Chapter 6- Draw Your Sword, Runic Knight!
Locke whirled around and made a weird noise that could only be described as an "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeep!" Since he was holding Celes, he forced her to turn also, and she made a bitter face at what she saw.
Standing before them was a rather hideous monster, classified as a Veteran. Ok, so it wasn't standing, it was floating. But still, it had the same looming effect. A Veteran was basically a massive yellowish-orangeish eyeball with two petite blue wings at it's sides to help it stay afloat. It also had fangs sticking out of it gaping mouth, and wasn't a pretty sight to see. Every once in a while, these remaining creatures from Kefka's tower would wander into town, and they still posed a threat to the people. Celes herself had not had to finish any of the monsters off yet, but it looked like she would get her chance now.
"Locke, do you um, happen to carry a weapon when you take these nightly walks?!" Celes cried.
"Not really." Locke replied sarcastically. "But I suppose you have a sword hidden somewhere in those oh-so-silky pajamas, right?" Celes glared at him.
"Ok, fine, I'll go back to the house, you keep this thing occupied." She said, and took off running.
"Ack, Celes, WAIT!" Locke cried, but she had already made herself out of earshot.
"Ohhh...man...." Locke muttered, and looked at the Veteran again. "Hurry Celes...!"
Celes ran all the way back to the house and dashed inside her bedroom, where she hid any remaining weapons/armor from the Kefka battle. She got to her knees and began furiously digging under the bed, searching for them. Luckily, she found the two Gladiuses she knew she had, and ran outside again, back to Locke.
Locke, meanwhile, was having what he thought was a most unusual staring contest with the Veteran. It growled and hissed at him, but he kept on staring, hoping to break any concentration it might have dedicated to attacking him.
"Locke!" Celes cried as she approached. Locke turned to look for her, and the Veteran took that time to lash out at Locke with one of it's claws. He managed to duck just in time by hitting the ground with a thump. Celes hurried up and ran to his side.
"Here." She said, and shoved the blade in his hand. "This is all I have."
"Good enough." Locke said, and jumped back to his feet. With a mighty cry, he leaped into the air over the monster and came crashing down, slicing his weapon right through it's body.
However, this only phased it slightly- it let out a growl and zoomed in closer, extending another claw. Celes saw her chance and leaped at the creature, totally slicing off that claw. It howled in pain and took its revenge, quickly counter attacking with it's last claw before Celes could react. In a quick swipe, the Veteran sliced through the light blue pajama top Celes was wearing, leaving massive, bleeding marks on her chest.
Celes, not feeling pain like this in such a long time, was at first completely numb. She looked down at the slashes across her chest, the shreds of fabric fluttering to the ground.
"No, Celes!" Locke cried.
Celes finally was able to mutter a soft moan before falling to her knees, the pain now surging through her body in pulsating rushes. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth to let out a scream, but nothing came out. The horror had hit her full force- She couldn't simply cure herself as she could before. She would have to stay like this, and suffer!
Locke kneeled down before her and pulled her to his chest gently.
"It's ok." He said. "Calm down..."
Celes opened her eyes and looked to the Veteran, and not Locke. It had been too quiet, it hadn't made an attempt to finish her off. But now she realized why. The Veteran's one eye was shut. This could only mean one thing...
"It's going to cast a spell." Celes suddenly moaned. "It's going to finish both of us off."
"Grrr, I'll kill it before it has the chance!" Locke cried, and stood up once again, taking a slash at the creature, eliminating the other claw. The Veteran merely countered by ramming itself into Locke. He gasped and hit the side of the bridge, almost tumbling over, but instead dropping his weapon into the water.
"Oh, shit!" He cried, and turned back to the monster and the helpless Celes.
"I-I've got it." Celes said. She reached out for her own weapon, right as the Veteran opened it's eye again to cast its spell.
"RUNIC BLADE, heade my call!" Celes screamed, and held her blade in the air.
The Veteran's now revealed Fire 3 spell was released, but instead of devestating the entire bridge, it seemed to draw itself into Celes' sword, saving her and Locke from any danger. Celes closed her eyes tightly, and concentrated on absorbing the entire spell. But her strength was fading quickly, and the second after the entire spell was absorbed, she gave out and slumped to the ground, dropping the now warm sword. She had fainted.
Locke decided that this was it. He stooped down with amazing agility, swiped the sword, and leaped up, giving the monster a final slash from the bottom-up. It howled into the night air and disappeared with a flash of purple, blinding light.
**********
Hmmmm....what is this? Light? Oh...it....it burns....my eyes...is this a dream?
Celes slowly opened her eyes, and found herself in a pool of sunlight. She moaned and sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes, and starting to stretch. But a sudden pain ripped through her chest, causing her to stop and drop her arms immediately. The memories of what had happened only a few hours back flooded her senses, and she moaned and lowered her head to her hands.
What happened to me? Why did I fall so easily? Perhaps.....since I lost my ability to cast magic, I lost alot of my strength...it's not definate, but I think that might be what happened...
Suddenly, a door opened, and Celes looked up to see Locke in the doorway. It was then she realized she was back in her own bedroom, and not the living room.
"Locke?" Celes asked.
"Hey..." He said. "Mind if I come in?"
"Please, do." Celes said, and patted the spot on the bed next to her. Locke came in, and sat down quickly.
"Mind if I see your chest?" He asked in a sleepy voice.
"WHAT?!" Celes shrieked.
"Erm, sorry, I meant, that's where your wound is." Locke said, and turned a slight shade of crimson. "Sorry, I didn't have the best sleep in the world."
"......" Celes didn't say anything. He must have been up all night tending to me! She thought. He took care of me....probably saved my life!
Celes looked down at her somewhat cleaned up pajama top, and began to un- botton it slowly. Locke looked at her hands in fascination, and thought he was staring maybe a little too hard. He turned away until Celes said "Alright."
He turned back, and winced a little. All he could think of was how painful it must have been.
Trailing across the top half of Celes' chest were the deep claw wounds. They had been cleaned up and disinfected by Locke, but they still looked bad. All the flesh around the wound was an irritated red. Celes looked down at her chest, clutching at the top so that it wouldn't reveal more then necessary. Locke gestured to her that he was finished, and she buttoned it back up quickly.
"I'm so happy you saved us last night." Locke said. "But you did it at your strength's expense..."
"It's alright, I just wasn't used to fighting..." Celes said softly. "Did you get hurt?"
"No, I'm fine." Locke said. "It's you we'll have to look after for a while."
"Do you still want me to come with you?" Celes asked. "When we leave Albrook?"
"Yes, of course!" Locke smiled. "Just because of one little incident, you think I'm gonna ditch you?"
"No!" Celes answered, and smiled for the first time that day. "I'm happy to hear that."
"I didn't leave the house at all last night." Locke said, "Casue I was afraid you would need me. But now that you're up, do you mind if I run to the general store real quick to get some potions? They'll help you feel better."
"Oh, go ahead." Celes said. "Because as soon as I can get out of bed, we're leaving."
Locke laughed. "Well, I can see who's going to be boss from now on..."
"That's right." Celes smirked. "A tiny scratch like this isn't going to keep me from the action!"
"Yeah....I can see my worrying was for nothing." Locke said, and sighed. "Looks like you didn't have any problems getting back to normal." He smiled, and gave her a wink.
She winked back, and gave a victory sign.
Locke whirled around and made a weird noise that could only be described as an "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeep!" Since he was holding Celes, he forced her to turn also, and she made a bitter face at what she saw.
Standing before them was a rather hideous monster, classified as a Veteran. Ok, so it wasn't standing, it was floating. But still, it had the same looming effect. A Veteran was basically a massive yellowish-orangeish eyeball with two petite blue wings at it's sides to help it stay afloat. It also had fangs sticking out of it gaping mouth, and wasn't a pretty sight to see. Every once in a while, these remaining creatures from Kefka's tower would wander into town, and they still posed a threat to the people. Celes herself had not had to finish any of the monsters off yet, but it looked like she would get her chance now.
"Locke, do you um, happen to carry a weapon when you take these nightly walks?!" Celes cried.
"Not really." Locke replied sarcastically. "But I suppose you have a sword hidden somewhere in those oh-so-silky pajamas, right?" Celes glared at him.
"Ok, fine, I'll go back to the house, you keep this thing occupied." She said, and took off running.
"Ack, Celes, WAIT!" Locke cried, but she had already made herself out of earshot.
"Ohhh...man...." Locke muttered, and looked at the Veteran again. "Hurry Celes...!"
Celes ran all the way back to the house and dashed inside her bedroom, where she hid any remaining weapons/armor from the Kefka battle. She got to her knees and began furiously digging under the bed, searching for them. Luckily, she found the two Gladiuses she knew she had, and ran outside again, back to Locke.
Locke, meanwhile, was having what he thought was a most unusual staring contest with the Veteran. It growled and hissed at him, but he kept on staring, hoping to break any concentration it might have dedicated to attacking him.
"Locke!" Celes cried as she approached. Locke turned to look for her, and the Veteran took that time to lash out at Locke with one of it's claws. He managed to duck just in time by hitting the ground with a thump. Celes hurried up and ran to his side.
"Here." She said, and shoved the blade in his hand. "This is all I have."
"Good enough." Locke said, and jumped back to his feet. With a mighty cry, he leaped into the air over the monster and came crashing down, slicing his weapon right through it's body.
However, this only phased it slightly- it let out a growl and zoomed in closer, extending another claw. Celes saw her chance and leaped at the creature, totally slicing off that claw. It howled in pain and took its revenge, quickly counter attacking with it's last claw before Celes could react. In a quick swipe, the Veteran sliced through the light blue pajama top Celes was wearing, leaving massive, bleeding marks on her chest.
Celes, not feeling pain like this in such a long time, was at first completely numb. She looked down at the slashes across her chest, the shreds of fabric fluttering to the ground.
"No, Celes!" Locke cried.
Celes finally was able to mutter a soft moan before falling to her knees, the pain now surging through her body in pulsating rushes. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth to let out a scream, but nothing came out. The horror had hit her full force- She couldn't simply cure herself as she could before. She would have to stay like this, and suffer!
Locke kneeled down before her and pulled her to his chest gently.
"It's ok." He said. "Calm down..."
Celes opened her eyes and looked to the Veteran, and not Locke. It had been too quiet, it hadn't made an attempt to finish her off. But now she realized why. The Veteran's one eye was shut. This could only mean one thing...
"It's going to cast a spell." Celes suddenly moaned. "It's going to finish both of us off."
"Grrr, I'll kill it before it has the chance!" Locke cried, and stood up once again, taking a slash at the creature, eliminating the other claw. The Veteran merely countered by ramming itself into Locke. He gasped and hit the side of the bridge, almost tumbling over, but instead dropping his weapon into the water.
"Oh, shit!" He cried, and turned back to the monster and the helpless Celes.
"I-I've got it." Celes said. She reached out for her own weapon, right as the Veteran opened it's eye again to cast its spell.
"RUNIC BLADE, heade my call!" Celes screamed, and held her blade in the air.
The Veteran's now revealed Fire 3 spell was released, but instead of devestating the entire bridge, it seemed to draw itself into Celes' sword, saving her and Locke from any danger. Celes closed her eyes tightly, and concentrated on absorbing the entire spell. But her strength was fading quickly, and the second after the entire spell was absorbed, she gave out and slumped to the ground, dropping the now warm sword. She had fainted.
Locke decided that this was it. He stooped down with amazing agility, swiped the sword, and leaped up, giving the monster a final slash from the bottom-up. It howled into the night air and disappeared with a flash of purple, blinding light.
**********
Hmmmm....what is this? Light? Oh...it....it burns....my eyes...is this a dream?
Celes slowly opened her eyes, and found herself in a pool of sunlight. She moaned and sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes, and starting to stretch. But a sudden pain ripped through her chest, causing her to stop and drop her arms immediately. The memories of what had happened only a few hours back flooded her senses, and she moaned and lowered her head to her hands.
What happened to me? Why did I fall so easily? Perhaps.....since I lost my ability to cast magic, I lost alot of my strength...it's not definate, but I think that might be what happened...
Suddenly, a door opened, and Celes looked up to see Locke in the doorway. It was then she realized she was back in her own bedroom, and not the living room.
"Locke?" Celes asked.
"Hey..." He said. "Mind if I come in?"
"Please, do." Celes said, and patted the spot on the bed next to her. Locke came in, and sat down quickly.
"Mind if I see your chest?" He asked in a sleepy voice.
"WHAT?!" Celes shrieked.
"Erm, sorry, I meant, that's where your wound is." Locke said, and turned a slight shade of crimson. "Sorry, I didn't have the best sleep in the world."
"......" Celes didn't say anything. He must have been up all night tending to me! She thought. He took care of me....probably saved my life!
Celes looked down at her somewhat cleaned up pajama top, and began to un- botton it slowly. Locke looked at her hands in fascination, and thought he was staring maybe a little too hard. He turned away until Celes said "Alright."
He turned back, and winced a little. All he could think of was how painful it must have been.
Trailing across the top half of Celes' chest were the deep claw wounds. They had been cleaned up and disinfected by Locke, but they still looked bad. All the flesh around the wound was an irritated red. Celes looked down at her chest, clutching at the top so that it wouldn't reveal more then necessary. Locke gestured to her that he was finished, and she buttoned it back up quickly.
"I'm so happy you saved us last night." Locke said. "But you did it at your strength's expense..."
"It's alright, I just wasn't used to fighting..." Celes said softly. "Did you get hurt?"
"No, I'm fine." Locke said. "It's you we'll have to look after for a while."
"Do you still want me to come with you?" Celes asked. "When we leave Albrook?"
"Yes, of course!" Locke smiled. "Just because of one little incident, you think I'm gonna ditch you?"
"No!" Celes answered, and smiled for the first time that day. "I'm happy to hear that."
"I didn't leave the house at all last night." Locke said, "Casue I was afraid you would need me. But now that you're up, do you mind if I run to the general store real quick to get some potions? They'll help you feel better."
"Oh, go ahead." Celes said. "Because as soon as I can get out of bed, we're leaving."
Locke laughed. "Well, I can see who's going to be boss from now on..."
"That's right." Celes smirked. "A tiny scratch like this isn't going to keep me from the action!"
"Yeah....I can see my worrying was for nothing." Locke said, and sighed. "Looks like you didn't have any problems getting back to normal." He smiled, and gave her a wink.
She winked back, and gave a victory sign.