Hey! This one didn't take seven years to update! Amazing! Of course, this also means I have nothing else to give and I probably should have stuck this chapter with the previous one, but oh well, hindsight and all that.
Hope you guys like Kari and Freya! Neither of them are giving any craps and it just makes both of them more dangerous!
Garnet continued to urge Choco on, determination written all over her face, and she was almost painfully aware of the heat as it began to rise. The hotter it was, the closer they were to the Crystal of Fire, and the closer they were to saving everyone. She had to do it. She could fix this. She could *do it*, and she could do it on her *own*, without Zidane, without *anyone*.
She couldn't keep relying on Steiner, or Zidane, or even Vivi and Amarant. She was the leader of the Dark Warriors, and it time for her to step up and make her mother, her people, her *planet*, proud.
The heat of the crystal was causing her to sweat, and there was a scream from the marilith. She came upon the Crystal room, and Garnet looked at the fight before her. It was... could it be? It was Amarant, in a battle to the death with a lance-wielding Burmecian. The Dark Warrior had his claws out and seemed ready to tear the poor knight apart...
"Amarant Coral, by the power vested in me by the Crystals of Darkness..." Garnet shouted in such a booming voice that even the screaming Kari silenced her battle to give pause, "You will halt your assault this very moment!"
Amarant flinched and whirled to face the infuriated leader of the Dark Warriors, his face completely incredulous. "...You... But how... how did you...!?" He wasn't able to finish his sentence, however, as Fratley drew his lance back and thrust it forward, straight into the Dark Warrior's side. Garnet let out a shout and nearly fell off of Choco as she rushed forward.
"Amarant! No!" she shouted, reaching out, and Fratley glanced at her for less than a moment before he let out a shout of his own to grant him a little extra strength. With all of the power he possessed, he managed to drag Amarant with the lance before throwing the Dark Warrior off of his weapon and into Garnet, knocking both the monk and the princess to the floor. Fratley drew down into a battle stance and pointed the lance low to the ground. "Stay away, monsters of Dark! You shall not approach the Crystal of Fire as long as I live!"
Garnet ignored him for now; as long as he wasn't attacking, she had to make sure that she stabilized the bleeding Dark Warrior. "Amarant..." she murmured, pushing him against a wall and adding pressure to his wound, trying to keep the blood from flowing too quickly, "Mend him. Knit him. Regenerate him."
"How did you..." Amarant coughed, and a trickle of blood dripped down his chin and beard. He let out a small, pained gasp as Garnet pushed harder and sent waves of healing pulses into his being. He looked at her bloodied hands before drawing his eyes to her sweating, concentrating face, "get here so quickly...?"
"Why didn't you hurt anyone else...?" she asked in reply, her eyes looking up to search his, "You ignored the Burmecians. I thought you wanted..."
Amarant looked into her eyes, and his countenance drew down into a deep frown. "The monsters would have finished them off anyway... I bet your 'pet' saved them though."
Well, Garnet supposed that he could have found a worse name for Steiner, honestly, "They aren't the enemy, Amarant. Even you know that, deep down." Why else would he avoid hurting innocents?
"Then why are there so many monsters...?" He grumbled and looked down at his nearly closed wound. The princess pulled her hands back and turned to look at Fratley, who seemed to be wearing a face of unbelief, "This is their comeuppance, this is what they *deserve* after what they did to us."
Garnet looked at Fratley, who barely shifted his stance to one of slight relief. "How... does a monster of the Dark gain the ability to cast white magic?"
The princess smiled up at him, gently, kindly. "We Gaians are just full of surprises, aren't we?" Her countenance caused Fratley to flinch again, too surprised at her kindness to continue his assault. They then heard Freya shouting from behind him, and the Burmecian whirled around.
"Just wait here then, and don't come near the Crystal! I have bigger things to worry about." He then jumped off, leaving Garnet alone with the groaning, still pained Amarant.
She returned to healing him a bit more, and he looked up at her, his eyebrows knit in anger. "You're defending this crystal, aren't you? You'd destroy, abandon, Gaia for that monkey?"
Garnet looked into his eyes, "I still believe that there is some way to save both worlds. We've been fighting for all this time, but we've survived in some sort of balance. We can..."
Amarant dropped his head and turned away, ignoring her words from then on; the princess huffed and stood up, looking at the place where the Burmecians were fighting, and she took a deep breath before she took a step forward. "I... I made a mess of things. I let everyone else do everything for me. I waited for Zidane to handle everything for me, and... I'll fix things. I'll make up for all the problems I've caused, I swear!" She then walked forward, ignoring the groaning Dark Warrior. Kari stopped to look at the woman, who began to chant.
"O Mistress of the Cold, Lady of Frost, One Tied to the Crystal of Water, I beseech thee!" Garnet prayed deeply, hoping desperately for a miracle: "Shiva! Come to me, I plead!"
Kari curled her serpentine tail around herself as the room began to get unbearably cold, despite the heat of the River of Life. A snowstorm appeared and Lady Shiva arrived, floating daintily before the marilith. The summoned monster glared at Kari, who laughed out loud. "You're still at the Crystals' beck and call? My beloved, this is *asinine*. You deserve so much better...! *We* deserve so much more!"
Shiva said nothing. The icy dust flew around her, and the River of Life threatened to "freeze" into igneous rock. Kari continued to laugh, although it soon turned into a burble as a river of magma erupted from her mouth, and the marilith used it to throw a ball of magma at the Ice Queen. Shiva created a wall of ice, which stopped the magma and the two melted and cooled in unison. Shiva looked up as another ball zoomed at her, but she was too late to create another wall, and she screamed in pain as the ball came into contact with her nigh absolute-zero skin. Her hands covered the splattered magma on her stomach, and the diamond dust froze it into a rock and then an icy ball, permanently etched into her skin.
Kari giggled, the fire still trickling down her chin like a child who had spewed up fruit juice. "Are you still angry about my fling with Ifrit? I wouldn't peg you as the jealous type, although I guess you give everyone the 'cold shoulder'...!"
Shiva charged forward, her ice preparing to seal Kari away into an icicle statue. The marilith dodged out of the way and sliced with her rock scimitars, and the two were locked in a battle to the death. The Fiend of Fire was as slippery as, well, a snake, and all she needed was to grab one of Shiva's wrists. The marilith had six hands, and it was easy to grapple with the summoned monster. Shiva struggled as she felt Kari's snake body coil around her and squeeze tight. "Time for one last dance, right, dear...?"
Shiva hissed, her breath coming out icy, and Kari shuddered under the cold. She raised her scimitars, her entire body burning with cold, and she suddenly realized that Shiva was freezing her tail solid. With a sudden, horrified shout, she tried desperately to escape, but she was now bound to her lover's body.
She glared at Shiva, who said nothing as she radiated cold, and Kari had no choice but to strike at her own tail, shattering it and releasing her from her prison. She crawled away desperately from Shiva, who zoomed off to another corner of the room. She cast one last plaintive look at Kari before sliding into the ice that had been forming along the sides of the walls, and she disappeared into the ice.
Fratley nearly fell backwards to the floor, completely unaccustomed to the time stop associated with summoning. Was that what power Summoners had...? Could one mortal even possibly be able to handle that much power...?
Freya and Fratley took a few steps back, away from the screaming marilith. Kari clutched at her stump and spewed magma in rage. "You little... How dare you! My beautiful..." She turned and her eyes immediately fell on the Dark Warrior. Garnet was clutching her stomach at the same location Shiva had gotten hurt, and she had no energy to move. Kari surged forward, using two of her hands to propel herself forward to slice Garnet apart...
...A broadsword blocked the scimitar and held her fast. Steiner growled and shoved back on her. "No one. *No One*. Harms my lady!"
"Steiner!" Garnet shouted, her eyes shining brightly as the Dark Knight kept Kari in one place. He growled as he reached out and grabbed at one of her wrists, and he grappled with her, trying to hold her in one location...
"You fool! You cannot stop me!" Kari raised her additional swords...
But forgot that there were two Dragon Knights behind her. They jumped in unison, and together, they dropped straight into her, both of their lances piercing her back. She let out a pained, horrified scream. "No! It's not! That can't be...! Not yet; not until... I set her... free..." Steiner took a step back as she flopped forward, her six arms dropping her weapons and reaching out pleadingly at the Dark Warrior, "Shiva... ...please..."
Desch watched a little ways away as the marilith finally, slowly, breathed her last. Steiner whirled around and was grabbed by his princess, who snuggled him close.
"Thank you, Steiner! You..."
Steiner lifted the woman straight into the air, hugging her back. "My lady! You're speaking! My lady!" He wailed into her ear, and Garnet might have found it annoying if she weren't so used to it already. He began to cry in relief, holding his princess like she was the last woman on the planet, "To hear your dulcet tones, I could die a happy man!"
"Please don't die yet, Steiner..." she said softly in reply, placing a hand on his helmet before looking at the Terrans. Desch had been moving towards the Burmecians, who immediately began asking what was going on.
"The seal was broken by a vampire in the Water Temple," Desch replied, trying to speak up over the knight's wailing, "These Dark Warriors saved me and the leader of the Light Warriors. They're... We can trust them, Lady Freya. Please believe me."
"You expect me to put any amount of faith in a Dark Warrior?" Freya hissed, and it was then that Steiner immediately set Garnet down and whirled around to protect her just in case things came to a head.
"Not expected...!" Desch said quickly, moving between the Dark and Light Warriors, "Just, hoping. Lady Freya, please. My name is Prince Desch of Lindblum. Burmecia and Lindblum have been allies for centuries. For my peoples' sake, consider staying your hand..."
Freya's nostrils flared at the prince, and she looked up to snort at the Gaians. She raised a clawed hand and clacked her gauntlet together. Sir Fratley was immediately at her side. "Get these Dark stinking monsters out of Burmecia, immediately." She then shouldered her lance.
Fratley watched as she began moving towards the exit, and he cocked his head. "Of course, my lady, but uhm... where are you going...?"
"Where else? To Canaan Valley. I need to make sure the seal on the Crystal of Wind doesn't collapse." Freya turned to glare at Fratley, "Tiamat was the strongest of the Four Fiends. I need to destroy her quickly, before she gets strong enough to really pose a threat. You may stand around and lick each others' wounds, but I will not associate with Dark smelling *monsters*." The others watched as she spat and then sped down the tunnels with a well aimed (horizontal) jump.
Steiner edged very slowly to Garnet's side. "...Was I really that bad about the Light...?" he asked, which made the princess giggle into her hand with a nod.
"But first, we need to talk to Amarant and make sure he's okay," Garnet said. She looked at Fratley, whose brain seemed to have shut down.
"Lady Freya. Lady Freya, you just... left us all alone..." he said, disbelief apparent in his tone. "What did we do to deserve her abandoning us?"
Desch shrugged softly, "Fiery people tend to be pretty passionate about things, even if we don't think it makes much sense... maybe she just needs some time to cool down after a century long nap." He watched as Garnet approached the groaning Amarant, and he looked up at the princess...
Steiner lightly brushed Garnet aside, grabbed the Dark Warrior, lifted him easily from the floor, and slammed him against the wall of the tunnel. "Where. Is. Master Vivi?" Amarant let out a soft, wheezy laugh, and Garnet backed up in fear when Steiner slammed him again, "Answer the question, you festering boil of pus and vitriol!"
"What are you doing!?" Desch cried, and Fratley drew up his lance, prepared to attack if Steiner went on a rampage after dealing with the other Dark Warrior.
Amarant ignored the other two and looked up at Steiner, "I told him... He had to be able to keep up with me if he wanted to stand by my side," Amarant replied, hanging on to Steiner's gauntlet and spitting out a wad of blood, "We stole a boat outside of the temple, but on the way to these rat infested tunnels, a squall blew up and knocked the Black Mage overboard." The monk sneered at the Dark Knight as Steiner's face began to turn red, "What would you have me do, lose both of us to save the little shit? He couldn't even hang on well enou-"
Steiner let out a scream and slammed Amarant to the floor. The knight lifted his hand, preparing to beat the monk black and blue, but Garnet was there, taking his arm and bringing him back into reality. "Steiner, we need him. You can't, please, Steiner!"
"You monster! You are worse than the monsters of Light! Master Vivi was innocent of everything, and you...!"
"Steiner, *please*!" Garnet shouted, her voice breaking to keep from crying. "We need all of the Dark Warriors. We *need* him!"
Fratley opened his mouth, but Desch held out his hand and shook his head. "We'll be out of your hair soon, sir knight. However, this needs to be resolved by them. Don't worry, please." The dragon knight turned to the prince and finally loosened his grip on his lance.
Amarant, meanwhile, let out a chuckle as Steiner let out one more roar and slammed his fist into the ground next to the monk's head. It was clear the dark knight was *not* in the mood for this man's attitude. "I knew it," the redhead said, "You only searched for me because I'm a Dark Warrior..."
"The only reason you're *alive* is because you're a Dark Warrior," Steiner insisted, standing up. "But we didn't even come here for you. We came for the Fire Crystal. You're just a *bonus*." The last word was spat out, as if he didn't believe for a second that finding Amarant could ever be considered fortunate. He then grabbed at Amarant before he could respond, hefted him up with a grunt, and tossed him over his shoulder. "W-well then... where to next, my lady?"
Garnet looked at Amarant, who found that perhaps it was best to just rest up and not fight the screaming, raging pile of Dark Knight. The princess almost turned to look at Desch and ask for his opinion, but she was the leader of the Dark Warriors. She had to be confident in her decisions...! She sighed and curled up in indecision, despite her decision to act contrary to her current feelings, "P-perhaps we should continue our hunt for the fiends."
"The Crystal of Wind is on this continent, in the Valley of Canaan," Desch spoke up, shrugging softly, "Lady Freya is on the way there now, though, and she didn't seem very happy about working with us... perhaps we should ask for some help..." He thought for a moment, and... "Say... the Ancients live on this continent too..."
"Do you think Zidane might be there?" Steiner asked. Amarant scoffed at their reliance on the Light, but Steiner's gut jab to his wound shut the Dark Warrior up right quick, "We should do what we can to find Master Vivi, as well."
Garnet nodded, "If Vivi got hurt... he's the Warrior of Wind, and Tiamat *was* indeed the leader of the first Dark Warriors..."
"If Tiamat gained the power of the Crystal of Wind..." Desch began, suddenly realizing just how high the stakes were, "I don't think there's a thing any of us can do. She was practically godlike in her power."
"We'll do something," Steiner said gruffly, walking on towards the exit, "We cannot afford to falter."
Garnet opened her mouth, but decided that it wasn't so bad to let other people take control once in a while. She just had to make sure she didn't let them down when they needed her. She looked back at Desch, and he smiled in reply.
"Well then, 'your majesty'," the engineer prince said, jogging up to Garnet's side, "Shall we be off?"
Oh, right, she should probably explain a little bit on the Nautilus...
...As the Dark Warriors left, Sir Fratley watched them with vested interest, happy to know that they were gone before he had to kick them out; Lady Freya had wanted them out of Burmecia, but he wasn't sure just how he was going to be able to.
...Lady Freya! She left without him, her bodyguard! The young rat immediately whirled around to collect his things, hoping he could catch her before she went to go face-to-face with the Queen of Dragons.
In the Valley of Canaan, the beautiful Crystal of Wind watched the winds that blew down the mountains, picked them up, and then drew them in different directions, sending the cold winds towards the north and sending a particularly hot one towards the desert of the southwest. The crystal suddenly groaned as the seal it held began to rip and tear at the seams, and the crystal cried out to the Warrior of Light for help. "The wind... the seal is breaking...! Help. We need help...!"
A sudden tornado whipped up with the crystal in its eye, and it rose up hundreds of feet into the sky. Then, ominously, a dark shadow descended the eye, and a giant, five-headed beast landed on the crystal, wrapping her huge digits around the crystal's figure before hopping to the floor. The wind died down, although it seemed to swirl around the Tiamat, Fiend of Wind and Queen of Dragons, who let out a barking laugh from all of her cruelly shaped heads. "Freedom, at last!"
The five heads immediately spoke among each other, like a person who talked to themself to collect their thoughts. "Who shall we devour first?" the green head asked.
"Perhaps we should rest and regain our strength," the blue one suggested.
The white one had other plans. "Let us find the other Fiends!"
The black one snapped at the white. "A coward's plan. Let's destroy everyone who sealed us away! These mortals deserve nothing but death!"
"No..." the red began softly, craning her neck towards the sky, "We have lost the crystal's blessing and must regain it. Where is the Dark Warrior?"
All of the heads moved in unison and stared at the sky to the east. "...Very well. Let us go." And with her decision made, she jumped off into the sky, the wind blowing under her wings and giving her unnatural lift. She was soon gone, in search of the Dark Warrior of the Wind.
Awww yesss, I was waiting to reveal Tiamat. Each of her colored head is supposed to represent a different chromatic dragon, as she was "queen" of them all. Each one blows a different elemental breaths, so good luck trying not to get burned, electrocuted, frozen, acid-ed, and chlorined all at once.
I feel almost sad that Kari was defeated here. I noticed that there was a Hindu goddess named Kali, and she is usually portrayed in western media as evil, despite the fact that she was Shiva's consort and the *healing and rebirth* part of the "death and rebirth" thing that Shiva was all about. Poor Kali, no one will ever understand you.
As a result, however, I made it so that Shiva and Kari here were lovers, as Shiva and Kali are as well. Kari's "one last dance" line is a reference to the fact that Kali tended to be portrayed in pictures as dancing upon Shiva's chest and stomach. Just some stuff I wanted to throw out there; it's not really all that important to the story.