Hey everybody. Yup this is a revised version of chapter 2. Same as
before, I think it should be an easier read. One thing I forgot to
mention about the previous revision is that this won't be the last.
This is sort of an outline, albeit in depth, but it's still only an outline
and will be revised countless times until it is professional. Note to
readers: I'm a perfectionist. As always support Lucifer Yaway
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Chapter 2: The Mighty Ochu's Last Stand
Beta Read by Erato 227
Balancing on its thick body, the Ochu lashed at everyone in the group. Auron was smacked across the face with so much force that he was thrown towards Lulu's feet. She looked down, past her dress comprised of leather belts towards where Auron's badly beaten body lay. She knelt down, peering into his eyes, his face. They seemed dormant. Lifeless. The screams of pain emanating from Yuna's usually timid voice awakened her. Yuna was bleeding from her head, the little droplets of blood falling on the ground like rain.
"Yuna!!!!!!!!!!" Lulu exclaimed.
She ran towards her Summoner, trying as quickly as possible to get to her. All around her, her comrades fought valiantly trying to save the young summoner. Kimhari ducked under the tendril coming at him, but failed to see the other one looming underneath ready to sabotage him. His expression was one of confusion. He hit the ground with surprising force. Lulu heard the loud thud of the Ronso's body, the leather armor moaning as it hit the ground. His spear was a few feet from him, and if she could, she would have helped him back up, but not now. Now she had to save Yuna, her life; everyone's life depended on it.
Tidus was knocked out and moaning as the gaseous cloud enveloped the party putting them all to sleep. No matter how hard they all tried, they couldn't awaken from the spell; it was too strong. Random thoughts raced through his head. He couldn't believe that this fiend was so strong; its power was unbelievable. He had seen one in the Kilika forest earlier, but this one was overwhelmingly powerful. He heard, as if in a trance, screams. Screams from his comrades, screams from Yuna. Yuna. He had to get to her. He focused all his strength in opening his eyes, but the pain and the burning was unbearable. He was able to feel his arm and moved it on the dirt floor of the forest blindly. He grabbed hold of the hilt of his blade, feeling the familiar touch of steel. He knew the touch; it was like a part of him. Auron had given it to him it during their encounter in 'his' Zanarkand. The blade was heavy at first, but in no time at all he was used to the feel, the power and abilities of the weapon. Unfortuantely the Ochu saw this and pulled back one of its tentacles, then very suddenly after gathering as much strength as possible, he lashed out hitting Tidus. The impact made Tidus scream. What made the wound worst was the stingy sensation that was left by the rough surface of the tendril.
Lulu heard everything happening all around her, but she had to get to Yuna. The beast lashed out at her making her trip over Rikku's body, making the poor girl scream worsening the already unbearable pains. Lulu drew in her the only thing she knew well, the touch of magic. She had trained hard to become a mage and had done what she was about to do countless times. Finding in her the inherent powers she had come to know so well, she unleashed a fiery frenzy on the beast. A ball of flames erupted at the creature, lapping it in burning wisps of fire. It distracted the beast for just a second, but proved successful as Lulu was able to get to Yuna and grab her out of harm's way.
"Yuna, Yuna are you OK?" she inquired softly
"Uhhh…umm…" Yuna was breathless and had lost her voice. The pain was too strong and hindered her from replying.
"Yuna, you have to summon. We can rest later"
Yuna instantly recognized the word: summon. It was everything to her. Her life. She had trained to be strong, to be accepted by the Aeons. She staggered to her feet, calling on Valefor, the very first Aeon she had acquired from her home in Besaid. It was the toughest to obtain, but her conviction for bringing the Calm was so strong that the Aeon ultimately agreed to assist her on her pilgrimage.
The sky darkened above them, turning into dark grays and blacks, until finally it ripped open and a phoenix-like bird emerged. Magnificent crimson feathers covered its purplish skin. It dropped, nose-diving towards the fiend attacking the summoner. A bright ball of light began to come forth from its mouth. Its beak opened and unleashed the growing energy at the beast. Yuna felt the power of the lights whizzing by her towards their intended target like homing missiles. She immediately took off, trying to help her comrades. She went towards Tidus, looked into his face and saw the amount of pain he was taking being plastered on his face. His anguished features scared Yuna. She never knew that her journey would be this dangerous. The whole realization of death was becoming all too apparent. She brushed it aside, letting out a small laugh to brighten her spirits and called forth her shaman powers. The life seemed to return to Tidus' awry face, returning his vision and his eyes. Yuna took a moment looking into the ghostly images of his eyes, taking into account all the details. She wanted a mental picture for herself of his eyes to occupy her in her death which was to inevitably come.
"Yuna?" Tidus stared blindly as he remembered what had happened. He grabbed for the sword as he flipped himself towards the enemy. Building up strength in his attack, he was able to slam the sword into the fiend with so much intensity that it severed a tentacle.
Valefor was gathering energy to unleash another attack on the fiend. He flew up into the air to avoid the lashing appendages. One nicked him in the wing, slightly altering his altitude, but he easily overcame it. The Aeon saw how desperate the situation was but he believed in Yuna's abilities. He tried hard to recover the lost stamina and assist in the dangerous battle.
Yuna walked past the flying shadow towards Auron. The old man smelled of death, but the funny thing was he always had a presence like that. It was strange, but Yuna had no time to entertain her mind with this meaningless subject. She quickly approached him. The young summoner knelt down and brought his life back to him immediately. His black leather boots stampeded away. Moments later the shrill sound of the beast was heard; Auron had made a direct hit. The Aeon did amazing visuals, flipping itself and unleashing a tidal wave of powerful energies that brought the mighty Ochu down. The beast threw his greenish plant-like tentacles everywhere. It felt death coming on. The Farplane called to it. The gigantic creature slammed into the ground after emitting an eerie cry.
"Did I miss something, ya?" Wakka asked as he propped himself up.
"Oh nothing. Just a big weed that we had no problems defeating, Wakka," replied Tidus. His overconfidence irritated Lulu.
Rikku blinked her eyes, surveying the dismantled fiend as the pyre flies slowly left the massive carcass. Slowly, she lifted herself. The whipping of the tentacles had left an impression on her arm. Blood flowed from the wound tracing its way down her arm until it hit the soil of the ground.
"Yunie, can you help me?"
"Sure." Yuna walked slowly towards the Al Bhed child, clambering her way past one of the dead creatures' thick tentacles which was dispersing with pyre flies. She saw that there was no apparent wound from the brief examination she made of Rikku's body. Her clothes were just a little ruffled, and there was a scrape on her knee, but aside from that, she saw nothing disastrous about the girl's current condition. Then the girl slowly turned around, rotating her boot against the dirt, scuffing up a cloud of debris. Yuna was shocked at the wound on the Al Bhed girl's abdomen , but she touched and healed the poor girl's arm, making sure everything was ok.
"Thanks, Yuna," Rikku said as she scurried away to see how the rest of the team fared.
Lulu saw them, her team, her friends, her comrades as they ran around making sure everybody was alright. She was amazed that they were able to beat the foe, but this didn't bode well. The journey was long, and there would be foes stronger than this that they would come across. She let out a deep sigh as she looked out towards the water, contemplating, thinking.
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Chapter 2: The Mighty Ochu's Last Stand
Beta Read by Erato 227
Balancing on its thick body, the Ochu lashed at everyone in the group. Auron was smacked across the face with so much force that he was thrown towards Lulu's feet. She looked down, past her dress comprised of leather belts towards where Auron's badly beaten body lay. She knelt down, peering into his eyes, his face. They seemed dormant. Lifeless. The screams of pain emanating from Yuna's usually timid voice awakened her. Yuna was bleeding from her head, the little droplets of blood falling on the ground like rain.
"Yuna!!!!!!!!!!" Lulu exclaimed.
She ran towards her Summoner, trying as quickly as possible to get to her. All around her, her comrades fought valiantly trying to save the young summoner. Kimhari ducked under the tendril coming at him, but failed to see the other one looming underneath ready to sabotage him. His expression was one of confusion. He hit the ground with surprising force. Lulu heard the loud thud of the Ronso's body, the leather armor moaning as it hit the ground. His spear was a few feet from him, and if she could, she would have helped him back up, but not now. Now she had to save Yuna, her life; everyone's life depended on it.
Tidus was knocked out and moaning as the gaseous cloud enveloped the party putting them all to sleep. No matter how hard they all tried, they couldn't awaken from the spell; it was too strong. Random thoughts raced through his head. He couldn't believe that this fiend was so strong; its power was unbelievable. He had seen one in the Kilika forest earlier, but this one was overwhelmingly powerful. He heard, as if in a trance, screams. Screams from his comrades, screams from Yuna. Yuna. He had to get to her. He focused all his strength in opening his eyes, but the pain and the burning was unbearable. He was able to feel his arm and moved it on the dirt floor of the forest blindly. He grabbed hold of the hilt of his blade, feeling the familiar touch of steel. He knew the touch; it was like a part of him. Auron had given it to him it during their encounter in 'his' Zanarkand. The blade was heavy at first, but in no time at all he was used to the feel, the power and abilities of the weapon. Unfortuantely the Ochu saw this and pulled back one of its tentacles, then very suddenly after gathering as much strength as possible, he lashed out hitting Tidus. The impact made Tidus scream. What made the wound worst was the stingy sensation that was left by the rough surface of the tendril.
Lulu heard everything happening all around her, but she had to get to Yuna. The beast lashed out at her making her trip over Rikku's body, making the poor girl scream worsening the already unbearable pains. Lulu drew in her the only thing she knew well, the touch of magic. She had trained hard to become a mage and had done what she was about to do countless times. Finding in her the inherent powers she had come to know so well, she unleashed a fiery frenzy on the beast. A ball of flames erupted at the creature, lapping it in burning wisps of fire. It distracted the beast for just a second, but proved successful as Lulu was able to get to Yuna and grab her out of harm's way.
"Yuna, Yuna are you OK?" she inquired softly
"Uhhh…umm…" Yuna was breathless and had lost her voice. The pain was too strong and hindered her from replying.
"Yuna, you have to summon. We can rest later"
Yuna instantly recognized the word: summon. It was everything to her. Her life. She had trained to be strong, to be accepted by the Aeons. She staggered to her feet, calling on Valefor, the very first Aeon she had acquired from her home in Besaid. It was the toughest to obtain, but her conviction for bringing the Calm was so strong that the Aeon ultimately agreed to assist her on her pilgrimage.
The sky darkened above them, turning into dark grays and blacks, until finally it ripped open and a phoenix-like bird emerged. Magnificent crimson feathers covered its purplish skin. It dropped, nose-diving towards the fiend attacking the summoner. A bright ball of light began to come forth from its mouth. Its beak opened and unleashed the growing energy at the beast. Yuna felt the power of the lights whizzing by her towards their intended target like homing missiles. She immediately took off, trying to help her comrades. She went towards Tidus, looked into his face and saw the amount of pain he was taking being plastered on his face. His anguished features scared Yuna. She never knew that her journey would be this dangerous. The whole realization of death was becoming all too apparent. She brushed it aside, letting out a small laugh to brighten her spirits and called forth her shaman powers. The life seemed to return to Tidus' awry face, returning his vision and his eyes. Yuna took a moment looking into the ghostly images of his eyes, taking into account all the details. She wanted a mental picture for herself of his eyes to occupy her in her death which was to inevitably come.
"Yuna?" Tidus stared blindly as he remembered what had happened. He grabbed for the sword as he flipped himself towards the enemy. Building up strength in his attack, he was able to slam the sword into the fiend with so much intensity that it severed a tentacle.
Valefor was gathering energy to unleash another attack on the fiend. He flew up into the air to avoid the lashing appendages. One nicked him in the wing, slightly altering his altitude, but he easily overcame it. The Aeon saw how desperate the situation was but he believed in Yuna's abilities. He tried hard to recover the lost stamina and assist in the dangerous battle.
Yuna walked past the flying shadow towards Auron. The old man smelled of death, but the funny thing was he always had a presence like that. It was strange, but Yuna had no time to entertain her mind with this meaningless subject. She quickly approached him. The young summoner knelt down and brought his life back to him immediately. His black leather boots stampeded away. Moments later the shrill sound of the beast was heard; Auron had made a direct hit. The Aeon did amazing visuals, flipping itself and unleashing a tidal wave of powerful energies that brought the mighty Ochu down. The beast threw his greenish plant-like tentacles everywhere. It felt death coming on. The Farplane called to it. The gigantic creature slammed into the ground after emitting an eerie cry.
"Did I miss something, ya?" Wakka asked as he propped himself up.
"Oh nothing. Just a big weed that we had no problems defeating, Wakka," replied Tidus. His overconfidence irritated Lulu.
Rikku blinked her eyes, surveying the dismantled fiend as the pyre flies slowly left the massive carcass. Slowly, she lifted herself. The whipping of the tentacles had left an impression on her arm. Blood flowed from the wound tracing its way down her arm until it hit the soil of the ground.
"Yunie, can you help me?"
"Sure." Yuna walked slowly towards the Al Bhed child, clambering her way past one of the dead creatures' thick tentacles which was dispersing with pyre flies. She saw that there was no apparent wound from the brief examination she made of Rikku's body. Her clothes were just a little ruffled, and there was a scrape on her knee, but aside from that, she saw nothing disastrous about the girl's current condition. Then the girl slowly turned around, rotating her boot against the dirt, scuffing up a cloud of debris. Yuna was shocked at the wound on the Al Bhed girl's abdomen , but she touched and healed the poor girl's arm, making sure everything was ok.
"Thanks, Yuna," Rikku said as she scurried away to see how the rest of the team fared.
Lulu saw them, her team, her friends, her comrades as they ran around making sure everybody was alright. She was amazed that they were able to beat the foe, but this didn't bode well. The journey was long, and there would be foes stronger than this that they would come across. She let out a deep sigh as she looked out towards the water, contemplating, thinking.