Yay! I am so happy! Why? Because of all of you peeps and peoples. 4 reviews for one chapter! And do you want to know how many hits this story has gotten? 2,129 hits, 13 favs, and 8 alerts. Thats amazing! So guess what? Next chapter you get a double chapter. When I post next time you get two chapters for this story~! Anyways enough with my car dealership attitiude. On with the responces. Oh and big thanks to AzureEspeon for spottting out all those nasty little typos.
IHaveNoIdea8: Thanks for the advice. I think I won't change it though. It can be my made up word, lol.
kenegi: Raine, definetely Raine. lol, Kratos has died eating her food. Also, those are perfect titles. Two of which I had been thinking myself. OwO Are you a mind reader?
Dave and Bob: ^/^ why thank you. It took me long enough.
ScarPaw234: I love tacos too. They're amazing! Jade shall enjoy them! He shall! lol XD.
Now then, on with the story! Oh and there is a poll in my profile. I'm going to close it after...chapter 16 in this story. Aha shameless advertising!
Chapter 14:
The Zao Ruins
It wasn't long until we reached the oasis. It was about 8-o-clock from the looks of the sun and the people in the wagon excluding the driver dozed lightly. A bump in the ride woke all of us up and we looked out the cloth covered sides. A giant shining fon stone stood in the middle of a large pool of water. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and peered out at the fonstone with much interest. Raven had crawled out of the covered wagon to the drivers seat to talk with Shadow. A small chill was left behind from her wake. Blaze, still unconscious lay perfectly still in the corner of the wagon. I looked back from the fonstone and towards Blaze. I felt a pang of guilt when I saw his listless form.
The wagon came to a stop and jerked forward. Anyone who was previously sleeping was now definitely awake. The tarp in the back of the wagon was lifted and the girl in her desert clothing smiled in brightly. "Rise and Shine peeps. We're at the oasis." Luke groaned and hopped out of the wagon. He stretched his aching muscles and waltzed over to the pool of water. Raven stood on the other side of the tarp holding it up for more leverage. It didn't take much to notice the girls height difference.
I waited until everyone else had climbed out before hauling Blaze's semi-heavy body onto my shoulder. I grunted when I stood up all the way and fought the pain of my dreary muscle cramps. I slid out the wagon back and wobbled under Blaze's weight. Raven and Shadow caught on and helped me carry him over to a grove of trees. We set him down under the palm trees in hope that it would be a nice shade from the sun. After that we scrambled over to the water.
Raven and Shadow dove head first into the water, splashing everyone in the immediate vicinity. Jade took off his glasses and cleaned them off with the hem of his jacket, sighing. Knowing the two girls I had chosen a much safer spot and only had to flick the droplets of water off my hand. I let my ankles rest in the cool water. It stung slightly from all the cuts and wounds as it slowly cleaned out the sand. I hissed in pain and brought my feet back up. Tear looked over at us and sighed, wringing out her long hair. Luke spat out a string of curses at his wet clothing and ran around to try to dry them off. Natalia batted her wet clothing and scowled. "Why I never..."
Guy was one of the only who remained dry. He was busy buying more supplies and food. Turning around Guy saw the turmoil and gave a light sigh. He smiled and shook his head back and forth. Anise however had the opposite affect. "You two! Tokunaga's gonna shrink! He wasn't made from silk you know!" She bawled. The two girls resurfaced and laughed.
"Jeez, you two..." I said adding in my own sigh. Natalia paced over and tapped my shoulder. I took notice of her presence and stood up. "Need something?"
"I think we should check Blaze in case he got any additional wounds." She advised. I nodded in understanding. I snagged Tear and walked over to where Blaze was laying.
"Hey!" Tear yelped after be dragged halfway. I looked at her sympathetically.
"Sorry, but could you look over Blaze for me. Natalia suggested that it would be wise and I trust you more as a healer than I do her." I said with an awkward tone. She nodded and smiled before running her hand over the blond boys chest. She concentrated and I watched her intently. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be a healer. I've learned not to be, thank you Final Fantasy 13, for everyone would be dead before I realized it.
Tear's eyes snapped open from concentration and she gasped. Quickly she rolled up Blaze's pant leg/nylon, earning a cat whistle from Guy. I was going to cover my face but I saw something extremely nauseating. A long line of purple went down from his lower thigh to his ankle. The first thought that came to mind after our grand dawn ambush; poison.
"Star, there's money in the camping supplies wing pack. Go buy a panacea bottle from the merchant, quickly." I nodded my head fervently and scrambled up. However most know, spinning around and getting up are not the best combination so I ended up slipping and getting a mouth full of sand. Bleg.
"There's no need to spend cash, I have plenty. Here." Shadow walked over to Tear and handed her a small vile with red/ orange-ish liquid in it. Tear smiled and thanked her and poured the contents down Blaze's throat. He didn't move at first, but then he bolted up and started choking. Watching with horrifies interest, we watched as the purple lines started curling up and soon looked like a big blotch on his left leg. He kept coughing through the whole ordeal and the corner of his eyes started blotting with tears. Natalia's mouth was full agape at the small vile which was now empty in Tear's hand.
"Are you sure that's not poison itself?" She stammered, pointing at the bottle.
"Yep, don't worry its doing its job. According to that big splotch on his leg, some poison must've dripped onto it. If the snake had bit him there would be two holes." Shadow reassured the team. I was surprised that she knew so much knowledge about the snake and its poison, but then again she had been out in the desert longer than any of us.
Blaze gave a final hack before spitting out a large purple liquid. The spot on his leg was gone and had been replaced by his slightly tan skin from before. "Sorry. That was one of the batches they weren't sure about. It's usually less painful than that." Shadow scratched the back of her head in embarrassment before patting Blaze's back. "He'll live."
I stood up as Tear rearranged all his clothes the way they had previously been. She laid him back down under the palm trees and Mieu bounced over to his side. I almost felt sick to my stomach after watching the poison. I pinched the bridge of my nose in hopes it would quell the headache I had brewed. After no such luck I found myself diving into the large pool. A cow looked up lazily at me from its spot near the edge before dipping its head back down for more grass. Coughing, I floated in one spot and took in my surroundings. Wide balmy palm trees were placed at irregular intervals around the oasis allowing shade everywhere but the fonstone.
I floated around for a minute before swimming back to shore. As drenched as I was, it felt good, and slightly colder than normal. I sneezed and rubbed my nose from the next chilly wind.
"Cold in a desert hm?" Anise asked behind me with a mischievous grin.
"No, there's just sand in my nose." I lied, trying to keep my pride.
"Uh huh. Anyways Jade wants to see all of us. We've restocked and were going to go get something to eat in that building over there." She explained. I rubbed my nose nodding and followed her. Inside we found an interesting predicament.
"Hello, I'm Gee." A gingerly old man croaked walking up to us.
"Eww he smells like old man." Luke muttered and crinkled up his nose.
"Luke! Mind your manners." Tear chided.
"Hey Gee! I got your coffee beans in!" Shadow called.
"Is that you Shadow? Goody I was starting to crave some coffee. Who might these youngsters be?" Shadow walked forward and deposited a small cloth sack into his hand. When he opened it up, the reek of coffee jumped out. Raven, Anise, Luke, and I held our noses in disgust.
"I'm Luke fon Fabre." Luke's voice was muffled behind his hand but he still looked like a noble.
"Tear Grants." She introduced herself. I made note she didn't give out her full title.
"Colonel Jade Curtiss." Jade tittered.
"Ionian Guard Anise Tatlin!" She puffed up her chest as if to look bigger.
"Natalia, your grace." I also took note she was refraining from using her title.
"Star. Just Star." I said my red eyes beaming.
"Raven." The girl with the neat ponytail said.
" Pere sent me. I'm Guy Cecil." Guy introduced rather loudly. The old man looked startled at this.
"Your Guy?... Ah, I see. Pere filled me in on the details." He winked at Guy.
"Details?" The two Raven and Shadow echoed.
"This old man sure gets excited." Luke sneered. Tear cast him, 'the look', and he snapped his mouth shut.
"Haha, yeah." Guy laughed out loud. "Well, then Gee. Pere says you'll teach me something that would be useful to help my sword technique?" He questioned.
"Ah that. I see, I shall pass my arcane arte onto you Guy." He gave a crooked smile. Guy looked startled at this and Gee laughed slapping his thigh. " My apologize. This arte transfer occurs only on one-on-one fight field though. Could I have the rest leave please."
"What? Why?" Luke asked innocently.
"Luke don't be stubborn." Natalia scolded.
"That's rich, coming from you." I laughed as we all started out the door. I didn't notice a flying cheagle in my path until I nearly bumped into it.
"Mieu, there you are master! Blaze is waking up!" Mieu cheered. Raven, Shadow, and I looked at each other before bolting out the door. The rest of the party shrugged and walked over to the fountain to get a drink for 100 gald. We ran to the small pool on the left side of town and looked over to see our only male friend from Earth, unbeknownst to the rest of the party, sitting up against the palm trees. His eyes were drooped down towards the ground and he looked half asleep. His face brightened considerably when he saw us approach and even more so when he saw Shadow.
"Shadow." He croaked in an excited tone. He sounds extremely tired at this point and his eyelids looked like they had weights on them.
"Hey Blaze, how are you feeling?" I asked softly.
"Fine except for my chest. It hurts a lot right now." He pointed to his breast plate were I looked curiously. It looked like the beginning of a lightning bolt. anyone could clearly see it if they got really close. His present outfit kinda flared it out as well so...
"Blaze it looks like your harry potter!" Raven laughed. He rubbed his chest and nodded sleepily before closing his eyes.
"Tsk, tsk, that won't do. Not one bit. I don't need any nosy people looking at that." The celestial maiden appeared by me and ran a hand over the small mark. She traced a few inches to his left shoulder then ran her hand down over the mark and back up to her right shoulder. As her fingers traced along in a half circle, a thin collar appeared. Green silk was the collar and a small black pendant hung down at the middle, covering the small bolt. It looked a lot like Guy's pendant except in the collar of green and black.
"Nice." Raven nodded. Shadow on the other hand looked horrified.
"Who the hell are you?" She asked Yulia, backing away slightly.
"Well, I see you haven't been educated properly." She turned and glared at me like it was my fault Shadow didn't know about Auldrant. "I am Yulia Jue."
"Doesn't ring a bell... Wait! Are you what all the people ramble on about, 'she saved us all with the score', and that crap?" Shadow asked. Yulia's face turned sour.
"With the... I see. So my beloved world has become poisoned by not knowing the future. How sad." Yulia sighed and disappeared.
"Depressed much? Well we should- Shadow?" I looked over at the black haired tan girl who looked like she was about to faint.
"G-g-ghost." She said falling backwards. Raven caught her just in time before she hit the ground.
"Oh my." I sighed. "This is gonna need a lot of explaining..." I sighed. At the sight on Shadow falling over the party rushed over.
"Hey, what happened?" Guy asked. He looked down at the girl with the wild ponytail.
"She just disappeared with a poof!...Gah, this is worst than finding out their were no tacos here."Shadow sputtered.
"Maybe the heats getting to her?" Anise asked. I grinned finding the nice loophole Anise had just offered us.
"Ah yes. Shadow's never been good with heat. Lets go get some water." I propelled her forward from Raven's arms over to the fountain. I flipped a golden coin marked '100' towards the oracle patron and pushed Shadow towards the drinkable water. She glared back at me before taking a large gulp of the clear water inside. I sat on the fountain beside her and started thinking about what events should have played over.
I remember something happened at the start of the oasis and it involved Luke. My memory was fuzzy after all the time away from Earth. I missed my sisters and brother... Ah what was I thinking? I escaped schooling, well sort of, and bullying. Everyone here didn't care about red eyes, pale skin, and outdated clothing. Well except for maybe a mean god general but that was it.
Snapping out of home's slowly resurfacing thoughts, I concentrated on the events. Something with Luke...and Asch! But we had arrived early thanks to Shadow and her wagon. So maybe it won't come into play until later...
"Arg!" Luke screamed. I looked over in slight amusement. Right on time...
"Luke!" Tear shouted worried. I got up to go over to the scene but the scene darkened and became black. Asch and Luke stood facing each other, though Luke was on the ground clutching his head. Asch sent a glare down at him and nudged him with his foot. I felt something tap my shoulder and glanced over to see Raven, Shadow, and Blaze looking at the show as well. Blaze albeit a little sleepily.
"Answer me you dreck!" Asch yelled. This time he actually kicked Luke but the other red head didn't respond. He merely clutched his head harder.
"Who...the hell...are you?" Luke asked with a shaky but demanding voice.
"You know who I am. You look just like me." Asch growled.
"Your..Asch!" Luke snapped his head up and looked at the other red head.
"Where do you think your going idiot? Don't blame me if something happens to Ion." Asch snapped. He balanced his weight on his right foot and crossed his arms.
"Where are you?" Luke demanded.
"We're almost at the Zao Ruins. Though...I doubt a dreck like you could ever hope to make it here." Asch smirked at the other counter part. He turned around and started to walk away. He stopped and looked in our direction, as if searching for something and seemed to look right past us. He shook his head and left and the sky brightened.
Luke collapsed onto the ground and a shooting pain seared through my head. I fell backwards into the pool of water, knocking a dazed Shadow down with me. The oracle patron started shouted out curses because we were "defiling" the fresh water. I felt someone pull my hand out of the water and help us both up. I looked forward to see Natalia giving us an accomplished smile.
"Thanks." I grit my teeth in pain. My head throbbed as well as my eyes. I closed them and saw light images dance around under my eyelids. In the distance I heard Raven yell an 'ow' and then a horrified scream from Guy. Blaze groaned and slapped his forearm across his eyes.
"Are you guys okay? Hey Luke, what was that all about?" Anise asked quickly, buzzing from one topic to the next. Mieu hopped out of the bag and floated over to Luke.
"Master? Are you feeling sick?" He asked.
"Hold on Luke." Tear said softly putting a friendly hand on his arm.
"Hearing imaginary voices again?" Guy asked. I would have scoffed and made a smart comment but the pain was almost too unbearable. Pain, pain, pain, pain. Only thought was pain.
"I doubt that was my imagination." Luke muttered.
"You said something about 'Asch'. Did you mean that Oracle Knight?" Natalia asked.
Luke stood up just as I was able to pry one eye open. Damn, he was tougher than I thought. "That voice was definitely Asch's. He's with Ion near the Zao Ruins." Luke answered.
"Ion's there?" Anise gave a look of bafflement.
"The Zao Ruins?" Jade mused. "From 2000 years ago?"
"Where are they?" Luke asked.
"I'm afraid I don't know. I'd be grateful if the leader of this mission would find them for us..." Jade suggested.
Luke sniffed a snort. His posture had returned to normal but the pain had only started to fade for me. "You sure like to be a jerk don't you?" He snorted towards Jade.
"Not at all, I'm so honest and good natured it almost hurts." Jade replied.
"Colonel! Please stop teasing Luke." Tear demanded. "Luke lets ask people in the Oasis about the Zao Ruins." She continued in a softer tone.
"Right." Luke nodded his head in agreement. He turned his attention to us. 'Us' being Shadow, Raven, Blaze, and I. "Hey get up, were leaving now."
I tried to get up and nod but half way up my legs gave out. I fell backwards into the pool again and received even more curses from the patron. Natalia pulled me up once more, faster than before and steadied me in the sand.
"Are you sure your still not sick?" Guy asked.
"Thanks for the sympathy." Raven spat. She heaved herself up and leaned on a palm tree.
"It sucks doesn't it?" Yulia asked in my head. "Especially for someone who doesn't use the seventh fonon. The power of hyperresonace."
"You did this didn't you?" I hissed into the necklace.
"Ah did I hurt you? Pity." She faked crocodile tears. I couldn't see it but, I knew she was doing it. Every one was situated a moment later, after the pain had worn off. Shadow had thrown Blaze into the wagon, telling him to keep watch for robbers and we went around asking people. Most said they didn't know. Others said it was some where in the desert. That was the smartest thing we've heard all day. We finally got an answer around noon from a women in a turban near the pool.
"Oh sure, it's to the east. Most of the ruins are long gone though. Man, its hot." She wiped her brow and continued to walk on to do her business, whatever that was.
"Let's camp for the night and then set out at dawn." Jade suggested.
"Yeah, we could even get a ride in whats-her-face's wagon!" Anise beamed excitedly.
"Shadow's my name, pinkie." Shadow replied. We unloaded the rest of the crates and put it in the storage building just as the sun set. It was 8:30 when we finished up and threw out the sleeping bags near the pool of water.
"So why are we sleeping here?" Raven asked. Dinner had went by quickly, a nice supply of tacos from Shadow, and almost all had laid on top of the sleeping bags. I was one of the only to snuggle down into the opening, sensing the cold desert night approaching. Jade too had slipped down after a while as well as Anise. The others were gonna be cold~.
"The wind will blow the cool water's air towards us during the night and keep us at room temperature." Guy explained.
"Oh." Was her final comment. Tear poked the small coals until they burned brightly again before crawling into her sleeping bag.
"Idiots. Your gonna fry when you sleep." Luke cackled. I smirked and pulled the blanket around my mouth so he couldn't see it. I think Luke didn't know how cold the desert could be at night...
/
We set out at dawn with Shadow's wagon in tow. Luke sneezed a couple of times and rubbed the sides of his arms, trying to warm up. I snickered at the sight and shook my head. Shadow put on a yellow turban and picked up the reins for the cows. She flicked the leather straps against the rough coat and the cows mooed in indignation. They took off at an astonishing speed meeting the one they were at yesterday and made great distance towards the ruins. Raven sat up with Shadow while Blaze and I remained in the back of the wagon. The rest were seated along the middle or front of the wagon. Around midday we had made it half way to the ruins.
How do I know this? Well there's this little thing called intuition... And the fact that I knew when the robbers started appearing you were half way there. Jade easily took care of them and dissipated the remains without even moving from his seat in the wagon. If this was him with a block on his fon verses, I was almost scared what he might be with full power.
Getting restless, I climbed to the top of the wagon taking off my sweater dress. The white undershirt billowed slightly at the top as I got settled and I threw down my sweater dress. It must have hit Blaze or someone in the back because I heard a muffled 'oof!'. Anise appeared with my sweater dress on her head and glared up at me. I laughed at her before getting a mouthful of plush from Tokunaga. Spitting it out, I grabbed some fifth fonons like a cord and threw them at her. She gave me a look of confusion at first before feeling the heat wave. She groaned and ducked back down into the wagon, taking my sweater dress with her. Looking at my hand I noticed hardly nothing had moved from the dragon mark.
"It's because there's an ambiance of 5th fonons in the area. You don't have to concentrate too hard on getting them to come to you." Yulia laid next to me answering my silent question. She had conveniently changed clothing. Instead of her white silky dress, she wore a white bikini accompanied by black shades. A golden 'y' curved along the hemline of the top and a black quarter note laid as a simple design on the bottoms.
She lifted her shades and stared at me with her bright blue eyes. "I talked to Shadow last night. She shouldn't be so scared about my glorious appearances now." She cooed. I rolled my eyes and stared intently at the sky ahead.
"Of course, now that your all here, I can finally explain why you need to be here." She stated smoothly. I quirked an eyebrow but said nothing more. Just stared at the blue sky.
Shadow kept her cows going all day and thanks to Jade's artes, we didn't have to stop and rest. There was enough food in the back to last around 3 months and bottled water to last the whole trip. Even better, if someone got bored they could just hop out of the wagon and run ahead to train on robbers or stray monsters. It was all good.
After three days of almost non stop traveling we arrived at the Zao Ruins. It wasn't exactly what I had expected...
Oracle knights were no where in sight and it looked dusty and old. I remembered the best thing here was the music and Mieu! Mieu got attack here, and oh the devious plans I had for the small cheagle. Say there was a pickle jar and I needed someone to open the jar. I'd just tell Mieu to use attack and it'd pop right open! Aha aha! No pickle jar shall be a match for me now!
"Let's go on in." Jade suggested. We waltzed in drawing our weapons and lowering our stances slightly, alert. Shadow drew out a small silver bow and arrows. Each hued in the color of moonlight streaming through an ebony sky. Blaze drew his gun blade, now gleaming with golden radiance on the blade. The blades color remained a pure white, he must have cleaned it the night before. Black zipped along the border of it and the hilt. Raven took out two silver/blue guns. They looked whitish silver but under the torch light of the Zao Ruins, a light blue gleam was cast off. Gold engravings swirled around them, marking that Yulia had messed with them somehow. My sword flashed as I drew it and the black hilt and red eyes shined in the dark light. The eerie look danced on the hilt giving whoever looked at it a second thought.
Guy's sword, a rapier, almost magically appeared in his hand after he drew it so fast. To whomever didn't know him or underestimated his speed would have thought his gloves had a hidden blade in them. Luke's unsheathing was extremely lax compared to Guy's. He pulled it out like there was no care in the world and swung his broadsword around, uncaring if it hit someone. Tear's approach was more cautious. Her magic wand beamed under the darkness, illuminating some of the way. Anise's cane as she called it 'a wizards staff!' was woody but no knots curled anywhere. It looked suspiciously like a normal cane but she insisted it was a wizards cane; Whatever. Jade idly chattered to anyone listening, his spear's head flickering in and out of his hand. If one looked at him it disappeared, but you could still see traces of the fonons. It was a glaive, the blade no bigger than his forearm, which was clothed in his military garb. Natalia's bow, a rich creamy brown color, was indeed a normal bow. I was happy to announce in all the weapons of the party, my second choice would be bow. I always like archery...but sword came first!
Now that our weapon synthesis was over we walked cautiously inside the Zao Ruins. We had only gotten a few feet when a sudden crash outside alerted us. Swiveling around, we saw a nice explosion of Shadow's taco wagon. The four of us ran back out, ignoring Luke's protest and watched the exploding carriage meet the peak of its destination. It descended and crashed onto the ground, scattering its contents everywhere like a terribly gutted fish. Seeing an oracle land ship a distance off firing shots off at us, Shadow ran out and collected the supplies the sand handed blown over or away yet. As she did this, we let out a blue streak of curses and flipped them off as she dropped it all again.
I raced out to help her, closely followed by the rest of the party. We grabbed what we could and retreated, right before a shot blew us all up like the carriage. It made anything in its path incinerate causing half the supplies we didn't receive vaporize into thin air.
"They're drawing off the fifth fonons in the desert! Lets get inside the ruins!" Jade yelled over all the surrounding gun shots. I felt like I was in the cold war outside a bomb shelter, running around screaming like a little girl. We hurriedly stowed away inside the ruins and dumped all the supplies out to see what we had hastily scavenged.
Three canteens, 2 bags of taco shells, half a map, 3 bags of uncooked beef, a head of cabbage, a cup of shredded cheese, and a small picture. The surprising thing is, we had enough to make at least two nights worth of tacos. The party had seemed to especially favor these. The really sad part though was the half of the map only showed the the left of Batical. Meaning, it showed Daath, unknown land 1 and 2, Belkend, Sheridan, and Keterberg. Also translating to, it showed no parts of the desert, meaning, we're screwed.
"Ah, they killed Moolan and Mooshu." Shadow pouted, referring to her lost cows. Raven patted her back sympathetically as I rummaged around for the wing pack. Most useful invention, ever made! Well except for the good ones like Thomas Edison's' and Albert Einsteins'...
I pulled it out and pushed the food remnants into it along with the charred map. The picture, as I discovered was a copy of ours, the one on the forest with the lopsided grins and cheery expressions. I took out ten full canteens and stowed the other three away inside the wing pack. Blaze took note of this and handed them out to everyone, including himself. Slinging the canteens around out necks like satchels and putting away the wing pack, we proceeded downward. Shadow pouted most the way after the death of her favorite cows but Raven and Blaze kept her company. I remained at the front on the look out for anything weird.
After a while the comfortable silence started getting more and more uncomfortable and the bumping of the canteens hitting our thighs more and more irritable. Finally as if on cue Raven and Shadow blurted stomping there feet in unison.
"We can't take it! We've been walking for hours, there's this annoying noise of thumping , and no monsters have attacked us yet!" They screamed enharmonically. This caused everyone to stare at them as if they had grown to heads. The two girls abruptly pointed a finger at Jade who was merely tweaking his glasses. "How long until the bottom?" They jabbed at the same time.
"Surely you can't expect an old man such as myself to remember this? Its been a dreadfully long time since my last visit here and as you recall I couldn't even remember the way here. Oh old age is such a bother." Jade drawled, turning so that he was walking backward as he spoke to them. The twos eyes narrowed into dangerous slits simultaneously as if rehearsed.
"Not funny." They replied harshly. Jade merrily shrugged and turned back around whistling a happy tune.
"You sound like twins." Anise giggled. She bounded over to them, sticking more closer to Blaze than he deemed comfortably. She wiggled her fingers for them to come closer and they bend down in sync. She laughed and clapped her hands before whispering something in their ears. They turned to each other, sharing a look, before nodding and smiling. I hadn't realized I was watching the whole scene until reality came crashing down upon me. Literally.
The Zoa Ruins were full of stairs carved from ancient times. They held many faults, after surviving this long, and many pebbles lay loosely around. These factors, added on to my major in clumsiness, make me trip and barrel down the stairs. It wasn't a pleasant experience so to say. Guy had taught me how to right myself, had I ever slipped in battle but these tactics didn't kick in until I was near the bottom of the stairs. I landed in a heap on the musky scented ground, face down, bottom up. I heard the pitter patters of shoes and heels as they quickly made there way down the stairs. I sat up and looked back to see them near the last few steps.
Luke however tripped over a fault and grabbed Tear. Tear then grabbed Anise. This led to a domino effect successfully pulling all down but Jade. Realizing my position I tried to scramble/crawl out of the way but was caught in the human avalanche. Each one of them groaned or gave a terrified shriek, (Guy), but either way I was stuck on the bottom.
"Karma. Karma to you all." I hissed dangerously. I heard soft pats and then the weight on my back burdened. It traveled from my legs to my back to my shoulders and finally pushed my head down into the moist dirt. I looked up and spit out dirt seeing blue Malkuthian boots adorning Jade Curtis's bodily wear. He gave us all a very cheeky smile. If I could shake my fist at him I would. "And you will have the worst karma of all Jade!" I bawled.
''My, I see were all having fun but we need to continue on now. The fon masters waiting~." He sing songed. The weight gradually decreased until only Blaze was left on my back. He stumbled off, stepping on my spine by accident. I howled in protesting pain as he stood on it and looked down at me.
"Whats wrong Star?" He asked. He pivoted on my back making my spine twist to the right.
"My spine! Your killing it!" I howled. He looked down and stepped off apologetically. Anise and Blaze each offered a hand which I gladly took. The smaller girl was stronger than expected once again and practically threw me towards a small stand. I tumbled backwards managing to keep my balance barely. I steadied myself and Jade pushed past me, efficiently knocking me down again. I moaned a protest before settling in the dirt for a nap.
He opened up a small chest and pulled out three apple gels smiling profoundly. He then, might I say purposely, stepped on my stomach as he was exiting. I coughed a little and sat up, glaring at him. I drew in what I thought to be fifth fonons and hurled them at him. Instead of a heat wave like before I got a fireball the size of an egg. I gasped and Jade tilted to the left. The fireball whizzed past him and exploded in the distance. He turned around to me with a coy smile on his face, an eerie glow on his glasses. A roar in the back told me what he was smiling about.
"Well Star I believe you've found where the monsters are. My this just isn't your day is it?" He tittered. I groaned and got to my feet. Flexing my sword hand I flashed the blade and charged.
"No, it isn't my day and to think whats deeper inside the ruins completes my miseries." I muttered under my breath. I told a flying leap at one and slashed horizontally. A bat which was in the way dodged it and sat on the blade. Unfortunately I killed its friends in my slash and it screamed in epiphany. I cast a look of annoyance at it and flicked it off my blade. Guy who had been standing next to me, thrusted his sword and ran it through the moment it came off my blade.
"Thanks Guy!" I called and kicked a small rock thingy. "Ugh what are these things. They remind me of..." I thought back to all the times I tripped over a pebble and a in-quelling rage built up inside me. "Pebbles!"
"Those are Earth Spirits! Be careful!" Jade warned looking through a magic lens. He put it away and began concentrating on summoning fonons. "Oh violent torrent. Splash!" He yelled. Water from the ground rose up under a large group and blew them up into the air.
"Storm Rage!" Natalia called. She shot up three arrows laced with the third fonons into the monsters at the top of Jade's splash. Any that Storms Rage missed were shishkabobbed by Shadow's silver arrows on the other side. She twirled around and raised her silver bow in a victory dance. Raven shot at a small moving automaton. Her shots came out slower than what she normally would have shot and she also looked quite fatigued. Something told me it had to do with the heat under the desert sand. Also Blaze who had been unnaturally quiet also looked sluggish. His slices were sloppy and shots were often missed. I wonder what had gotten into him...
My thoughts were rudely interrupted by the plush paw of Tokunaga pushing me out of the way. Anise looked down at me with a small smile. "Oh, I almost didn't see you there." She shouted just as a negative gate was unleashed.
"Move please!" Natalia called. She shot off a barrage of arrows finishing the last monster up. Anise stomped over to the Kimlascan princess and pointed a rude finger in her face.
"Oh your being a pain!" Anise growled at her.
"Its you who are being a nuisance." Natalia bickered back.
"Oh! One of these days I'm gonna squash you!" She hissed.
"And I will return the favor." Natalia shot back. She folded her arms and tilted her head up in pride. It was as if she was looking down on the Ionian guard. Well technically she was but enough of that.
"Alright, alright, break it up!" Blaze and Guy interjected, thoroughly breaking Natalia's 'higher than thou' attitude and Anise's dangerous tension. Heavy bags rested under the two boys eyes and all most in a symphonic gesture they yawned. Natalia and Anise shared a look before laughing and teasing the two. Tear sighed and picked up 4 stray rocks. She calmly tossed them up and down lightly in her hand before throwing all of them. They ricocheted off the 2 former quarreling girls and the two boys. They spun around and glared at Tear who sent back a blank stare.
"We should keep going." She advised. Turning around she made a hidden gesture to Luke who was already storming into the passage. All but Jade sighed and followed the red head into the passage. It didn't take long to make it out to another clearing. This one had a full round room, with a bridge leading to plat's over a chasm. Something glowed in the back of the room causing all the younger children to get excited. By 'younger children' I meant the levels in maturity.
"Oo Oo! Can we see it! Please, please, please, please!" Luke, Anise, Raven, and Shadow chanted. Blaze joined in a split second later followed by Mieu. Tear rolled her eyes while Guy laughed at the childish gesture.
"Go on, its not like you'll all be gobbled up by monsters the second you set foot over there." Jade chirped happily. This caused a moments hesitation in their chanting.
"Lets take a chaperone." Raven suggested. They all nodded and pointed at me in unison.
"Star! Come on, lets go over and see it!" The six shouted, literally dragging me half way across the bridge. I yelped a protest and was abruptly let go.
"How is Star in any way a chaperone?" Guy pondered aloud. I sent him a nasty glare and ran to catch up with the other team members. They landed in front of the ambiance of 2nd fonons. The team circled around it, the older, (maturer) member catching up as well.
"What's that?" Luke asked. He started to walk forward but Tear cut him off before he could.
"Luke! Don't get near it! It might be dangerous." She said sharply.
"But its so beautiful. How could something so beautiful be dangerous?" Natalia pondered.
"Well Natalia, its what you classify as 'beautiful' that counts. Maybe that rock is beautiful and its extremely dangerous, especially to Star." Raven chirped happily. I took offense to them.
"Well well, what do we have here?" Jade pondered mischievously.
"2nd fonons!" Mieu exclaimed. He hopped forward and sat inside of the 2nd fonons. They wavered and started floating around the sorcerers ring on Mieu's belly.
"How come we can see the fonons?" Anise asked aloud.
"They must be concentrated here. This has to be a fon slot." Jade replied, his logical knowledge kicking in.
"No, they just randomly appear there cause they want to." Raven swung her hands around sarcastically.
"I still don't get what fonons are..." Luke snapped rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Its okay Luke. It took Star forever to explain it to us. And even then she needed Yulia's help." Blaze drawled. I stared in astonishment at the blond. The Ruins filled with unexpected silence that even a pen drop could be heard. Ravens mouth dropped while Shadow shook her head and held her head. I face palmed at the looks on everyone's' face. Blaze seemed to notice the awkward silence a little late. "What?"
"Blaze, you idiot." I mumbled from under my hand.
"What- oh...Sorry?" He offered. Instinctively Jade turned in my direction and smiled.
"Well Star, would you like to explain that one." He asked quite amused.
"Ha ha, well you see its a long story. I used Yulia several times in the reference and Blaze thinks that she was actually still alive. Isn't that right Blaze?" I asked. I stomped on his foot and he yelped.
"Yes yes of course. I got you the first time." He hissed the last part lowly.
"Shut up! Your not helping! I don't get it!" Luke whined impatiently.
"Every structure and living thing has its own intrinsic vibrations and emits a corresponding sound. They are then divided into 6 fonons. Tiny differences in their vibrations and connection distinguish what kind of matter it is. Its rare to find so much of a single fonon bond together that it becomes visible like this." Tear explained controversially patient to Luke's own impatience.
"By the way Mieu, what are you doing?" Natalia asked the young cheagle. Mieu bobbed his head to acknowledge her.
"I'm letting the Sorcerer's Ring soak up the fonons!" Mieu chirped happily. "The elder told me the more fonons it gathers, the stronger it gets!"
"Stronger huh?" Luke questioned.
Anise tilted her head to the side. "So how does it feel?"
Mieu let out a low squeak. "Mmmiiieeeeuuuuuu. I can feel the power!" He tittered. Everyone looked astonished at this. "Well...maybe... kinda... I think so..." He dawdled. Almost all sweat dropped at this.
"What's that supposed to mean? What a waste of time!" Luke complained.
"And you aren't?" Shadow asked curiously. Luke gave a growl when Raven and Shadow cackled at this. The fonons suddenly disappeared and Mieu let out a flurry of Mieu's. He bounded over to a rock and did a flying somersault into it. The rock shattered into a million pieces (metaphorically), causing Mieu to crow a victory.
"I can break anything!" Mieu shouted.
"Let me see the sorcerers ring Mieu." Jade commanded.
"Sure!" The cheagle flew over to Jade who looked at it carefully. After a moment of studying it, he gave the cheagle the ring back and turned to us.
"There's a new fon verse inscribed into it. There's also a spot for one more." Jade reported. "If we find another one, it might give Mieu a new power."
"Wow really?" Anise asked excitedly. "If we find anymore we should give it a try!" She cheered at the end.
We all nodded and exited the small area. To show Mieu's ability off, he went over and crushed two more boulders.
"Go Mieu! Whoo whoo!" Shadow and Raven cheered. We passed by more and more ruins. They were actually quite interesting if you really looked at them. I know I would have plenty of time later to see it but I couldn't help but be fascinated. I ran my hand along the ever smooth stone and felt something odd. Water...That was weird.
I shook my head and ran to catch up with the others. We followed more and more ruins. The two girls from Earth got so bored they made up a song.
"Over the bridges and through the ruins
To save the fon master we go!
Though many dangers await us,
were sure to kick their butts~!" They chanted all the way down. The fifth time through got Luke to turn around and stick a finger in there face.
"Shut up you two! You're giving me a head ache!" His yells echoed off the ruins alerting whatever was at least 2 miles in front of us. I noticed less and less monsters seemed to appear now.
"Be quiet Luke. The enemy is up ahead." Tear chided.
We arrived in the large clearing where three god generals were waiting. Up at the top of the stairs was Asch, guarding Ion. To his immediate right was Largo and immediate left was Sync. They all looked bored at our less amazing entrance.
"Hello. And good bye. The fon master is in the middle of an important ritual. Leave now." Largo warned calmly.
"Such impudence, coming from the ones who kidnapped the one they're supposed to serve!" Natalia shouted back.
"Everyone..." Ion muttered.
"Keep going..." Sync said to the fon master. He said something else but under his breathe that no one could here except for Ion. The young boy in turn hearing the word shuttered and turned back to the door.
"Sync! Largo! Give Ion back!" Anise demanded.
"I think not. We still have work for him." Sync said rather crisply.
"Then we'll take him back by force!" Luke retorted. I could just imagine the god generals theme song coming on.
"This should be fun. Lets see how much you've grown since I last saw you, cowering on the Tartarus." Largo smirked.
"That's funny, coming from some one who was nearly killed in one shot by Jade." Luke retorted sharply.
This sent Largo into a hysteric of chuckles. "Yeah, well that won't happen again. We won't lose so easily this time, boy."
"Sync the Tempest, God-General of the Oracle Knights, shows no mercy." Sync shouted.
"Neither does Largo the Black Lion. Prepare!" Largo shouted. And like shattered glass the fight started. All of us ran forward except our two archers and two casters, Jade and Tear.
"Your a nuisance, running around like rats." Sync spat deflecting Guy's Void Tempest and then immediately countering Luke's Fang Blade.
"Be quiet!" Tear snapped. "Nightmare!" The god generals became slightly slower and looked as if they were getting hurt slightly. They shook it off in a matter of seconds and continued their advance.
"Your just as much as a nuisance. Kidnapping the fon master." Natalia declared. "Aerial laser!" The arte blew Sync up into the air where he was promptly shot with an arrow. He ripped it out of his arm with a grimace and threw it at Jade. Blaze easily stepped in the way and deflected the arrow.
"Your the ones causing everyone problems." Luke snapped.
"Move Blaze!" Shadow called. Blaze ducked and rolled right as Largo's scythe came down. He fired a blind shot at Largo and jumped further away. "Thanks, Shadow!"
"You've kids got some life in you." Largo yelled gleefully.
"Shut up and stay out of this old man!" Luke shouted. "Rending thrust!" The sword intercepted the scythe which then Luke completed the arte by making a swift uppercut.
"I'm tired of listening to your nonsense. Get out of here or die! Dragon shot!" Sync spat. He charged up energy and punched Luke spiraling upward.
"Hey, that's our line. Begone." Jade said in the middle of his chant.
"You wont take us as easily as last time. Get back unless you want some pain!" Largo roared. The talking was now over and the real battle began.
Sync bounced over to Natalia and immediately started an arcane arte. "Take this! Stone dragon ascent!" He threw Natalia up like a rag doll and moved onto Shadow. She barely had anytime to duck and fire one arrow before his foot came down. Anise whacked Sync away at the last moment to which he just bounced off Tokunaga and ran towards a new target, Jade. Jade saw the speedy boy and in turn finished casting.
"Oh violent torrent! Splash!" The water poured onto the masked boy like a waterfall and pounded him into the his mask managed to stay on, I'll never know. Meanwhile, Raven, Guy, Luke, Tear, and I were busy taking care of Largo. The big man didn't use many artes, but I can see why. His blows hurt like hell if you ever got hit, I know this because he hit me in the forehead with the flat of the blade. I clutched my head and jumped to the back lines.
"Turbulence!" Sync shouted. I became aware there was a rush of third fonons under my feet and ran out of the way. Barreling out of the way at the last second I looked up at the large arte only to see him in front of my smirking. A swift kick to the stomach sent me reeling back, right to where he was again. He's too damn fast! Does he know flash step or something like that. "Reaper's toll!" For the second time that day, he blew me away with some type of fonon. I landed roughly on the gravel, scraping my already battered knees and hands.
"Tear!" I called weakly. I felt the back of my hem being picked up and I swiveled around. Remembering the weapon I possessed I slashed at the hand and Sync abruptly dropped me to avoid an unnecessary amputation. He probably would have done something else but Raven's gun shots made him move away quickly.
"Beast!" Largo called. I heard Raven's painful grunt and the sound of something hitting another thing hard. That had to hurt.
"Fairy Circle!" Warm light came down and started mending my scrapes and wounds. "Thanks Tear!" I immediately sprang up and ran into the FoF left behind. I concentrated in the middle drawing 5th fonons from the dragons mark. With the help of the Wind FoF I learned a nice little arte. Okay so not that little.
"Here we go! Flare Tornado!" Luke and Guy jumped out of the way as a giant ring of fire swept up the god generals and burned their bodies. They fell out after a minute and dropped onto one knee. In three seconds they were back up glaring at Jade and I, probably trying to figure out who did it. Guy didn't allow them to recuperate though. He was upon them like bees to honey.
"Tiger Blade! " He threw Largo with ease into the air before bringing his blade back down. Then jumping back he sent three demon fangs at the two. Sync and Largo got up with little burden making Raven gape.
"What are you?" She cried and shot a flurry of shots at them. I rubbed a bit of dirt that fell on my nose and looked up. The Ruins were shaking. I had to come back into focus when a Cyclone Blaze was unleashed. Running away, Sync missed his mark but immediately spun on his heels and started casting. It took him two seconds flat for him to cast a fairly large turbulence at Jade. Blaze, the protector of the castors, bit his lip and lifted his pendant. Realizing it filled up faster the more blows he landed on something he immediately set out towards Sync.e
Jade countered Sync's arte with the same arte, turbulence, causing a mini hurricane to be unleashed in the ruins. Shadow seemed to soak up the fonons and began firing wind embed arrows. Around this time, Blaze intercepted the youngest god general and began shooting a rapid succession of shots. His moves were still sluggish compared to Sync's and was immediately beat back. Something wasn't right with Blaze. Maybe like Raven and I, he was affected by a certain element. I was always effected by cold and Raven by heat, it wasn't hard to put two and two together. But what was affecting Blaze?
"Star!" I looked at the blond boy. "The mark fills up faster with each hit you land!" He shouted. I winced and smacked my head. Why hadn't I thought of that. They were like TP gauges and TP refilled slowly with every hit. Duh...
"Dragon Tempest!" Guy shouted. He must have stepped into the giant circle of doom. The giant wind FoF to be precise. It caught Largo in its sphere and sliced him with multiple 3rd fonons.
"Raven!" I yelled. "How much of the mark do you have left?" She showed me hers which happened to be almost full. "Get good hits on them! It'll fill up the gauge faster." Any one who decided to listen in on our conversations would be utterly confused.
"I'm not done yet. Pay attention, Stalagmite!" Sync roared. We split up before we were impaled by a giant rock. The swift Tempest was already upon Raven and sent down a drop scissor kick. She jumped back, the guns flinging across the Ruins. At the same time her guns went flying, the kick also broke the ponytail. Her eyes narrowed dangerously and her eye twitched slightly at the sight of her broken ponytail.
"That was my only one! I'll make you pay!" She broke into her martial art stance and lowered her body very close to the ground before taking off at the god general. Sync blinked in surprise as she abandoned her weapons and charged straight at him. They clashed and started landing blows on each other. It would have been amusing to watch but there were other things on hand.
"Negative gate!" Anise casted the arte overhead of Largo. The deadly arte was broken when his sycthe went through the concentration of fonons. He then knocked her off of Tokunaga and parried Guy's Void Tempest in a single stroke. I slipped under his defense after he swung twice into Luke's blade and slashed his stomach. He growled in response and tried to stab me with the end of his scythe. I slid out of the close range by slipping under his wide stance legs.
"Ah!" I looked over to see Tear collapse and the green haired general continue his battle with Raven, who looked furious. "Tear!"
Natalia started to cast something but before she could finish, Largo blew everyone away with Over limit. I breathed heavily and held my throbbing head. These people...were monsters.
"Feel my power! Brimstone Tempest!" I looked up to see Guy and Luke fly up then hit the ground, unconscious. Damn...
I winced and ran toward Tear stealing the wing pack off of Guy. If Tear was alive and conscious, she could use resurrection and heal us. Natalia was a little busy so I knew she wouldn't help that much. Another painful grunt and Raven hit the ground. Sync smirked and wiped a little blood from his lips before turning in my direction and smirking. He stood in between Tear and I and didn't ever look out of breath. Aw, damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it! I couldn't get past him easily.
"Thunder blade!" A blade from the heavens rained down onto the unguarded general. Blaze waved and I nodded. Running past Sync I knelt by Tear and tore out a life bottle and an melange gel. Something grabbed my shoulder roughly and pressed into a pressure point. Usually that never affected me, but this time my shoulders shot up and black edged around my vision. "Stay down and don't get back up..."
"Mieu Attack!" Mieu had ran out of the wing pack and tackled Sync. He blanched in surprise and rolled backwards in an after shock of the attack. I didn't waste any time giving Tear the life bottle and apple gel. She sat up immediately and picked up her staff ready to heal. Sync on the other hand was getting mad. He whacked the small cheagle aside into Luke's unconscious body and ran at Tear and I.
"Pow pow hammer!" Tear shouted, a blush playing on her face. A small cartoon hammer came down and momentarily stunned Sync. Blaze ran around and stood in front of Tear and I raced off towards Luke and Mieu.
I poured the life bottle into Luke's mouth with great difficulty and threw the glass bottle away. Luke sat up and chocked then ate the apple gel that I left behind. I was about to have Guy drink one as well when a shadow passed over me. "Your getting to be a nuisance, reviving everyone." Largo smack me with the flat of the blade sending me into a hard rock wall near Asch and Ion. Ion gasped in shock as I slowly slid down the wall to the floor.
Shadow gasped and fired a barrage of arrows next to Natalia. The arrows showered Largo and Sync like pepper causing them to yowl in pain as silver and ebony embedded itself into their shoulders. Sync shook his out and set a barrage of kicks at Blaze. The young male strained to block them but multiple hit him and he dropped to the ground. Sync jabbed him on his way down in a highly affective pressure point on the chest to make sure he was down for the count.
Jade and Anise grimaced and launched a Negative Gate and a Flame Burst at the same time at the god generals. Sync glared and disappeared in a flash towards the two castors. Largo lumbered over to Jade and met contact with his spear. Sync jumped all around on Tokunaga finally hitting Anise off the back of it when he thoroughly confused her. She wailed, a scream that bounced off all the walls and slid through the gravel unconscious. Jade glanced over only for a split second at the pink clad girl before being overpowered and throw across the room into a pillar. He didn't get back up. Luke ran around in circle, finding Fof and unleashing artes like burning havoc, lightning tiger blade, and coil. Tear did her best to heal everyone but couldn't concentrate enough before Sync would throw a dangerous combo her way. Natalia sent arrow after arrow into the god generals but each time they seemed to move out of the way.
I inclined my head to Asch who was smirking at the destruction while Ion was giving a horrified look. I leaned my head back on the stone and concentrated on trying to get an apple gel. Even at 10 on 2 the god generals were kicking our was too much.. I groaned and held my head. What would it be like to face three of them at the same time? I grabbed the mushy gel and held it to my mouth. I almost ate it but a sword at the throat stopped me. I stared up at Asch who was pointing his black blade at my throat. I gulped and lowered the gel. He nodded and turned back to the battle, keeping one eye on me.
Shadow looked around terrified. She spotted Luke battle ferociously but then was struck down. Tear went next by the one they called Sync and Natalia was hit by a nasty turbulance, knocking her out of the fray. Everyone else was already down. The two god generals turned in her direction and smiled menacingly. She took a step back and clutched her silver bow like it was her life line. They took two steps forwars, she took two steps back. This continued until she bumped into something. Shadow looked down to see Raven looking up at her. Raven smiled weakly and gave the thumbs up before snapping her fingers and murmuring something.
An icicle rain fell from the ceiling and showered down upon them. A torrent of fire came up from the ground after words, making Shadow look at me. I gave her a smile before being thumped on the head roughly by Asch. I bit my lip and continued to watch, gripping consciousness barely. As the god generals got to the peak of the fire and thunder blade came down and struck them both. Shadow looked over to Blaze who gave her a reassuring smile before his head met gravel again.
"I will protect you..." She whispered, looking at each of us. Third fonons swirled in her hand and a wooden flute appeared. "Melody of the wind bring a gentle breeze to this battlefield and take thy enemies away with a savage hurricane! Wind Song!" She blew lightly into the flute and an intricate melody came out. Her fingers moved gracefully over the keys bringing out a harmony that was strangely familiar. It sounded a lot like Faron woods off of LoZ but I wasn't about to say that. A warm wind filled the ruins, healing everyone. The unconscious raised their heads and wounds were mended. On the other hand, the god generals weren't so lucky.
An invisible force swept them up into the sky and hung them there. Sync bawled, thrashing around trying to hit whatever was holding him. Largo was contradicting the wind, trying to propel himself backwards to the ground using beast. It almost worked but not before the arte took its toll. Like a razor wind, blade of wind cut across the two god generals. They cried out in pain and the wind died down. They hit the ground with the thud and tried to get up on one knee. Sync struggled to stand up once more but collapsing onto one knee on the ground again. Largo did not repeat this action but instead was trying to catch his breath. Everyone scattered collecting there lost weapons and sheathing them.
"Didn't see that one coming." Sync muttered. He coughed into the sand
"But how could I?" Largo coughed a bit of blood into his hands and glared at us.
Largo and Sync both fell from there knees to where they had to use all fours to keep themselves up. "Ahh..." Sync cried when he tried to move.
"Argh.." Largos subtle yelp caused Luke to smirk broadly.
"The two of you together STILL couldn't handle them? Pathetic..." Asch snapped. He made a move to run down and I slyly stuck my foot in his path. He missed this action and tripped over it, rolling down the stairs. I snickered when he landed face first into the mud his butt still in the air and Luke laughed his head off.
"Did you see that idiot! He just tripped!" Luke cackled. Sync snickered lightly from the ground before having to clench his stomach in pain. Asch growled and glowered at me before getting up and charging at Luke. They both met with the same moves and unleashed a Fang Blade in unison.
"What? That was one of Master Van's moves! How do you know it?" Luke hissed.
"What are you, stupid? Its because we trained in the same style, idiot." He growled. "How else-"
"Asch stop!" Sync sprang up and held his hand out in front of Asch. I had to give him credit, he sure had stamina and endurance. Especially standing up after getting a beating like that and standing in Asch's way. Bravo Tempest, bravo. "You get carried away when left on your own. Put away your sword. Now!" The ruins shook again but no one seemed to notice. A heavy tension filled the air before Asch finally sheathed his sword. Sync turned and faced the others.
"Lets make a deal. In exchange for ending the fight here, we'll let the fon master go." Sync bargained.
"We wont need any deals if we just wipe you out." Guy said clenching his sword in his hand.
"Don't forget that were standing beneath the desert. We can bury you along with us." Sync threatened.
"We'd die, too, of course, but its a sacrifice we're willing to make." Largo said dangerously. He was now on his feet, scythe in hand.
"Luke lets agree to their offer." Tear said quite calmly. "Right now we need to recover Ion and hurry to Akzeriuth."
Jade sighed. "Were already late by traveling by land."
"Alright. We agree." Luke nodded. Ion and I descended the stairs and walked over to the others under Largo's watchful eyes. When
"Ion! I was worried about you." Anise squealed. She almost hugged him but refrained.
"I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused." He replied. He looked away in shame.
"Mieu, don't worry. It wasn't your fault!" Mieu chirped.
"Turn around and leave this place. If you come back, we really will bury you alive." Sync snapped. Ah, wounded pride.
"I can't stand being ordered around like filth like him." Natalia spat, looking at Sync.
"Lets go, Natalia." Luke shouted.
Raven and Shadow mouthed a 'yes mother~' before following. I almost began walking as well but I felt something rumble beneath my toes. I stood my spot and felt it again. Whatever it was, it was close. I didn't like the feel of it.
"Get going!" Sync barked.
"Don't you any of you feel it?" I asked. They all stopped and gave me an odd look. Even the god generals looked confused...There it was again! It was like standing on a vibrator. Could they not feel it because the soles of their shoes canceled it out?
Another rumble. It was loud this time, and no one could deny it. But, they continued their blank stare. The jade gang shifted uncomfortable now that I was holding them up. "Come on Star..."
"Move girl. Or we will force you." Largo said lowly.
"Idiots gonna be idiots." Sync scowled.
"Its really there! Its right under, maybe above, us!" I shouted. Largo pounded his scythe on the ground like a mallet on a podium. "Get out of here!"
It all happened in a slow three seconds. The sand under my feet rose up, I jumped off, and as soon as I did the giant snake appeared. It was the snake from yesterday, its green scales shimmering in torch lite, and it did not look the least bit happy to see me. In fact it looked enraged. I stared in horror at it and screamed, running towards the god generals. I didn't mean to run towards them but it was kind of the inevitable since it was blocking off my route to the others. I slowed to a stop in between the snake and the defeated generals. They looked happy to see me getting chased and I dared not doubt they wouldn't kill me if I got close. The snake spied the extra people and then a wall. I looked over to see what it was looking at.
The ceiling was dripping with water. Oh god, it wasn't... it was. It slithered up to the top and burrowed into the sandy ceiling. It left a giant hole behind it, in which water spilled out. Both teams gasped in terror as water mixed with sandy making a sandy river. The Zao Ruins turned into a very evil river full of death. The god generals started running down an unknown tunnel as the Jade gang climbed to higher land. I was stuck in the middle sadly and was swept up in the sands towards one of the chasms. Something grabbed my hand right before I plunged over the side though. I was hanging over the edge looking down into a black abyss.
I looked up to see Blaze, Raven, and Shadow holding my arm as they stood on an up raised pillar. The others were safely on an old building a little farther away. The sand made good grip but it also hurt. Wet sand was even worse. I cried out in pain as a large clump dug into my skin. Looking even further up at the ceiling, I saw the one thing I didn't want to see. A loose stalagmite. It wavered under the rumbling and fell. It was like one of those worst cast scenario movies...
"Look out!" I screamed. Too late. The stalagmite hit the raised pillar and snapped it in half. Raven, Blaze, Shadow, and I went plummeting over the edge down, down, down, into the black abyss...
ALL POV:
Sync over looked the edge of the hill on which he stood. Asch and Largo breathed heavily beside him and looked down into the endless river off sand. They were outside the Zao Ruins standing a little ways down from it. It was night, a silver full moon in the sky over looking the desert. It was cold, naturally, but this didn't bother the infamous god generals.
"Lets go Sync." Largo called. He looked back to see Asch already pacing away angry at the failed mission. Sync turned back once more and peered into the sand. Something red flashed by and was caught on a bank to the side, holding onto a rock. He peered curiously at it and went down to it.
"Hey Largo, Asch! Come here!" He called. The two generals stomped down to where the younger was at.
"What?" Asch asked. He even sounded agitated.
"Help me pull this rock up." Sync grabbed the end and started pulling. Largo and Asch gripped either side and helped. The rock wasn't a rock, but a stone pillar. Four people hung onto it, unconscious, but alive. They pried there arms off it then laid them down in the desert sand. The first was the young girl that had first alerted them of the snake. She had midnight black hair down to her shoulders and wore a red sweater dress. The second was another girl with mid length brown hair. Sync recognized her as the one who he had fought earlier. She wore a blue malkuth uniform. The third was a boy with blond hair. He was the one who had protected the castors the whole time. He wore a Kimlascan maids uniform which looked to be quite uncomfortable on a guy. The fourth and final was a girl with raven black hair in a ponytail. The ponytail was anywhere but neat and the hair spiked in a downward direction. She wore a desert turban with a black scarf. all their uniforms were badly scraped and cut in some places.
"Well well, what do we have here?" Largo asked.
"Its those brats from before. I suggest we just leave them here for monster chow." Asch suggested bitterly.
"Asch, you know what Van said. Lets take them with us for now. They might prove useful." Sync picked up the nearest one, Star, piggy back style and started walking towards the Tartarus. Asch grumbled a disapproval before picking up the blond boy, Blaze in a similar fashion. Largo picked up the remaining two girls and slung them over his two shoulders. They grunted as his shoulder jabbed them in the stomach but remained immobile.
Sync looked over his shoulder to see Star's red eyes flicker open for a minute before closing softly.
Haha, finished. Cliff Hanger much? Any ways, I had fun writing this chapter. You can tell who I never really used in my party can't you. Sorry Anise. lol, Jade was kinda ignored too. Sowwie Jade! And Luke, wow I'm mean. My usual party in the game is, Luke, Jade, Tear, and Guy. Natalia and Anise get thrown into the fray if I want to try something different. No sympathy to the others! Which would be Mieu and Ion! XD Anyways, Two chapters next time. Wow, almost as many words as last time...
Skit! For those who merely watched the anime, you missed this. G=guy, T= Tear, L= Luke, N= Natalia, A= Anise, J= Jade.
G: Man I have sand in places I didn't know I had. I could make a sand castle from the sand in my clothes.
T: Yes...I could really use a nice warm shower.
L: Mhmm...Shower...
N: Luke you pervert!
A: I can't believe you think like that!
T: Luke, how could you?
L: What did I do? I've done nothing!
All girls: -chases Luke off and beats him up-
J: Looks like your safe Guy.
G: What?
J: Your drooling.
G: -sweat drops, laughing- Oh...