about it. In fact, he gave it a sort of… look, as he pulled it out. (Dad issues, much?)
"…Thanks," I accepted, taking the sword by the handle and literally dropping to my knees immediately after Tidus fully let go of it. The crimson blade sunk maybe a half a centimeter into the wood, I swear. The little brat (Yeah, let's forget that he's two years older than I am) actually had the nerve to laugh at me. I took the thing with two hands, hopefully holding it correctly (What little experience I had with fencing foils was very different from this type of sword, y'know… and I had crappy grip anyway, remember?) and dragged it up out of the wood, taking up a sort of fighting stance and nodding intensely, just a bit winded.
"Good luck with that," Tidus chuckled, and disappeared into the horde of Sinspawn once again.
Well… here goes nothing? I thought with a tiny bark of a laugh, appraising the nearest navy blue creature hesitantly. May as well try to help… I'm stuck on this ship, too, after all.
My first stab at using a real sword was one that I'd rather not go into. Let's just say I was very lucky to have enough skill to sweep my chosen target off the side of the ship and into the churning sea below. Or maybe it was just luck, no skill involved…
Not long after that, I had attracted more hungry Sinspawn (This time, I didn't do it by kicking… actually, I sliced one's sectioned leg when I was 'resting' my tired arms and the stupid thing told some of its buddies about my lack of skill and they decided to target me), and I was currently surrounded by three of them as wind whipped my hair into my face and my wrists ached from holding the sword up for so long. I clipped one's wing off with a lucky downward swing (God, it felt good to let the stupid sword's weight drop for a minute) and dragged the red blade back up to face the next 'Spawn before the tip could sink into the awfully soft wood of the ship. (The one I hit kind of just lost its balance and toppled over, laying on its side and twitching… I guess the wings act as some sort of ballast. I couldn't really bring myself to stab it, so I just left it there. It was harmless now, anyway… right?)
My next move was to attack the next non-crippled Sinspawn and hopefully cleave it in half before it could scratch me; I dove forward, brandishing the sword, and slashed diagonally downwards at the insect-like creature… but the thing simply skittered to the side, leaving Tidus's stupid dad's stupid sword to sink half an inch into the deck. I glared at the sword and then glared at the Sinspawn as I tugged at the blade. It wouldn't move.
The Sinspawn was laughing at me, I swear. It fluttered its wings and clacked its claw-things together in glee, I'm telling you. So did its friend, the last of the little trio of Sinspawn that had tried to make friends with me. In fact, its wings were sort of… flickering, in its merriment… no, literally…
OH SHIT MOMENT.
In a frenzy of desperation, I abandoned the sword and made for the Sinspawn. I didn't have any plan in mind; I was a little to panicked for that. Actually, I probably I meant to kick it or something… but in my moment of mindlessness I ended up tackling it.
Stupidest move ever.
Okay, so you know those little claw things I keep mentioning? Pincers or whatever? Yeah. They tend to be sharp, and they are obviously not something you want to come into contact with when bodyslamming one of these things.
So I rushed it, and yeah, I hit before it could do whatever came after that wing-flickering stuff. That was good news, sure. Really, it was great news, except for one thing. One of those stupid mother-effing claws scraped a long, bloody gash into my shoulder and I grunted as the Sinspawn's exoskeleton was crushed beneath my weight.
Breathing heavily, I gritted my teeth and refused to look at the growing spot of blood on my t-shirt. Think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts, I whimpered mentally. Oh god, this was one of my favorite shirts…
My legs felt weak and the only reason I tried to stand was because I was afraid all the Sinspawn would notice I was down and swarm over me. Look, it's the defenseless teenage girl! She's fallen and she can't get up! Let's eat her, guys!
Yeah, not happening. Not if I've got something to say about it, anyway.
I struggled to my knees, grimacing at the Sinspawn guts splattered over the deck and probably decorating my shirt as well (I hoped that mess would turn into pyreflies along with the body… I really did. Though, maybe it wouldn't matter; the shirt was already rather ruined.) I was just about to have another go with getting the sword out of the deck when my breath caught in my throat.
A sudden glow made me switch my gaze to Yuna as she lifted her staff into the air; a huge circle of luminescent runes appeared at her feet, knocking back any Sinspawn in its area, and beams of colored light shot up into the air. I stared in wonder, forgetting the burning of my shoulder and my foot for a moment as Yuna began to summon.
A huge draconic being shot down from the sky, painted in pastel colors that somehow appeared fierce on this otherworldly creature. It nuzzled Yuna affectionately, as though it were greeting an old friend, before turning to its target; the even more massive form of Sin in the distance.
To this day, I'm not sure how Valefor managed to scare Sin off. Compared to that titanic beast, we were like flies. No, ants. The really tiny kind that you find crawling on the sidewalk if you look real close. Going with that same metaphor, Valefor was like… a fly. Granted, a horsefly, but still a fly. Maybe a dragonfly, since it's a pretty dragon-like aeon, right? But yeah. How could something so comparatively flimsy (Though I won't deny that Energy Beam must pack a punch) be any threat to Sin?
When I played the game, I hadn't thought anything of it. We won the battle, good job, don't have to think any more than that. Now I had time to think about it, and the conclusion I came to wasn't one I liked. It was probably the same conclusion as everyone else: Sin was more focused on ravaging Kilika than capsizing us, and wasn't about to waste its time with an aeon like Valefor. Ouch.
So… winning the battle wasn't that great, actually. It didn't feel like winning, not when I got completely soaked with saltwater that burned like hell in my injuries and left me cold and drenched; not when Sin got away and would soon completely destroy an island town (Forgetting that in the span of two years, the place would magically become a booming port town after all this destruction.) Not when a bunch of people got knocked off the boat and probably lots of people were dead. I found myself waiting with bated breath with the group who had saved my ass on Besaid as Wakka rescued Tidus.
The two returned eventually, looking worse for wear but having survived. When they came up, they described a bit squid-like Sinspawn that I only vaguely remembered from the game, and for a while, Yuna and Co. were happy as they patted Tidy and Wakka on the back. That was until it finally crossed everyone's minds that Sin would soon be heading for Kilika. Needless to say, the rest of our time on the ship was spent in near-silence; I was not introduced to the summoner's guardians, and I didn't speak with many people (Though I was, thankfully, given a potion; it tasted like an energy drink, right down to the nasty aftertaste, but it healed me better than Yuna's magic seemed to… though I was pretty sure I would scar, anyway).
As the ship meandered slowly toward its destination, the serene island town of Kilika appeared on the distant horizon. And not long after it was sighted, a shadow rose in the seas before it.
A shockwave went through the water beneath our ship as the ginormous creature's silhouette rose above the waters near Kilika. Our boat was lucky to be out of range by now… but the Kilikans didn't have that luxury. We all watched - or in some cases, turned away or broke down sobbing - in horror and despair as the vague shape of wooden structures on the horizon quickly disintegrated into chaos.
Shit just got real, guys.
Yep. So… I'm pretty sure Lyssa will be brought into the actual plot soon, just give it time. Not exactly sure how I'll set up the POVs… shall I switch between them every chapter, or…?
Hum.
Okay, well… hope you enjoyed the chapter! (I did. :D 'Til the end there, anyway) See ya next time? :9
