Don't Fall, part 19
FIC START!
Sakinah raced out of the barrier, brandishing her boomerang. She swung it hard, hitting one of the bomb monsters. She was a little surprised it actually hit, considering she still wasn't in a battle position, but she didn't question it. Soon, Kain came down, using the signature Jump attack all Dragoons were known to master. He flipped back to land next to her.
"What are you doing here?" he asked. "Go back to the barrier!"
She glared at him. "The reason you have any light here is because I… I… I parted the rain clouds!" she didn't like being snappy at him, but she didn't want to be treated as if she were lesser. Sakinah wanted her battle experience, she wanted to be able to defend those she saw in danger. What use was taking up a weapon if she wasn't going to put it to use? And, worse yet, how would she find her way to Mount Ordeals if Kain was not there to lead her down the correct path?
"Is that so?"
"It is!" she said, more focused on being right than facing the monsters before them. There were a pack of six bombs, three of them bright red, and three of them dark blue. Sakinah could not tell which variation was more powerful than the others, and she had never fought this kind of creature before, so she really wasn't sure of much of anything.
"...give them no quarter," Kain said, "If you are to face them, do so with all you are, lest you be felled. And I would rather not see that happen."
"Do you know anything about these creatures?"
"Bombs. Monsters formed of undead spirits fused with fire, that as their name implies, can explode," Kain explained. "I know for certain that this particular group, when they merge, can create what is known as the Mom Bomb. The mother of all bombs."
"Why do they call it that?" she asked curiously
"Those it kills turns into spirits that when fused with her fire…"
Sakinah nodded. "Yeah, that does make a lot of sense. So, we have to kill one to prevent the merge?"
"...as fast as possible. The moment it senses you, it immediately calls upon the other parts of itself," Kain said sternly. "And your boomerang may not be powerful enough. Use your magic."
"All I have is a Thunder spell… if they are fire spirits, then…"
"Look around you, my lady. You must take advantage of the battlefield as it is. I believe your spell will be much more potent now than it would under normal circumstances," Kain said, shrugging. He jumped back into the air, leaving her to stand on her own against these six monsters.
Sakinah's legs felt like jelly underneath her weight, as every fight she'd had thus far hadn't felt so overwhelming. Her clothes and hair drenched from the rain, she tucked her boomerang back into her pocket and channeled the energy around her. In her hands she gathered all that would come to her, calling upon the static electricity in the air. Kain was right, this was during a thunderstorm. Using her body as a lightning rod, she felt the prickles of the sparks flow against her skin and gather into her hands. Casting magic took time.
She heard the snarls of the monsters nearby. Two of the bombs came up to her, gnashing at her with big teeth. One bit her leg, but she kept channeling her energy even as she felt blood start to fall out of the bite. The other made a bite on her arm, but that one wasn't as deep. She could see another bomb, this one blue, calling upon the power of fire. It was also channeling its power for a cast, and she wasn't sure how many blows she could take.
Sakinah lifted her hands above her head. "Skies above, assist me!" she cried out, using all of her magical power to draw in as much electricity as she could. "…Bolt of the All-father! Thunder!"
The energy released and slammed into the two closest bombs, causing them to fall over lifeless and vanish. Kain came down and landed his spearhead into one of the bombs, and it died, too.
"Are you all right?" Kain asked as he flipped back to land beside her.
"I am out of mental power," Sakinah said, barely able to stand. "No more magic from me."
"We only got out half…" Kain said. "We are in for more than we bargained for…" He reached into his pocket to hand her an Elixir just to prepare her for the incoming blow and prevent her death, but one of the bombs released its fire spell and caused Kain to fall to his knees. "…Sakinah!"
She felt the heat from the flames on him, but she could do nothing to stop it. Sakinah felt tears fall from her eyes. "Kain! I… must tell you something before… we…"
"As must I tell you," Kain said, reaching for her. "Sakinah, I-"
"Not so fast!" came another voice behind them. The voice this belonged to was not familiar to either of them. "I call upon the Goddess of Ice! Shiva! Come forth!"
Suddenly the rainy air became much more cold, and the blue woman wearing nothing more than a leotard and a cape flashed in to unleash a mightly blast of a blizzard upon the three remaining bombs. Now that all six were defeated, the Mom Bomb could not form. Kain couldn't believe it. Who could summon other than the green haired woman of Mist? But he didn't really have the time to think about it. Sakinah fell over onto the ground, as she had been losing blood during the fight, and even though he was low on strength himself, couldn't help but be at her side.
"That Thunder spell was incredible," the summoner said, approaching the wounded couple. "Using the power of the thunderstorm was pretty smart. I'm impressed."
"Ry-Rydia?" Kain asked. "No, no, Rydia's hair isn't blue."
The summoner bent down and held a Hi-Potion bottle to Sakinah's lips, causing her to drink it. Within a few moments, she was able to stand on her own, even if her magical power was drained. It would be enough to get her over to the barrier, if nothing else. "Kain, I know we've only met a few times, when I was much younger… but I'm only just a little disappointed that you don't remember me."
"Wait."
"My name is Cuore?" the summoner said, pouting. "Rydia's my adopted mom?"
"Forgive me, I had forgotten," Kain said, shaking his head. "Honestly. Thank you for your assistance, Cuore. I see you are as powerful a summoner as your mother is. Come. I have a tent set up over at the safe point. There is no need to discuss this out in the middle of a storm."
Kain, Sakinah, and Cuore came to sit inside the barrier to be protected from monsters along with the woman they had found trying to escape the Mom Bomb earlier. Kain offered all of them meat from the monster he prepared over the fire. Sakinah was the first to be curled up in the tent, as her mind was utterly exhausted from having to channel all that power.
"What are you two doing on Mount Hobbs?" Kain asked directly.
"The same could be asked of you," the strange woman replied.
"I am the Captain of Baron's Red Wings and currently en route to Fabul to retrieve my apprentice for His Grace, King Cecil," Kain said. "In my party is the Skyreader of Troia, on a mission on behalf of the Council of Epopts. We are climbing the mountain as our airship crashed." He took another bite of the meat, which might not have been perfect, but after fighting a boss like Mom Bomb, it was more than satisfying.
"You aren't the only one who has survived an airship crash," the woman said, looking down at the fire in the ring of stones. It was hard to make our her face, as she wore a white cloak with red trim over her face. "I was on a ship heading to Mysidia, and… we were struck down. Now I just want to head home."
"Struck down?" Kain asked. He remembered what Sakinah had said during that flight. The weather wasn't natural. "So you believe some… thing is going around striking down airships?"
"No, I don't believe it. I've seen it," she said as she frowned. "It looked like a dragon, but it was not made of flesh and bone. It hid behind clouds… and shot some sort of bolt from its mouth…"
Sakinah closed her eyes. "I knew it…" she declared quietly. "…we were attacked. The clouds don't form like that…"
"But… why would someone go around shooting down airships?" Cuore asked.
"There is power in the ability to mobilize forces," Kain said. "If all nations can pool their powers together, they can stand up to any force trying to cause harm. One reason why the War of the Crystals was able to take place is that the enemy had most all of the airships and prevented quick deliberation. Now that Baron is sharing the technology with the rest of the world so we all might be connected…"
"...there's some force that doesn't like the idea," Cuore said, crossing her arms.
"And you, what's Rydia's adopted daughter doing up here?" Kain asked.
"I'm heading to Mount Hobbs to catch a ship bound for Agart," Cuore said quietly. "I'm heading there to meet with a friend. So, we can stick together for that time, at least."
"Sounds good," Kain said with a smile. "It's always helpful to have a summoner on hand." He then turned to the stranger. "Thank you for telling us what happened. Now we have more information on what is going on to report to the king when I am able to return to Baron."
"In the morning, I will be going back down the mountain to Damcyan…" she said. "…forgive my intrusion."
"There's nothing to worry about," Cuore said, patting her on the back. "Argh, I'm ready for bed!"
