Chocobo 1: "Wark."
Chocobo 2: "Wark?"
Chocobo 1: "Waark warkawarrk."
Chocobo 2: "Warrrka!"
Chocobo 3: "Kweh!"
Chocobo 1 & 2: . . .
Chocobo 1: "Get the heck out of here, freak."
I was introduced to Final Fantasy through IX, and for a long time was under the impression that all chocobos say "kweh!" Let this be a lesson for the next time you run across a chocobo: they are very offended by that misconception and will kick you. Be careful.
Let's hope Alex and the gang know how to handle chocobos.
Their goal now was to find a chocobo. After the near-deadly encounter with the zolom, the four of them had stared to the north, where the land was much scarcer and the water deeper. The team kept their eyes open for the robots they still needed to disarm, but there was no way they would make it to the far end of the swamp, to their goal, on foot. Not with zolom in the water waiting to devour the unsuspecting.
After searching the area they had found a cluster of gysahl greens under the shade of a large poplar. They took a handful and placed them in Flynn's pack, hoping they could win a chocobo's trust with its stomach. Not one of them had ever ridden a chocobo, but hopefully the chocobo wouldn't mind a few feathers being pulled out in exchange for a treat.
The group walked around the swamp hoping to run into a chocobo. They did pass a few other Initiates and exchanged counts of robots killed. No one else seemed to have set their sights on chocobos, or if they did they weren't giving the secret away. Soon after parting with one group Alex's ears caught a faint humming in the air.
"It sounds like another robot."
"Do you see it?"
They searched the surrounding area, but there was no sign of the robot, despite the loud humming that now everyone could detect.
On a hunch, Alex looked up and sure enough there was a robot above her, stuck in the limbs of a tree. It was making the branched shake occasionally as it tried to free itself in little jerking motions. "There it is!"
"How the heck did it get up there?"
"Who cares, we just need to pick it off," replied Stark, who was already preparing to shoot. He fired four times, and afterwards Alex tried, but neither could find the right angle for a critical hit that would destroy it. Flynn attempted to scale the tree but was unsuccessful. The robot was too high up.
"Maybe we should just leave it and find another," offered Alex when all other ideas seemed impossible.
"Why don't you use your Lightning materia," said Kitz.
"…Are you sure?" She didn't like the sound of firing a spell she wasn't familiar with up in the air. It was lightning, after all. What would stop the charge from coming back down and frying them?
"You have to get it close enough that the robot will short-circuit," said Flynn. "That should get the job done."
"Just let one of the big boys do it, if you're nervous," Stark mockingly added.
Alex pushed him out of the way to get into a better position. Maybe a little shock would be good for Stark's attitude, she thought to herself as she raised the materia in line with the trapped robot.
Her arm vibrated a little as the bolt of electricity left the orb. It hit the branch above the robot, and then the lightning burst into a wave of energy that struck the robot and made it self-destruct in turn. The group was about to celebrate their success when a dozen or so blue, legless caterpillar creatures a foot long fell out of the trees and atop their heads.
Alex shrieked as she whipped the huge bug out of her hair and then shot a bullet straight through its body, leaving a splattering of guts and goo. Most of the creatures hadn't died from the lightning and were squirming on the ground all around them. Stark stomped on one but the thing arched over and sank its teeth into his shin before falling over dead. He grimaced in disgust at the stain on his boots and resorted to using his pistol for the others. Flynn also was trying his hardest to kill the bugs, though Kitz was simply using his rod to push them to the side of the path where they could climb back up the tree.
"Uggh, that was so gross."
"Nice going with the lightning," said Flynn. Alex smacked his shoulder and he chuckled. "Well, at least you got the robot." He walked a few steps to the bank of the water and picked up a piece of the robot's outer cover, which had fallen out of the tree along with the caterpillars.
"I don't see why we have to destroy these things," said Stark, who was staring angrily at the singed metal. There was a bit of a strain in his voice, and he gave her a challenging glare when Alex looked at him. Did Stark have a fear of bugs, or something?
"Most Shinra-made robots send data wirelessly when they're destroyed. I suppose these are sending video feed of our attacks back to the academy," answered Kitz. Alex had no doubt what he said was true. That meant they really did have to find two more before they could leave the swamp, or else their instructors would know they hadn't completed the mission.
First things first, Alexa reminded herself. Finding a chocobo would be a bigger challenge than two robots.
xxxxx
Twenty minutes of walking later Kitz interrupted with an exclamation. "The Chocobo Lure is responding!"
Sure enough, there was a chocobo wandering around to the north. As they watched it stopped to take a drink from the swamp's dark waters. Alex shared a grin with Flynn and Kitz. It seemed luck was on their side this mission.
"Quick, before a zolom eats it!" urgently whispered Flynn.
The chocobo heard their approach and scrambled to face them. It looked ready to sprint away until Kitz held up the materia that pulsated with a cheery purple glow. It froze in place, one leg lifted off the ground, as it stared at the materia. Then it cocked it head, made a little warbling sound and trotted forward.
"Give it a gysahl green, quick," whispered Alex.
Flynn reached carefully into his pack and threw the yellow turnip-like vegetable at the chocobo's feet. The bird quickly snatched it up in its huge beak and swallowed, ruffling its feathers happily. It "warked" again and watched Flynn in hopes of getting more.
"Good chocobo," called Kitz. He reached out a pet the bird's fluffy neck.
Behind her, Stark let out a moan Alex took to be from disgust, but then he collapsed to his knees on the muddy ground.
"Stark…? You okay?" His face had a nasty green tint that hadn't been there a moment ago, and he was grasping his leg with a trembling hand.
"Lay off on the concern. That stupid bug bit me, that's all," returned Stark, but he was in too much pain for his usual disdain to have a decent effect.
"Fine," said Flynn. "If you okay, then get up. We have work to do."
Stark tried to get up, but he swayed and fell backwards, his entire body now trembling. That wasn't good.
Alex fished her only potion flask out of her pack and lowered it to Stark's eyelevel. "Drink this. You look awful."
Stark hesitated before taking the proffered potion. It took him a few tries to unstopper it, but once he did he drank the entire thing in one gulp. Its restorative effects made his coloring better, but he still looked in a lot of pain.
"Maybe we should take a break," said Kitz, though Alex knew he was having the same concerns that were flying through her own head. That caterpillar had been poisonous. The best thing they could do would be abandon the mission and head for camp.
"No," said Stark, who forced himself to get on his feet. "We keep going."
"Stark—"
"Shut it, Spero." Stark gave her such a fierce look that Alex refused to say more.
They continued on their way. Stark's pride made him refused to ride the chocobo, though after a half-mile of walking he looked on the verge of collapse. The chocobo was content to follow Flynn around, staring at his backpack full of gysahl greens. The group knew now that one chocobo couldn't carry them all, and for various reasons—pride, stubbornness, feeling of solidarity—no one was willing to leave half the group behind.
"Everyone, keep a lookout for another chocobo."
But it seemed the only one in the swamp was the one they'd already caught. Another group in the distance spotted them with their large, yellow tag-along, and it was only a matter of time before they realized they too needed to get a chocobo to cross the swamp. And if chocobo were as rare as it seemed, Alex and her teammates may need to defend themselves from robbery in the near future.
Stark began slowing their progress, and all too quickly his legs gave up. As much as he stated he was fine, he wasn't going anywhere.
"Just sit down," Alex told him.
"And shut up," Flynn added, as Alex tried to help Stark to a nearby tree. Stark refused Alex's hand and crawled over to rest against the tree trunk. His face was an unhealthy shade once more, so he drank his own potion while the others huddled to discuss their next move.
"We can't drag him with us. And there's no way I'm carrying him."
"We need to find another chocobo and then head to camp," said Alex.
"But we haven't gotten all our robots left. We'll fail if we don't."
"And we can't lose the one we've caught," added Kitz, looking over at the chocobo. Now that they'd stopped, the bird had decided to take a nap and was now nestled on the ground next to Stark. Stark didn't look too happy about the seating arrangement, but he have much of a choice.
The trio agreed that Flynn and Alex would go in search of another chocobo—"And we'll try to destroy two more robots," Alex added when Flynn opened his mouth—while Kitz remained behind to look after Stark and the chocobo. Wanting to travel light, they left all their gear except for their weapons, the map and the Chocobo Lure materia.
"I wonder whom Kitz will pay more attention to," said Flynn, rolling his eyes, as the two started off.
"I just hope nothing bad happens," replied Alex. Sure it was Stark, but she didn't want anyone to die out here. They still had two potions left. Hopefully Stark could last a few more hours.
It was a race against time. The two kept a steady jog as they maneuvered around marshy ground, hidden pools and tree roots. Alex's cold was making it hard to breath properly, and she was no match against Flynn's long stride on a normal day.
They found another robot quickly… or, rather, it found them. Flynn and Alex were minding their own business when the robot dive-bombed them from a tree, scaring them both into action. Flynn was quick to slice it open as it came back for a second swoop.
"Shiva, what's its problem?" Flynn asked, kicking the robot's remains into the water.
"Maybe it was angry we didn't see it."
"Ha ha," laughed Flynn humorlessly. Both were more careful to watch the skies after that.
xxxxx
Half an hour into the hunt ended with an abrupt surprise. They rounded a bend of a thicket of gnarled trees and nearly ran over a sleeping chocobo. The bird awoke with a warking shriek and tried to throttle the two with its powerful legs, and it would have to had Alex not been holding the Chocobo Lure materia. As soon as it caught sight of its light, the chocobo's eyes got sleepy and it huddled closely against Alex like she was its mother.
"Well, hop on."
She gave Flynn a look. "You've got to be kidding me."
"Look, we don't have any gysahl greens, so the only way we can be sure it won't run off is if you ride it," he explained. Then he grinned. "And it seems to like you."
So Flynn gave her a boost and Alex found herself on top of a swaying tower of feathers. It was way too high off the ground for her, and she couldn't find a good sitting position—too far forward and she kept hitting its wings, but too far back and she had nothing to grab on to.
Who came up with the bright idea to ride these things? wondered Alex as the held on to the chocobo's neck for dear life.
Flynn couldn't help but grin at her terrorized expression. "It looks fun up there."
"Then why don't you get up here and do it," she muttered.
Flynn took possession of the Chocobo Lure materia and used it to lead the chocobo back to where the rest of their team waited. It was slow going; the chocobo had long strides, but Flynn wouldn't be able to keep up if it started running. Alex called to Flynn to see if he wanted to ride too, but he said this way they could control exactly where the chocobo went, which was a good point. She wondered how they were going to "drive" the chocobos once they wanted to head to camp.
From her vantage point, Alex spotted a robot a few minutes later. "Flynn, over there!" she said, pointing to the left. The robot hadn't detected them yet, which she was grateful for after the surprise attack by the last one.
"You stay here," replied Flynn as he unsheathed his sword and kept through the swamp. He ducked around trees when the robot's sensor pivoted in his direction, and then jumped across three feet of water to assault his target.
The chocobo trembled as it heard the metallic strikes of Flynn's sword, and Alex petted its neck hoping it wouldn't decide to run away with her on its back. With the final robot accounted for, the two hurried down the trail.
When they arrived back to the place they'd left their teammates, it wasn't a pretty sight. They had heard the commotion before they caught sight of it. Stark was out cold on the ground and a robot was attacking Kitz, who was both defending himself and trying to prevent a crazed chocobo from running away. The boy had lost his glasses and was blindly swinging his rod while holding on to the chocobo's neck for dear life.
Alex quickly shot the robot out of the air, not thinking that the gun would scare the chocobos, which it died. Her chocobo jumped off the ground at the loud bang and she had to drop her gun to wrap her arms around the chocobo.
"Easy, girl! It's okay!" she called as the bird tried a few times to throw her off. Each time her stomach lurched, but she managed to hang on.
Meanwhile, Flynn had rushed to the other chocobo and had latched on to one of its legs. The bird was shaking and half-trampling him before Kitz could grab a gysahl green and wave it in front of its face. The chocobo relaxed immediately, its beady eyes fixated on the food. Alex's chocobo surged forward as well, wanting the gysahl for itself.
"I… hate… chocobos," Flynn moaned as he picked his battered body off the ground.
"Don't say that. He didn't mean it," he added to the chocobos, scratching the nearest's neck as it warbled and warked happily.
Alex thought they had the situation handled until she remembered Stark. With a gasp, she slid awkwardly off the chocobo's back and ran around its body to Stark. He was still sprawled unconscious. His complexion was horrible and his breathing shallow and irregular. She checked his pulse; it was very weak.
"Not, good. Not good." Why hadn't the instructors given them any antidotes? Surely they would have known if there were poisonous fiends in the area. Now all their potions were used up and there was no way to call for help.
"Can we get him on a chocobo?" Kitz asked quietly, hesitantly. He sounded like Stark had already died.
"How will we keep him on?" The chocobo lurched so much Alex had a hard enough time staying upright. This was looking really bad.
"Fine." Exhaling loudly, Flynn marched over to Stark and knelt down, his hand rummaging around in his pocket. Alex's eyes went wide when he pulled out his materia.
"What are you…?"
Flynn didn't look at her as he rolled up Stark's pant leg to expose the angry, infected bite mark. Then he cleared his throat and pronounced, "Poisona." A shimmering fog floated out of the materia and draped itself over the wound, and then sunk slowly into Stark's skin. The redness and swelling disappeared before their eyes.
Alex looked at Flynn in astonishment. It took her a moment to find her voice, and when she did her words came out enraged. "You mean you had a Heal materia this entire time? What's wrong with you?"
He stood up and turned away from her, but she rose and tugged him back around to face her.
"Why didn't you use it earlier?"
"It's Stark."
"He could have died!"
"Like I would care!"
The two stared angrily at each other before Flynn stalked away. He picked up his backpack and went to preoccupy the chocobos with Kitz, leaving a smoldering Alex to watch over Stark.