Chapter 9: South-east Airs

The morning came with a cool breeze that wasn't often felt in deserts. The sun was merely warm, seeming to pass light more than pass heat. This temperature was perfect for a strenuous battle that could last hours, Strider thought to himself. He had no idea what it would take to fell such a monster, but Wander did.

"What do you think we can do to combat the flying beast?" Strider asked Wander. "You have slain many before, you say. What can we do?"

The men began walking towards the looming mountain before them, where the monster was resting nearby.

"The colossi have weak points throughout their body," Wander replied. "We grab hold of it at some point, climb over until we find a spot, then thrust a blade into it. It will be glowing bright green, and the colossus will react when you strike it."

"Bright green spots, eh? Don'tcha think that's a bad flaw for these creatures?" Guts said.

"I do not know what the ancient demon was thinking when he designed them, but it must have some point to it. Regardless, it is fortunate for us."

They walked past Zodd's body, next to the ruins and rubble. It hadn't moved an inch since the fight.

"Oh yeah," Guts said upon seeing Zodd. "We'd better go quick, he won't stay dead long."

Strider turned his hooded face slightly.

"He will reanimate?"

"Not sure what that means, but if it means he comes back to life, then yes. Strong demons tend to do that. I actually stabbed him through the heart once, but he still didn't die for good. Demons are tough bastards."

"And they follow you. You must have had a troublesome life, Guts."

Guts looked off into the desert.

"Yeah, you could say that."

After a few minutes in silence, Guts spoke again.

"Y'know, ever since I met you, I haven't had much trouble with demons. Not only do I mean you kill just as many as I do, but they also aren't coming nearly as much. It's been years since I had a peaceful night's rest. Maybe it's got something to do with that elvish amulet you've got, or something else, but whatever it is, I'm grateful. I love swinging my sword around, but it's nice to get a break."

"That is good to hear, Guts. I am also grateful to you, for showing me that there is time for worry, and time for action. I believe we have benefited greatly from each other's experiences."

"Agreed," Guts finished. After a couple more minutes, Guts turned to Strider again.

"So, are elf women sexy?" he said through a cheeky grin.

Strider returned with a chuckle.

"Oh yes, my friend. They certainly are."

...

The trio stopped atop the tallest hill they could see. From here, they could clearly see the entire landscape from there to the base of the mountain. The odd thing was that there was no sign of their target anywhere, despite Wander's sword pointing directly forward, right to the base of the mountain. The beam shone directly into the sand.

"So what, it's under the sand?" Guts said to sand.

Wander stared into the sea of desert, thinking the same thing as Guts. The colossus was resting in the sand, to escape the heat, no doubt. How it could get it's massive body deep underground was a mystery to all.

"We're going to have to... stir it, somehow," Wander said. "Though I don't know how."

Guts began walking towards the supposed destination.

"Don't worry, guys, I'll wake the big bastard up."

He walked down to where the blade had shown. He kicked around at the sand for some reason, maybe to see if he could unearth some part of the beast. When that failed, he took his sword into his hand and held it high.

"This oughta do the trick," he said before smashing the blade into the sand, causing it to fly up and everywhere. When it settled, all that had been done was Guts covering himself in sand from his strike.

"Well," he said between spitting out sand, "that didn't work."

He rejoined the other two, brushing off as much sand as he could.

"Anyone got anything else?" he asked them. Strider looked at the area, but came up with nothing to solve their problem. Wander went through his pockets, fishing out numerous ancient-looking knick-knacks and miscellaneous strange objects, but seemed disappointed at them.

"I was hoping I had something on me that might trigger the colossi's awakening, but these are all useless here. Do you men have anything of magical properties?" he asked Guts and Strider. "I know none of us are practitioners of magic, but anyone can keep a magic item."

"All my stuff is back at the campsite," Guts told him. "It's all bombs and gunpowder anyway, nothin' magical."

Strider went through his bags. Although he left the majority of his gear back at the camp, he still kept several small bags on him, usually at all times. He had lembas bread, matches, his bow and arrows, and dozens of other useful items. As for magic items... he had nothing. Or wait...

"The orb." Strider said. "The orb could wake it."

Wander's eyes lit up.

"That could do it, perhaps. It seems to give off a powerful energy, doesn't it?"

Strider took the small sack containing the orb from his belt.

"You brought that thing? Why didn't you leave it at the camp?" Guts asked him.

"It attracts demons, as we've discovered, just like your brand. It would have been stolen, left unattended."

"Hmm, if you say so," Guts said back, eyeing the bag.

Strider walked over to where the blade's beam had landed. He held the bag in front of him for a moment.

"Do not look at it, it will draw you in."

Guts and Wander looked away, and Strider removed the orb from it's prison. He held it out, not looking at it, and waited. Ten seconds passed, then a minute. Nothing. He put the orb away.

"It failed. It has no effect here."

The two looked back to Strider, disappointed. If the powerful orb didn't work, what possibly could?

Guts kicked at the sand out of frustration.

"I wanna kill something, dammit!" he yelled.

Wander watched Strider fasten the orb back onto his belt, and noticed something strange. Strider's shirt seemed to be pulling away from him, or something under the shirt was.

Strider noticed it also. He reached down his shirt and pulled out his amulet, which was pulling away from him, down towards the earth. He let it go, and it magnetized to the ground in front of him. If it wasn't around his neck, it would've shot off into the sand.

"What is it doing, Strider?" Wander asked.

"I am unsure. It seems to be attracted to the ground... which could only mean the colossus. Something about it pulls the amulet."

Strider took the amulet from his neck and slipped it around his wrist, maintaining a firm grip. He knelt down to allow it to get closer to it's target, all the while the magnetization increased. As it touched the sand it was pulling with considerable force for such a small object.

Then, the ground shook. And again.

"Hey, uh, did you guys feel somethin'?" Guts asked them. They didn't answer, as they were preoccupied with knowing what was about to happen.

"Step back!" Strider commanded. The ground shook harder, and more constantly now.

"It is rising!" Wander yelled. "We must grab hold before it goes into the air!"

As he finished, a massive horn-like object emerged from the sand with great speed. This was their target. Strider and Guts looked on in awe as the massive body revealed itself, but Wander wasted no time grabbing hold of a thick patch of fur. The two others snapped out of their trance and ran to the colossus, grabbing on as tightly as they could. They rose away from the ground at incredible speed, causing Strider to remember the feeling of weightlessness he had experienced last night as he was flung through the air by Zodd. Not a fond memory.

The air and sand blasted their faces, forcing their eyes shut. They clung on blindly as the beast rose from it's resting place, which seemed to last for an hour. Eventually, it would begin flying parallel to the ground, allowing them to stand on it's back. All they had to do was wait for it.

After what felt like an eternity on their tired arms, the colossus started to level out. Except, it was leveling out the wrong way! They had grabbed onto it's underside! As it became parallel with the ground, Guts and Strider were dangling helplessly by it's fur, their arms growing weaker by the second. Strider was able to open his eyes finally, and when he did, he saw the massive blue sacs that he saw when he first seen the beast several days earlier. Then, he made the mistake of looking down. Below them was the ground, but farther than Strider had ever seen it before. The distance was ten times that of when Zodd had carried him into the sky. A fall from this height would not only mean certain death, but would also create a sizable crater in the ground where their corpses would land.

Strider's attention was regained but Guts' yelling.

"Strider! We've got to climb to the side! We gotta get on top!"

Strider could barely hear Guts through the wind, but understood nonetheless. He looked around and saw the closest edge of the colossus. The two began swinging over to it like monkeys in the trees. Strider could feel his arms giving out. He had another twenty seconds at the absolute most. If that. Guts was even further than he was. Would Guts survive? Strider couldn't look back now, he had to ensure he was safely on the other side first. He swung over, making it to the edge. The edge of the colossus was made of jagged stone. There was nothing to grab onto! He looked around desperately, but knew this was the end. His grip was slipping quickly now, even though his hands knew it was life or death. Then, he saw a bow appear from the side of the beast. Without thinking about it, he reached out, just barely making the grab. As he hung from the bow, he saw that Wander was on top, and had used his bow to reach Strider. Wander pulled him up, and Strider collapsed on the furry top of the colossus. Wander went back to do the same with Guts, but there was no response. Wander thought the worst had happened, but then, a bandaged hand reached out and grabbed the bow. Guts had made it! Only problem was that Guts' weight combined with his sword was far too much for Wander. Wander held on for whatever reason, sending him over the edge, but he didn't fall. He held onto the bow that carried Guts, and he saw he was clearly over the edge, himself also hanging, but he wasn't falling. Instead, he began being pulled up onto the back of the colossus. As his body regained a firm placement on solid stone, he felt his shirt being released, then saw Strider hang himself over the edge. Wander felt his bow lighten, then saw Strider hoist Guts up onto the colossi's back. All three were safe on the beast, but they all lay breathing heavily for a few seconds before anyone said anything.

"J... just in time, b-boys," Guts thanked them through gasping breaths. "Another second, and... phew... and I was a goner."

"Wander, you are a genius," Strider told the boy, who was already on his feet.

"Save your thanks for when we're on the ground."

The men agreed. Now was time to take the colossus down.

"We must find the weak points!" Wander yelled over the wind.

Strider stood, knowing what must be done, but he caught a glimpse of the ground as he stood near the edge. He saw the land beneath them moving at an incredible pace. The beast was flying much faster then it was the other day. Now, it was rested, and most likely agitated from the disturbance. Strider looked at the landscape, watching it turn from desert to grassland, then to a thick forest, then a swamp, and so forth. They were moving so quickly that they would be in another country in a few minutes.

"We have to take it down quickly!" Strider yelled. "It's carrying us far!"

"Yeah, no shit!" Guts yelled back. "Let's hurry up and kill it!"

Wander set off walking up the great creature, looking down for green weak spots, but seeing none. None of the men saw any, but they had a lot of surface left to check. Somehow, Wander was running towards the head of the beast, through the harsh wind. He was surely going to check the head, which made sense. Although, the head was so far away that it would take him several minutes to reach.

"Screw this!" Guts announced as he stabbed his sword into the colossus' body. To his dismay, the massive blade merely bounced off, not leaving a scratch.

"What the hell? Is it made of steel?!"

"The weak points, Guts!" Strider called. "Find them!"

"Oh, I'll find them, alright..." he muttered.

As Strider continued to look for the spots, he smelled a distinct smell. He glanced over the edge of the colossus, and saw something horrifying. Off into the distance, and approaching quickly, was an expansive blue ocean. The smell of saltwater filled the air, and grew more powerful with each passing second.

Strider saw Guts was too busy looking for weak points to notice the smell. They were going over the ocean! If they didn't kill it soon, they would be doomed to a watery grave when the beast fell. Strider looked around frantically for anything that could be a weak point, but all he saw was fur, stone, and three large flaps along the beast's top, that appeared to be shut. He looked back over to the ocean, and saw it was too late. They passed over the water, the land quickly disappearing behind them.

Strider didn't know what to make of the situation. He decided to trudge over to Guts, to inform him. He came up to Guts, who was smashing at the colossus to no avail.

"Guts!" he yelled to him. "Look!"

Guts looked up, then over to the side. His face lost expression.

"So, uh..." he began. "...we're probably dead, right?"

"It certainly looks that way, my friend! If the beast falls, we will all drown."

"So why don't we wait until we're back above land before we kill it?!" Guts called.

"That is not a bad idea! At this speed we could get back above land within a few hours!"

"Ok, then! I guess we just wait for now!"

The men sat down in the fur, where they didn't have to worry about getting blown off. Just then, however, they both scrambled to their feet as they remembered the same thing at the same time: Wander was going to the head! If he struck it down, they would all die!

"We gotta stop him!" Guts yelled. They both ran as fast as they could up the beast, which was more like a brisk walking speed. They couldn't see Wander, the head was so far ahead, that he would appear as a small speck to them. All they could do was hope they got to him before he found a weak spot.

Suddenly, a shadow passed by the sun. Guts noticed it quickly, and looked up, seeing a massive creature slam down onto the colossus in front of them. It kicked up dust and sand, causing the men to shield their eyes. When the dust flew off into the sky, they saw the last thing they wanted to see right now: Nosferatu Zodd, in one piece, though banged up. He was somehow even bigger than he was the night before, and much angrier.

"Zodd!" Guts screamed.

Zodd spread his massive wings in an intimidating manner.

"Found you, swordsman! Our battle has not yet finished!"

"Could you pick another time? We're over the damn ocean, on a giant... thing, going gods-know where! Now is not the time!"

Zodd roared, so loudly in vibrated the air around him.

"Those who wait for combat are the first to die in it! We will fight, now!"

As he said that, he flung himself forward. It was clear that he wanted revenge on Strider, and was willing to go to any lengths to kill him. They had no time to fight Zodd now, they had to get to Wander to tell him not to kill the colossus, but Zodd was blocking the way. The only way past was through him.

"Guts, we have to take him down! We must get past!" Strider called to Guts.

"Take him down?! How!? I can barely stand straight on this thing!"

Guts was right. Their balance hardly existed on this speeding monster's back, yet Zodd looked unaffected by it. The situation looked grim. Zodd was approaching, towering above them, and they had to tell Wander to hold off on the attack.

The men held their swords forward, watching Zodd stomp over, his eyes glowing red.

"If this is where we die..." Strider spoke, "...then let us die fighting."