Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING Except my own characters etc. etc.
Author's note: Long time no see. So, I finally finished this darn chapter. it took a while, even after I had time to finish it, to think of some really good scenes. So, please forgive me! Writers Block is not my best friend!
But it did give me time to think about what I should do...although it was a long and painful road indeed. Anyway, lots of good stuff in here, especially the ending. And you'll probably get mad at me when you read the ending...
Bahaha! Anyway, be kind and review. :) I worked really hard on this so the least you can do is give me a little feedback. (Yes, I'm talking to you, you lazy people.) :P Hope you enjoy this chapter! :D
Avalanche!
Tidus and I immediately began making snowballs and piling them up in one spot. Every few seconds we'd take one and hit someone with them.
Finally, Tidus began taking four or five of them and throwing them all in Kimahri's direction. The Ronso turned and growled at Tidus, startling him at first.
"Hey, whoa…it's just snow!"
Kimahri suddenly grinned as he knelt down in the snow and suddenly came up with a boulder of the fluffy white. Tidus yelped in fright as he began to run for his life, but his run didn't last very long.
In seconds, the boulder was flying through the air and then smashing into Tidus, causing him to fall on his face in the cold snow.
All of us paused a moment to look and when seeing Tidus covered in snow we began laughing. Seconds later, Tidus's head popped up out of the mound and he shivered.
"Aw, man…come on, Kimahri. That wasn't fair!" He complained and I threw a snowball at his face.
"Who said anything about this being fair?" I asked and both Wakka and Rikku joined in. Tidus laughed as he tried dodging the snowballs, then he ran towards me and I raised my hand, ready to throw another.
But Tidus surprised me by quickly jumping behind me, using me as a shield as two snowballs came smashing into my own face.
"You dork!" I sputtered out snow as I laughed.
As we all continued to laugh and throw snowballs, Auron suddenly spoke up and we quickly quieted as we turned our attention back to him.
"Are you all finished now? I believe we should be getting back on the road." He had a glare on his face and he seemed rather annoyed. Tidus immediately made a face at the "old man" and put a hand on his hip.
"What's wrong with a little fun, Mr. Party Pooper."
Auron immediately looked in Tidus's direction, fixing his death glare on him, but Tidus was so used to it by now that he hardly noticed.
"We should focus on Yuna's Pilgrimage."
"Well, yeah, I knew that, Mr. Pile of Steaming Pancakes."
I snorted at this and Auron turned away.
"Your name calling is becoming tiresome. Lets go." With that, he began walking up the slope past the cave and away from us.
As we all followed behind quietly I suddenly turned to Tidus and gave him a mischievous look as I held up a snow ball. He grinned and nodded as we both understood each other and I looked ahead of me to make sure no one else was watching.
"Let 'em have it." Tidus whispered and I grinned as I pulled back, aimed, and threw as hard as I could. I knew it was a little immature for me, especially since it was something Tidus or Rikku would do, but Auron was becoming a dreary old man and I wanted to have a little fun. For once.
The snowball went flying past heads and instantly hit its mark; the stiff and straight back of Auron as he walked up at the front who stopped abruptly. You could visibly see him tense up, and just when you thought he couldn't stiffen up any more than he already was, he did.
Everyone but Auron turned their heads in mine and Tidus's direction. The two of us exchanged worried glances then quickly pulled on the best straight face we could muster before slowly turning to look behind us as well, as if to say that there had been someone else behind us.
The others immediately found this false and were already pointing fingers before Tidus and I could even open our mouths to blame the other.
Auron, on the other hand, he stood where he was, unmoving for several seconds before he finally spun around and fixed his glare on Tidus. I couldn't hold back the laughs. Auron had immediately suspected the culprit to be Tidus. I had to admit, if it were me, I would be placing the blame on him as well.
The eighteen year old blonde crossed his arms defiantly and huffed a cloud from his mouth into the cold air as he spoke.
"Well, I can see where all your accusation lies!"
"You're the obvious culprit." Auron practically snarled and Tidus laughed a short and sarcastic laugh.
"What stops you from thinking it might have been someone else?" He jerked his head in my direction and I slowly quieted my laughs.
"Cynry?" Yuna began slowly as she looked over at me now, and the corner of my mouth twitched as the others also eyed me curiously.
"How immature of you." Auron said in a sarcastic tone. At this, I decided to play as smart aleck too.
So, I placed one arm across my stomach as I placed my other arm behind me, bowing as I spoke in a chivalry tone.
"Why, thank you, Sir Auron. It was my pleasure."
I stood back up as Tidus snickered and I could tell that Auron was just about at the end of his rope. His right hand twitched as he was trying to keep himself from drawing his sword.
I smirked, despite my deadly situation, and the others looked at me with raised brows, as if to say: "did you seriously just do that?"
"Word of advice," Auron growled as he took a step forward, but I held my head a little higher as I crossed my arms over my chest, "watch. You're. Back." For several seconds there was silence.
"Oh, burn!" Tidus laughed as he nudged me in the side suddenly. I gave him a side ways glance and smirked as I turned my attention back to Auron.
"Very well. I accept your challenge. Sir Auron."
The dark Samurai only harrumphed and spun on his heel to begin walking back up the slippery slope angrily again, his back just as stiff and straight as always.
Tidus shook his head as he chuckled, the others simply shaking their heads in disbelief while I just smiled with amusement. I was definitely digging my own grave here.
"So, when he wins-" Tidus began, but I cut him off.
"Oh, there's no way he's going to win." I laughed lightly to myself and Tidus chuckled again as we walked at the rear of the group.
"Right. Well, I wish you luck."
Two hours later we stopped to rest on a hill. It was covered in just as much snow and there were just as many boulders that surrounded the place. Near the right there was a small trail that led down the other side of the mountain. It was shrouded in shadow's and looked slippery and dangerous.
"Rest a little. We'll get to the other side of the mountain by dusk." Auron explained as he stood next to the path. Apparently, he was guarding the way in case any fiends tried to sneak through and make a surprise attack.
"Kimahri, you take the cliffs." Auron instructed, and Kimahri nodded once before quickly jumping up on a boulder to the left of us, and then bounded up the rest of the way.
We watched as he climbed lightening quick and disappear behind a snow covered peak before settling ourselves down. We knew Kimahri would keep the fiends in the peaks above us at bay.
"You should rest most, Yuna." Lulu was saying and I looked over where Yuna and Lulu were now sitting. They sat on a large boulder that Lulu had swept of the snow and were now sitting close to one another for warmth. Rikku, however, did not bother to sit down, despite the fact that she was shivering. It was probably to cold for her to do so.
"You think Auron's over there cooking something up for you later." Tidus whispered close behind me, causing me to jump and turn to him.
"Gosh, Tidus. Don't sneak up behind me like that." I hissed and he suddenly grinned.
"Why? Did you think I was Auron for a minute there?" He teased and I rolled my eyes as I looked away from him, and he walked around to stand beside me.
"You reckon I should throw another one. Only at his face this time?" I joked in a low voice as I turned to Tidus.
"Just for the fun of it?" I added and the boy snorted.
"I wouldn't over do it."
"I just want to push his buttons."
Tidus snickered as he kicked the snow around his feet a few times, crossing his arms over his chest as he shivered slightly.
"Well, I could help you out on that part." He said suddenly, winking at me as I smiled with amusement.
"Really now?"
"Hey, I've known him longer than anyone. I should know what drives him crazy and what irritates him the most." He grinned as he looked up at me expectantly and I slowly smiled as I thought about it.
"Well…now that you mention it…I guess we could give it a shot."
"Sweet."
"The war is on Auron. It'll be a battle of wits. Who can think up the best to aggravate the other the most."
Tidus chuckled at this and smiled evilly.
"You bet it will be. And we're going to win!"
"Dude, not so loud." I hissed and Tidus immediately grew quiet.
Thirty minutes later, we were walking down the other side of the mountain and both Tidus and I had cooked up a plan. This plan would only work way early in the morning, so there was a bit of waiting and patience on our part.
Without a word, Auron began to decend the trail of shadows that he had been guarding earlier, and we all took this as the beginnings of leaving. So, everyone quietly stood and began to make their way down the trail as well.
Tidus and I made sure to stick close to the back. We noticed as we walked that Kimahri was still among the boulders. He was still following us, but at a good range from the trail where he could look down on all of us.
Why do I get the feeling he's trying to keep an eye on both Tidus and I?
The trail we walked down was definitely colder and extremely slippery. Several times someone would slip and another had to either catch them or help them up. I could tell Lulu was trying her hardest not to slip on the ice.
I had to admit though, it would be absolutely priceless to see her slip on the ice in that dress of belts, even if it meant hell for the rest of us if any one dared to snicker or laugh.
"What are you grinning about?" Tidus suddenly asked and I shook my head as I continued to smile.
"Oh nothing." Barely getting those words out, I suddenly slipped on a patch of slick ice and began to fall backwards, gasping as I fell.
"Whoa!" Tidus exclaimed with half a laugh before grabbing hold of my shoulders.
As I looked up at him in surprise he looked down at me with a silly grin on his face. I was about to say something when he suddenly slipped as well and we both toppled to the ground.
"Hey you two! Cut that out!" Wakka suddenly shouted from up ahead and we looked up while still laughing, giving him an odd look.
"What are you talking about? It's not our fault we slipped." I pointed out.
"You're throwing snowballs again so don't even try to deny it!" Wakka exclaimed with crossed arms, a glare on his face and I realized the others were glaring at us as well.
"What?" Tidus asked with a look of confusion on his face.
"No we're not." I immediately defended, but from the looks on our friend's faces, they weren't believing a word of it.
"Seriously- hey! Cynyr!" Tidus exclaimed and I turned to him with widened eyes as he glared at me.
"What?" My voice rose with offense as he held a hand on the back of his head. I was about to say something else when I felt something cold hit me in the arm and I quickly got up and spun around.
"Hey! Who's doing that?"
Now, we had everyone's attention. It wasn't us. Someone or something was throwing snowballs at us, and they were in hiding, somewhere among the boulders.
"Be on your guard." Auron growled from beside us suddenly. I jumped a little, not expecting him to be standing so close. When I looked I noticed he had his sword drawn, adn the others were also withdrawing theirs. I, too, began to withdraw my own, and we searched the mountain peaks around us warily.
"Wait. Where's Kimahri?" Rikku suddenly asked and we all seemed to be thinking the same thing as we all exchanged skeptical glances with one another then, looked back up at the boulders.
"Kimahri!" Auron shouted, not quite believing it could be the mighty Ronso, but Kimahri didn't answer. Only silence answered us, besides the echo of Auron's voice.
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen him in a while." Yuna said slowly as we looked cautiously around us.
"I can't believe that it would be Kimahri." Lulu remarked. Then, at that moment, snowballs came raining down on us, followed by laughter from the cliffs.
"Whoa!"
"Hey!"
"What's going on?"
Everyone began shielding themselves as we looked up and around us, trying to figure out where all the snowballs were coming from. The laughter was coming from many, and it wasn't a Ronso laugh. No, this reminded me of several, maybe dozens, of kids laughing and snickering as they did something they weren't suppose to.
"Kimahri!" Yuna suddenly shouted, and we all looked in the direction she was now pointing. There, the blue Ronso was crouched upon a boulder, and he quickly descended them as he approached us quickly.
"TROLLS!" He boomed, and at that moment, as Kimahri crashed down beside us, dozens of laughing and snickering Trolls came out of hiding and began to decend the mountain's boulders.
"I know these creatures!" I exclaimed as I held my sword out before me, glaring at one that was fast approaching us.
"Be careful around these!" Auron exclaimed as he lifted his sword up as well.
"They're bite is poisonous!" Tidus added, and all three of us ran forward as we attacked several of the Trolls that came snarling and clawing at us.
"Protect Yuna!" Kimahri shouted from behind me, and I assumed Wakka and Lulu were staying close beside her as the rest of us fought of the dozen of annoying, laughing Trolls. Every so often a snowball would come flying towards us, smashing against our legs, arms or, sometimes, our faces.
"How many are there?" I shouted with frustration as one Troll continued to dodge my blows and taunt me. Two others found this funny and began to join in.
"Oh, you little freaks!" I hissed, swinging my sword horizontally that caused the three of them to be cut in half and fall to the ground. Then, they slowly became pyerflies and I moved on to the next set.
"There must be hundreds of them!" Tidus exclaimed.
"Fire in the hole!" Rikku suddenly shouted, and all of us immediately ran for cover, away from where she had thrown the grenade at a group of Trolls. They were prancing about at the base of some boulders, and as soon as the grenade hit the ground, there was a loud explosion that caused every hand to come up and cover their ears.
I was crouched behind a boulder with Kimahri who had suddenly wrapped a large arm around me protectively. I looked up after the explosion and nodded my thanks to him before to two of us stood and, along with the others, began to fight off the rest of the remaining Trolls.
A good thirty minutes passed before all the Trolls were finally defeated and the snowballs subsided. All was quiet as we took a few minutes to rest.
"Geez, that was a lot of Trolls." Tidus breathed as he flopped down on the ground. We were all resting easy and about to get going again when we suddenly heard a far away rumble somewhere off in the distance. We immediately jumped to our feet and stood at attention as we looked for the source of the noise.
As every second passed, the thundering sound got louder and louder.
"Trolls?" Rikku asked meekly.
"No. This is much bigger than that." Lulu replied as she stood up at the front. Wakka took a nervous step forward, everyone's eyes drifting to the tallest and steepest snow covered peak before us.
Birds and fiends suddenly flew up into the sky, crying out loudly as other animals and fiends scurried off the mountain top and down the cliffs.
"Whoa, what's going on?" Tidus exclaimed as several fiends ran past us, not bothering to even attack us as the thundering got louder and even began to shake the ground beneath us.
Suddenly, as we looked much closer, we realized at the very top of the mountain, the snow covered ground was moving rapidly. It was like something large was crawling underneath the sheets of snow, causing it all it move down hill.
That's when it hit me.
"Avalanche!" I shouted and turned quickly as I began to flee down the side of the trail, another steep hill in which was just as slippery as the trail behind me.
Everyone else cried out as they also realized what it was and began to follow suit. Soon after, we all began tumbling down the hill upon the icy ground, unable to get any friction between us as we continued to slide all the way down to the the while, the Avalanche was already making its way to the bottom of the mountain to leap over the trail and down the other hill we now slid upon.
"It's gaining on us!" Rikku shouted from somewhere near by, but I could barely see anything as snow continued to spray up into my face. It seemed like forever that we slid down the hill, the thundering Avalanche quickly picking up speed from behind us before we ever got close to hitting the bottom.
Once we did reach the bottom, we stood up as quickly as we cold, most of us unable to as we were still dizzy from the ride down. We looked up and saw the Avalanche tumbling down like a giant wave of snow, coming closer and closer as we tried to pick ourselves up and run again.
"Shit! We're in a lot of Shit!" Tidus suddenly exclaimed from behind me. We barely got ten yards away from the Avalanche when it suddenly began to cover us.
"Yuna!" Someone shouted.
"Protect her, Lulu!"
"Help!"
All of a sudden, I was barried in feet of cold snow, all of it continuing to pile up on me, just when I thought it would all be over, but it just kept coming down.
It quickly became darker and I immediately began to claw my way through the snow, hoping to reach the sunlight above.
No, no, no! Yuna! Where's Yuna? I can't die. WE can't die. We have to save Yuna! I thought in a panic as I continued to claw through the snow. The muffled voices from the others were quickly fading, and I realized it wasn't because I was passing out, but the snow was still piling up on us.
There's so much! How in the world will we survive?
It was becoming harder to breath now, and it was pitch dark where I was, no sound at all could be heard and I was slowly panicking.
I spit the snow out that was in my mouth and tried to make a little hollow for my head so my face wasn't directly in the snow. Frost bite would come quickly if I didn't get out of there fast. My fingers were freezing underneath my leather gloves, my throat was stinging and my lungs were barely getting enough oxygen.
I half to live! I thought frantically as I continued to try and claw my way out of the snow, but it was like it never ended, and it was still just as dark and still just as quiet as before.
Mom! Where do I go? What should I do? Am I going to die already?
I got no answer, and I slowly stopped trying, falling back in my small hollow of snow, the ceiling caving in a little as snow fell upon my body and I shivered violently.
I couldn't move. The snow had surrounded me and all was deathly quiet and dark. It was like I was in grave, and I realized…this was the end.
"Cynyr! Cynyr!"
Someone's…calling my name?
"Cynyr! Are you alright!"
"Is she okay?"
"Hurry up, Kimahri!"
What's going on? Why is it so cold? I can't…feel anything. Did I die?
"Is Yuna okay?"
"Yeah, she's fine. Lets hurry and get Cynyr to her."
"Is Yuna even strong enough?"
"She wasn't hit…Lulu cast a force field around them when the Avalanche came down."
Ida…am I dead? I feel…dead. I don't feel alive. What's going on?
I heard murmuring and several other voices, but I couldn't make out the words very well. They were too far away and I was slowly losing concisnous again.
"Can she breath? Is she breathing?"
"Yes. But Cynyr is very cold." That was Kimahri's voice no doubt. I recognized it immediately, just before I finally fell away into darkness and silence again.
"How'd you like that Avalanche?"
"What?"
"You heard me."
"Shadow…that was you!"
"But of course. I thought it was pretty clever."
"You killed me!"
"Ha! I wish I had! I almost had you! I was so close to grasping your soul when something like a force field stopped me from getting an closer! You wretched bird! I WILL kill you! I WILL have your soul!"
"You mean…I'm not dead?"
"Fool! How many times do I have to say it! Now you're just rubbing it in!"
I woke with a start, my eyes snapping open as I felt my heart inside my chest thump hard against my ribs. It was cold and dark, but there was something warm close by, but I couldn't figure out what it was.
Looking up at my ceiling, I noticed how dark and rough looking it was. As I looked harder it seemed to look more and more like rocks.
Where am I? Where is everyone? I remember that there was an Avalanche…and then… I gasped suddenly and sat up quickly.
"Shadow." I whispered to myself, then jumped when I felt someone grab hold of my shoulder and I looked to find Auron's face very close to mine.
"Lay. Down." He ordered under his breath, and I stared at him for several seconds in fright before slowly lowering myself down. Auron, on the other hand, sat where he was, looking at me and even seemed to be glaring at me. I couldn't really tell, though, because of the shadows that were cast on his face, an orange glow coming from the left of him.
A fire? So that's where the warmth was coming from.
"What?"
"A lot of us almost died today." Auron replied, surprising me a little from how quickly he responded. Usually he would just ignore me.
"Everyone?"
"Lulu, Yuna, and Kimahri might have been the only ones to survive that Avalanche if things didn't turn out like it had."
"What…exactly happened?" I asked slowly as I continued to lay there on the ground, afraid to sit up and be pushed down forcefully by Auron.
"Lulu held a force field over Yuna and herself to protect her. Kimahri, being a Ronso, was able to survive the Avalanche. He dug out the rest of us as quickly as he could. Lulu helped as much as she could afterwards…" He trailed off as he looked off in another direction and I had the urge to sit up, but decided against it.
"Rikku. Something happened to her, didn't it?" I asked finally. It was so obvious…she was the smallest of the group with fewer clothes on than the rest of us. It wouldn't surprise me if she lost her hands and feet from frost bite. I knew we all, who had been covered, were in that snow for a long time.
What if…we can't continue the Pilgrimage?
"Rikku's got frost bite. But it's not too serious. Surprisingly." Auron replied finally, and I let go of a breath I hadn't realized I had been holding.
"And the others?"
"They're holding on their own." I nodded and there was silence between us. Again, I had the urge to sit up, and with Auron looking away I thought I might be able to do so quietly.
So, I slowly sat up and looked around me at the others who were mostly asleep. Yuna and Lulu, however, were tending to Rikku who was wrapped in a blanket and shivering near the fire. The two women were sitting close to her, trying to keep her warm.
Shadow. You're going to die for what you did to us!
"What about you?" I asked suddenly, and Auron turned to me with slight surprise. I didn't meet his eyes though, I looked down at my hands which were, thankfully, still covered by the leather gloves. But inside they felt cold and stiff.
"I'm fine." Auron's deep voice replied and I nodded. It was to be expected. He was dead. He didn't have to die -if that were the case- again so there was really no need to ask, but for some reason, I had to ask.
"You should get some sleep. We won't be leaving for another day or two." Auron explained as he continued to look into the flames of the fire. I watched as the shadows danced across his face, not really listening.
"Not until Rikku's healthier." He added, and I nodded before slowly lying back down. It was rough having to wear my armor while I slept, and I could really use a good nights sleep, but I couldn't take a chance. If I were to take it off for the night, I might not be the first to wake to quickly hide my wings.
At this thought, I was suddenly reminded of that haunting dream I had had in the Calm Lands. I had woken to find feathers everywhere and my armor tossed aside as my wings lie beside me in the open.
I shivered from the thought and curled up on the cold rough floor, closing my eyes as I tried to find sleep. Suddenly, I felt something warm and soft lay over me, the familiar smell of spices and silk filling my nose. I immediately opened my eyes to see a dark red fabric in front of my face.
That's…Auron's jacket.
Slowly, I turned my head to look over at Auron, but he had most of his back to me, his eyes on the fire as he sat there stiff as a board as always. I couldn't take my eyes off him though. It was the first time I had ever seen him without his jacket on, so, naturally, I stared at his muscular arms that looked unbelievably ripped and strong.
So that's how he can hold that badass sword.
I smiled to myself at this thought and slowly laid myself back down to sleep.
"Thanks Auron."
I heard Auron shift a little as I assumed he was looking at me now, but I just smiled and hugged his jacket closer to me, drifting back to sleep within seconds.
Some how I had woken early in the morning and when I got a good look around I finally recognized my surrounding to be the inside of another cave. The fire was still going, Kimahri being the one to tend to it, and I also realized that Auron's jacket was still wrapped around me. Speaking of which, I looked to my right and found him sound asleep on the ground next to me.
He looks so peaceful…sleeping there.
I bit my lip as I quickly turned away from him and looked around at the others. They too were sound asleep, none of them stirring as the early morning wore on.
That's right. We won't be traveling for another day or two. I thought to myself as I slowly laid myself back down. I decided more sleep would come in handy, and I might not get another chance like this for a long time.
Once I was asleep again, it felt like I had slept forever when I finally awoke, but I couldn't remember any of my dreams. In fact, I began to wonder if I had dreamed at all.
Ugh…what time is it?
I looked around me curiously as I sat up and I realized Kimahri wasn't the only one up now. Both Wakka, Tidus and Auron were also awake. The other girls were sleeping soundly beside Rikku as they tried to keep her extra warm.
I hope she's doing okay.
Auron was sitting closer to the fire now, a few feet away from me, and all was silent in the cave as I decided to sit closer to the fire as well. Still, no one spoke. Not even so much as a "good morning" from Tidus or Wakka. I guessed they were still pretty tired and worn down from the Avalanche and all the fighting we had done yesterday.
I brought my knees up to my chest and rested my head on them as I stared into the fire, completely awake, yet so…brain dead. I felt like a zombie, unable to think clearly and unable to really speak. I just didn't have the energy.
I looked up and outside of the cave and had to squint against the bright light that reflected off the pure white snow. It looked absolutely freezing out there, yet welcoming at the same time. Finally, turning back to the fire, I spoke up first.
"Anyone know how Rikku's doing?" Wakka and Tidus looked up from their brain dozing and each glanced over at Rikku before Tidus replied first.
"Well, she seems to be doing better."
"We won't really know until she wakes up, ya." Wakka replied with a shrug, throwing in a stick into the flames.
"Where did the wood come from?" I asked suddenly, and they looked up at Kimahri as Wakka replied.
"Kimahri was able to scavenge some while he was up in the peaks yesterday." I nodded slowly, listening to the rest of the silence when I felt my stomach rumble.
Darn I'm hungry. I guess I have a bit of some dried meat left somewhere…
At this thought I reached down by my hip and opened up my satchel. I searched through its contents until finally coming across some meat. I took it out and began to chew on the boring stuff. Oh, how I longed for real food.
I can't even remember the last time I ever ate real food.
As I sat chewing on the meat, savoring it the best I could, I saw something move in my peripheral vision. I paused a moment before slowly looking in the general direction I had seen the movement, but there was nothing there.
I looked a bit longer, searching the cave's ceilings and walls before finally turning back to the fire, mentally shrugging to myself. Tidus was saying something to Wakka, but they were just murmurs to me as I tuned them out and listened for any unusual sounds.
I feel as though…I'm being watched.
I heard Auron say something beside me, his deep voice rumbling from his throat, but my eyes barely glanced his way before I saw something move again. This time I saw it. A shadow. Dark and inky as it slithered across the cave's floor. As dark as it was inside the cave, I was surprised how I could see anything much darker. Especially a shadow.
My eyes immediately went to the opening of the cave, thinking that someone or something might be there, but I saw nothing there and I looked back over at the shadow that continued to creep its way inside. It was slithering in the direction of Tidus and Wakka.
What's going on? Don't they see that?
I looked up at the others, but they were still talking, completely oblivious to the shadow that slithered closer and closer to them. It even began to get larger and more definite. It grew into a large hand as it completely passed Wakka and Tidus, long bony fingers growing from the stump of the hand.
Why can't they see it! It's right in front of them!
I looked back out of the cave in case I might have been mistaken and there really was something out there. But there wasn't. Just snow and ice. That's when I realized this was much more serious. That shadow was a thing.
I looked back up at the others, looking at their faces, their faces that portrayed no suspicion. I was beginning to think I was going crazy, deprived from so much food and water that I was beginning to see things.
I looked back over at the shadow, watching it now, waiting to see what was going to happen next. All the while I continued to think that it was all just an illusion. A trick of my mind. Was my mind playing tricks on me? I was so sure it was until the hand suddenly grasped the blanket that was around Rikku's body and began to pull the sheet down.
That's really there!
I thought in a panic, goose bumps rising on my arms as I abruptly stood up from where I sat, the jacket falling from my shoulders to gather at my feet behind me. All at once, my friends stopped and turned to me curiously.
"Cynyr?" Tidus asked first, but I didn't answer him, my eyes were completely glued to the hand that was slowly pulling the blanket away from Rikku's body.
"You okay, there?" Wakka was asking slowly, but I ignored him. Suddenly, the fingers reached towards Rikku's peaceful face, grasping her tightly in its grip and she began to slowly wake from the sudden action. My eyes widened and I withdrew my sword, crying out Rikku's name as I took a step forward.
"Hey!"
"Cynyr!"
"Stop her!"
I ran forwards, everything happening all at once as Tidus and Wakka jumped up and out of my way while strong hands grabbed hold of me from behind. I had my sword raised, my face contorted into anger as I aimed for the hand that was crushing Rikku's face.
Out of no where I suddenly heard a deep and dark laugh that seemed to echo throughout the cave, causing chills to run through my spine. The anger inside me grew and I felt the odd sensation of energy burning inside my soul. The very power inside me was about to erupt and I was gripping my sword more fiercely, just as Auron's grip on me began to loosen.
Shadow! You're dead!
Mwahahaha! How's THAT for a cliffhanger! Bahaha I'm so clever and evil! :)
You know, while I was writing this, I was beginning to think I wouldn't be able to think of a good cliffhanger for you guys. But, then it came to me. :) Just like always, my cleverness never fails me. -sigh- Okay, I should probably shut up now if I don't want to get the big head...
Sooooo, how'd you like it? Please tell me if you liked it or not, and give me some comments, advise, tips, whatever you like. I'll take it happily. :) Thank you for your patience and for your time to read this.
REVIEW! Please and thank you. ^-^