Author's Note: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII-2 or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.
The next part of the Wildlands has come, and I hope you're all ready! Glad to see that so many of you are enjoying the story (it makes me feel all fuzzy inside) and know that I shall not let you all down! So here's the latest chapter and replies!
Rsdk525: Yes, these next couple of chapters shall be rich with sidequests (seeing as the Wildlands has them up to here) but once the chocobos have been fully healed, the main quest will go on.
Gry18: I can actually see that happening with. I'll have to implement it when I get to that point. As for parts of the Chaos being loyal to Etro… I'll have to see about that. Might not do the OC villain (already got Uried) but as for the rest I am intrigued.
ImReallyShort: Well, I'm happy to see that you liked both my Final Fantasy 13 and Kingdom Hearts stories enough to review them. Thanks.
SolidSamurai233: Well, it might be a short while, considering that the chocobos have to be healed. But once that is done, things will definitely be heating up.
Devil-l'Cie: You needn't worry; I'm glad that you review period. And I thank you for your kind words.
And Guest: They are indeed.
And now, may the next chapter begin!
Ch.25 New Fighting Partners
It was with great hesitation that Lightning and I made our way into Canopus Farms. I wondered how exactly to break the news to Sarala about her father, Cole. I had never had to break such news to someone before, and from the looks of things I could see that Lightning hadn't either. If a Guardian Corps soldiers fell in the line of duty, it was never her assignment to let the family know. Well, now something similar was.
We stepped into the farm, and Lightning said "Sarala." The redhead stood and turned, seeing the bags of fertilizer. She smiled. "Oh, hello? Is that fertilizer from the woods? Thanks! Does that mean you met Father?" she asked. I sighed. "Sarala, we've got some… bad news," I said. Sarala looked at me curiously. And with that, we told her what the guy in the woods had told us, word for word. By the time we were done, Sarala's face was covered in shock and devastation. Slowly it gave way to misery, and I winced at the sight.
"Oh… no! Please, not that!" she pleaded. Lightning nodded. "He left a message before he died. His last words were 'Dig next to the flower'," she told her. Sarala gasped. "T-The flower?" she repeated, before turning and grabbing a shovel. She ran for what looked like a bush instead of flower, and stabbed the shovel into the ground. After a few minutes of digging, the shovel hit something that did not sound like dirt, and Sarala stopped. Grasping the item and pulling it out of the ground, she blinked in confusion. "A box?" she said, examining it.
There was a switch on the front, and when she turned it the box flipped open, revealing a letter. Sarala set the box down and unfolded the letter, which was from her father. 'Sarala, my dearest daughter. If this letter has found its way into your hands, it breaks my heart, but you shall not see me again. I pray that you'll forgive me, but I could not bring myself to say these words to you in person. Now, I want you to know this. The vegetables we grow are the finest in the Wildlands. Everyone who tastes them agrees. Do you know why, my dearest daughter? Because of you- you are the one that tends them! It's all thanks to you.
'Once I am dead, the farm passes to you. It is yours to do with as you please. I ask only one thing of you. You know the flower that I looked after, the one that never blooms? Please, promise me that you'll look after it, keep it safe. This is my last request to you. There will be no more after this. Farewell, Sarala, my dearest daughter,' the letter read.
By the time Sarala was finished reading, she was sobbing audibly. "Oh, Dad…" she said. I looked on sadly, and asked "Are you alright?" Slowly, she nodded. "Yes. Thank you both for everything. For telling me the truth. Father stayed here on the farm, not because he liked it, but because he didn't want to leave me alone. He always wanted to leave… To leave this place, and go on a journey," she told us. Lightning raised an eyebrow. "A journey?" she asked. Sarala nodded. "Yes, to find my mother. She disappeared a long time ago, but he believed that she was alive. And he thought I held him back," she said, her tone turning bitter at the end.
I crossed my arms. "You shouldn't think like that," I told her. She frowned angrily. "But it's true. Look what he wrote in the letter. It's all about that stupid flower that never even blooms. He practically comes out and says that he doesn't care what happens to me. As long his precious flower is safe!" she said. Lightning was confused, and asked "What kind of flower is it?" "Oh, who cares? He was obsessed with it, you know. Always fussing over it! And it never even bloomed once!" she shouted.
As if by a twist of fate, at that exact moment the flower that Sarala had dug near began glowing. The light grew until we were forced to close our eyes. Once it faded though, all three of us gasped to see that the un-blooming flower had burst into an array of beautiful flowers. "What?!" Sarala breathed, shocked. We heard another gasp behind us and turned to see a blonde woman with eyes wide in amazement. "It is! It really is! I've finally found it! Unbelievable!" she said in awe. I narrowed my gaze. "Who are you?" I asked.
She glanced at me before focusing back on the flower. "My names is Cornelia, a biologist. But who cares who I am? Behold! The Sarala rosa, genus Muncius! The flower of legend, said to bloom once every 500 years!" Cornelia exclaimed, waving at hand at the flower. I blinked, and Sarala echoed what I had been saying "What? Sarala?" Cornelia nodded. "Yes, yes. Sarala rose Muncius. In the ancient tongue, it means 'For the love of my daughter'. The legend says that any place it blooms will be blessed with great fortune and prosperity- forever! I must leave you now and write my paper before my rival beats me to it. Good-bye, and good luck!" she said, before running off.
We watched Cornelia leave. Once she was gone, Lightning turned to face Sarala. "Sarala. Hmm… He must have named you after that flower. For good luck… and prosperity," she said. Sarala nodded, smiling as tears of joy spilled. "Yes. Oh, Dad…" she said. Unbeknownst to her, we could see her soul rise from her body, before flying and entering Lightning's chest. We were silent as Sarala let it all out, and once she was done she smiled at us. "Thank you for all that you've done. Here, we had some Gysahl Greens left for emergencies. Take them," she said, walking inside and coming back out with them.
We took the Greens and thanked Sarala, before leaving and heading for Dr Gysahl's office. Outside we found the Angel and Demon of Valhalla still lying there, and we moved closer to feed them the supplies we had gathered. Once we were done, both chocobos shuddered. Then the Angel stretched and the Demon moaned… and then they both began standing. My eyes widened and I began stepping closer. But the Demon fixed me with a flat stare, and I paused. Slowly, they both stood to their full height, and as one cawed in victory.
"Whoa, easy there," Lightning said. Dr Gysahl chuckled. "Such a resilient animal!" he commented. I looked at him. "Will they be alright?" I asked. "Hmm… let's see," he said. Coming closer, the doctor slowly placed his hand on the Angel before applying pressure a various areas. It was when he did so over his wings and sides that the Angel squawked in pain, and glared down at the doctor. He backed off and repeated the process with the Demon, getting the same results from her. "Yes, I'd say their much better. Healthy enough to be ridden, I'd say," he reported.
I looked at him for confirmation, and he smiled. "They're both on their way to a complete recovery. But you'll need to keep an eye on them for a while. I must say, they are truly are a pair of splendid specimens," he said. We both looked at him, seeing that he had his hands clasped and with a happy smile on his face. "I've spent hundreds of years caring for chocobos… and I feel as if it were all for preparing for this moment. Thank you," Dr Gysahl said. And just as with Sarala, his body glowed before his soul emerged from his body, and moved into Lightning's.
I smiled at seeing another soul saved, and we left the doctor with the healed chocobos. Looking up at the Demon, and smiled. "You know, in all this time, I don't think we gave them names," I pointed out. Lightning smiled, petting the Angel and getting him to coo. "I guess not. So, what are you going to name your steed?" she questioned. I as silent for a moment, thinking, before I looked into the eyes of the Demon of Valhalla. She looked back curiously, and I said "Regnuma. That's what I'll name her." Lightning smiled. "The name of your Eidolon? Okay, then I'll name mine Odin," she said.
The Angel of Valhalla cawed at that, seemingly pleased with the name. Regnuma leaned down and rubbed her head against my arm affectionately. I smiled at her and ran a hander through her feathers. "Well, if we can let them stretch their legs, why don't we?" I said. Getting the idea, Regnuma lowered down to where I could climb onto her back, and I did with. Lightning copied the action with Odin, and at that moment Hope came onto the comm link. "While I'm glad that you two managed to revive the chocobos, they'll need to be at full strength in order to make it to the temple. Aryas Village, to the south, has been known for having a large population. Maybe they'll have some supplies," he said.
"Well, then I guess that's our next destination," I said, and urged Regnuma south. She cawed happily and took off, racing across the landscape with Lightning and Odin right behind. However, along the way we heard a roar and several, and looked to see a quartet of Miniflan that were being chased by a Reaver. The Reaver roared again and bounded after them, while the flan's usually blank expression were filled fear. I turned to see Lightning looking at me, and I nodded. Without another word, we urged our steeds in the direction of the Reaver.
Seeing us approach made the massive beast pause. The Miniflan had no such hesitation, and zipped right past us. Just as well; they didn't need to be part of this fight. Lightning and I jumped off of our ides and drew our weapons. The Reaver glared at the four of us, and growled low in its throat. In response, Lightning and I moved into fighting stances while Odin and Regnuma crouched low to the ground, ready to shoot forward if need be.
Then, with a battle cry, the Reaver charged at us. Quickly I cast Debrave on it before rolling out of the way of a claw swipe, while Lighting cast Deprotect, Deshell and began working on Poison. However, she soon found at that the spell was ineffective, and switch to Black Mage. The Reaver charged at her and snapped its fangs, nearly catching her. But Lightning jumped into the air and cast Rapid Fire, pelting the beast with fireballs while the force of each casting propelled her backwards. The Reaver snarled and was about to charge at her while she descended, but I got in the way and used Heavy Guard. The move completely blocked, and it growled at me before lowering its head to the ground.
Before I could react the beast used Heave, swinging its head upwards and slamming the blade on the top of its head into my shield. I was sent flying into the air, nearly cleaved in two by the blow. Lightning moved to catch me but had to instead block and tackle from the Reaver, skidding back across the ground as it tried to bowl her over. Regnuma charged and slashed at the Reaver's side with her claws, also cast Deprotect and trying to deal enough damage to divert its attention. The tactic worked, as the Reaver switched targets from Lightning to her. But then Odin cast Bravery on himself and charged from the other side, stabbing his beak into the beast's flank.
The Reaver roared and swung its spiked tail, hitting Odin and driving it back. Then it lowered its head at Regnuma, preparing to use Heave again. I groaned as it tried to sit up from where I landed on the ground, both my back and the rear of my head throbbing. But get up I did, and just in time to see what the Reaver was trying to do. Without waiting I switched to White Mage and cast Thundara, making several bolts of lightning rain down on it. The beast stopped, partly paralyzed by the shock before turning and focusing on me.
It growled in annoyance and charged, ready to knock me back down. But like I did before, Lighting got in the middle. She reapplied Deprotect and Deshell before switching to her Miqo'te garb and hitting it with Magic Slash. The dual nature of the attack, combined with both status ailments, dealt enough damage that the Reaver took a step back, and Odin and Regnuma were right behind it. They both cawed and cast Thunder and Fire respectively, hitting it with two elements of magic at once. The Reaver swung its tail again, but when that failed it took and charged at them.
Before they could move out of the way, the Reaver's massive bulk crashed into both of them. The two chocobos were forced onto the ground, where the Reaver raised a claw to finish them off. But then Lightning aimed Endless Paradox at the beast and cast Firespark, letting loose a bolt of lightning and a fireball at the same time. While she did this, I switched to Sohei Savior and coated Treasure Hold in ice, before charging. Once I was close enough, I spun in a circle and called "Ice Blitz!" Both of our attacks hit at once, blasting the Reaver and sending it away from Odin and Regnuma.
While the two chocobos were picking themselves up, the Reaver glared at us in primal rage. Its body began blowing bright blue, and we could hear bones and muscles snap as tear as they reorganized themselves. The Reaver rose onto two legs and used what were now hands to grasp the blade on the top of its head and spine. With a grunt it ripped it off, giving the newly bipedal Reaver a massive sword it use. I groaned as I also saw that the transformation had given the beast the Regen effect, slowly healing its wounds.
Knowing that we now had to injure it faster than it could recover, I reapplied Debrave before charging and casting Thundara and Quick Ruin. Lighting did the same with Deprotect and Deshell, before going back and forth between Rapid Fire and Quick Freeze. Odin and Regnuma also added on with both of them casting Aero and physical attacks. The Reaver flung its free hand at Lightning and cast Aero, firing a ball of flames that exploded on impact. Lightning gritted her teeth from the head, and pulled out a Potion before drinking it.
The burns healed somewhat and Lightning charged, swinging Jikishinkage. The Reaver blocked the hit with its Shard Blade, and I came in from the other side with Death Herald. It actually caught the axe with its free hand and shoved me away, before swinging its tail at Odin and Regnuma to keep them back. Then it jumped into the air above us, pointing its blade downwards. Our eyes widened and Lighting and I quickly raised our shields, while the chocobos moved away. The Diving Strike impacted with the ground and sent out a massive shockwave, nearly knocking us over despite our guard.
The Reaver seemed to smirk and swung at me, actually bending my Pendragon shield at angle from them blow. It didn't break, thankfully, and I took the chance to focus and activated Divine Strength. At the same time, Lightning recast Deprotect and Deshell one more time before activating Overclock. While Lightning rushed in and began attacking with blistering speed, I ran at the Reaver. Seeing me as the slower-moving target, and therefore the easier-to-hit one, it swung at me. I took some satisfaction in its shocked expression when I dropped Death Herald and caught the blade with my gloved hands.
With a shout I pulled and actually ripped the Shard Blade out of its hand, flipping it over and wielding it myself. The sight of its weapon having been stolen and turned against it enraged the beast, and it roared in fury. But Lightning shut it up by cast Firespark three times, aiming right for its open mouth. The bolts of lightning and fireballs went right in, burning the inside of its maw and zapping the nerves. It snapped its mouth shut, eyes huge with shock and agony. Then I swung the Shard Blade and, with enhanced strength, severed its right leg. It roared again, this time in pain, and Odin hit its other foot with Fire, and did the same with Blizzard.
The Reaver fell over, and Lightning blurred into focus atop its chest. Holding Endless Paradox, she swung down and stabbed the spear into its forehead. The beast went stiff, and weakly tried to reach for her before its hand fell back against the ground, dead. Lightning pulled her sword back out and jumped off as the beast faded away, and I smirked. Spinning the Shard Blade around before placing it on my back, I could feel the Divine Strength ability come to an end. Knowing to take it easy and letting my body have time to recover, I stood straight and walked over to Regnuma, climbing on. Lightning did the same and climbed onto Odin.
Smiling down at her steed, she said "These two are pretty good partners, huh?" I looked at my own chocobo and smiled as well. "Yeah, I guess they are," I replied. Both Odin and Regnuma cawed when we patted the feathers, and began moving again for Ayras Farms.
The Angel and Demon of Valhalla have been revived! What will it take to get them at full strength though, and what will happen when that occurs? Stay on board to learn the answers!
Also, this is something I felt you all should know. Because during the summer I am with my mother on the weekdays (who has no internet) and my father on the weekends (who does have internet), that means that for the length of the summer I will only be able to update on weekends. Sorry if this upsets you, but know that I will still write in the meantime regardless.
Please review! If you flame me Bruce Lee will smash you with his nunchaku. (I'm just kidding… or am I?)