"Zidane, what happened? Can you speak?" she asked her battered brother, "
Did the roots of the tree attack you? . . . . . just nod if yes."
Zidane was prostrate with his ear to the ground. His right arm was facing the side of the platform and twisted in an odd direction, his left was still pointing at Kuja's body. He shifted his neck muscles up and down, with what looked like a huge strain on his energy and nodded as well as he possibly could. The sight was disturbing, to say the least; the strongest fighter in Gaia looked like a rag-doll that had been tossed through a brick wall.
"Do you think you can walk?" Zidane's neck twisted to indicate a no.
When his face turned towards Mikoto, she caught her first glimpse of his eyes. Their deep blue color reminded her of the dark waters she saw in the ocean near the Iifa tree. They were beautiful and calm on the exterior, but underneath, a torrent of things was happening. His drooped eyelids portrayed the pain and tiredness he felt, but the outer tips of the eyes were turned up just enough to indicate a sense of joy. The joy of triumph over death, the joy of thoughts of loved ones, the joy of forgiving Kuja. Probably every bone in his body was reduced to oatmeal, but his eyes told the story of a young man that knew he would return to civilization alive.
"I'm going to try and heal you as best I can, okay? but I don't have enough energy to cast many more spells and I don't have any healing potions. Where does it hurt the most? Can you point to it?" she looked intently as he lifted his hand to point to a part of his body. He stretched his finger out and pointed to his ribcage. Mikoto lifted his shirt and looked underneath at his chest.
It was the first time she had actually looked at her brother's wounds closely. A huge gash had been swiped diagonally through the flesh on his chest. Fortunately the gash had clotted and was preventing any more blood loss, but it was safe to say that Zidane had lost quite a bit of blood by the amounts that had encrusted on his shirt and stomach.
She lifted her hands to place overtop of the huge slash and concentrated deeply. A white light surrounded her hands and a line went from her open palms to the gash. The skin around the wound began to close and create a much smaller cut. There was still a sign that there had been a deep slash in his skin, though: her cure spell was not strong enough for this sort of injury. She knew that a much more powerful spell would need to be used soon or the cut would open again and cause much more blood loss than before.
She looked at the rest of his body, there were numerous cuts and bruises that lined his arms and legs, the bones were probably broken under the skin as well. Overall the largest injury was the one on his chest. She looked at his face. He stared blankly back at her with the same expression that Kuja had had. In fact the only way she could tell he was still alive was the fact that he was breathing, barely.
She stood up and pointed a palm down at him again and used the strongest cure spell she could muster. He seemed to breath a sigh of relief. She had healed some of his broken bones. Not enough for him to walk, but enough for him to be carried.
"So . . . you can't walk. I'll just have to carry you, I guess. Don't worry, there's bound to be somewhere close where we can make you all better." She said.
She wondered if she would be able to carry his weight, he didn't look too heavy but looks were deceiving. fortunately her looks were deceiving as well: for a fourteen year old girl she was quite strong.
"I'm going to pick you up now, okay? I'll try very hard not to hurt you, but I can't make any promises. We'll just hope that we're lucky and I can carry you all the way out of this tree without anything attacking us."
Almost as if to answer her, a howl rang out through the tree and six pairs of glowing eyes emerged into the moonlight that shone below the platform. A pack of dirty gray wolves had snuck through the side of the tree and were staring straight at Zidane and Kuja. They obviously thought both were prime choices for their next meal; the small girl standing by them would be no trouble at all for such a treat.
"What? Not now! I don't have the time or the energy for this!" she shouted down at the pack of very hungry looking wolves.
Unfortunately, none of them seemed to heed her words and began to pace back and forth around the platform. None of them could jump high enough to make it up the platform, could they? Once again, almost as if on cue, one of the wolves managed to jump and land its front paws on the top of the platform. It pulled itself up slowly and almost made it to the top but Mikoto planted a swift kick directly on its nose. The wolf fell to the floor among its pack members and lay still for a few moments then stood back up and began to yelp and snarl as if nothing had happened to it.
"Stay back I've still got a few spells left in me! Don't try anything!" yelled Mikoto.
The wolves still paid no attention to the small girl. She had to draw the animal's attentions away from her helpless brothers, but she had no weapon and only enough energy for about one or two spells. Mikoto looked for something sharp to use. She picked up a stick and jabbed it at one of the meaner looking wolves.
It came back half as long. That wouldn't work.
She picked up another stick and lobbed it into the distance, hoping that these wolves liked to play fetch. They didn't even look at the stick as it crashed to the floor twenty feet behind them.
A scratching noise behind her told that another wolf had jumped up. She kicked it square between the eyes with her heel and watched it fall back to its comrades. They seemed to be getting restless. The snarling and gnashing of teeth was growing louder. Her last choice was to draw their attention herself. It didn't sound like a great idea, but sitting up on a pedestal for a pack of wolves to eat didn't either.
Mikoto threw all caution to the wind, jumped to the ground, and did a roll which turned her around to face the pack of wolves. Three of them spun to face her and scampered to where she had landed.
"That's right! Come towards me!" she looked at the other three by the platform and shouted "Hey! Over here! I'm a good meal too! Come on!" the wolves by the platform did not turn.
Mikoto extended her hand and called the last bit of energy she had for a spell; the familiar warmth in her stomach moved up to her arm and flew from her fingertips towards the closest wolf. It's fur caught fire. It seemed to move in slow motion as the red and orange flames spread around its body. It fell to the ground, writhing in pain. The wolf gave out a loud yelp and died. One down: five to go.
The incineration of their comrade caught the other's attentions, all of the wolves moved towards the young girl now.
"Yeah, good." She said to herself, "keep them away from Zidane and Kuja. Okay! lets see how fast you guys are!" Mikoto shouted at the wolves and turned to run in the opposite direction.
Her thoughts were drowned out by the panting and howling of the creatures behind her, the only thing she could think was to draw them from her brothers. Both moons were still on the rise, the light that came into the tree lit her entire surroundings. She could see that she had quite a ways to run before she could come to the brown wall of the tree. The taste of dust suffocated her and nearly made her choke, but the race was not yet over.
Mikoto continued sprinting in the opposite direction of the platform where Kuja and Zidane lay. She looked left and right for something to use as a weapon. Mikoto looked behind and saw the dark silhouettes of the creatures closing on her.
She had to think fast. She looked left, nothing, not even a rock or two.
Right. A pile of thorny sticks.
That would do. She faked turning left for two steps then zigzagged back towards the wall of sticks to her right. The wolves bought this maneuver and turned to the left while she turned to the right. Mikoto had given herself a few more seconds with which to set up her trap. She reached the pile of sticks and turned around to face the wolves.
They flung themselves in a large arc, when they realized they had been tricked, and darted as fast as they could in her direction. They slavered at the sight of her, their gray ears folded back for maximum speed, and their yellow eyes pierced her body. They were closing fast. Their sharp breathing became close enough to smell.
Mikoto stood her ground.
Her mind told her that she needed to get out of their way. The first wolf came within an arms length. They were close enough. She front flipped into the center of the pack. The first wolf was caught totally by surprise and was unable to stop in time. He ran into the pile of sticks at full speed and was impaled by a sharp spike that protruded from the bramble.
The other wolves skidded to a halt and drew near their fallen comrade. His body sagged and his life slowly dripped away. The closest wolf moved to its brother's side and gently inhaled the dying animal's scent. She had killed two members of their pack. She was no longer a meal to them, she was an enemy. They bared their teeth and spun around sharply to the left.
Two down: four to go. Mikoto looked around for something else to use. Her lungs were beginning to burn and her legs stung from overuse, but stopping would mean death for more than just herself. The wolves behind her were no longer howling, their hunger was replaced with anger. A bead of sweat rolled down her nose, she knew she could not hold out for much longer.
Suddenly a black area where the moonlight did not hit the ground, caught her attention. A chasm lay about fifty feet ahead of her. She looked at the crack, it looked about thirty feet deep and fifteen across; small enough to jump over but just wide enough to lose a few of her pursuers.
She took the chance and ran towards the crack. What little strength she had was used in a surge of energy to speed her running. She reached the edge of the crack and jumped with all of her might.
Her feet let go of the ground and her body floated into the air. She could see into the chasm below, but the moonlight only went so far; it was deeper than she thought. Gravity pulled her body back to the ground but . . .
it was too long for her to jump.
The edge of the crack came back to greet her. She reached out with her hands to grab at anything that could keep her from falling into the darkness below. Her hands slapped the ground and began to slip on the dirt. There was nothing to grab. She was going to fall.
She had half a second to find a handhold. Her body was below the lip of the gap and still falling.
There was nothing.
She was going to die. . .
at the last second her hand caught something hard.
A rock jut away from the chasm and her hand slid into the space between ground and rock. Her body jerked and came to a halt. No time to celebrate. She pulled herself up.
The wolves saw her jump, but their minds were so clouded by anger that their attention was fixed on her and not on the huge black fissure that opened ahead of them. The first wolf in the pack saw the dark tear in the earth but only recognized that it was dangerous as it slipped down into the blackness below. The others slid to a stop and watched their companion fall to its death.
Three down: three to go. But . . . the gap was between her and the three other wolves.
"Damn! No! No! No!!" she wailed.
The wolves recognized that she was no longer a threat. The gap was too long to jump without a running start. Mikoto was trapped on the opposite side of the dark fissure. Her brothers would soon be the dinner of the wolves if she couldn't get across. She ran alongside of the gap looking for a smaller space she could jump across.
The wolves ran back to the platform. There were two helpless meals there ready to be eaten. They would feast like they had never feasted before. Their fallen comrades were completely washed from their minds. The only thing they thought about was the undying hunger that had led them to this place.
They grew closer to the platform. The smell of blood and flesh heightened their hunger. They could taste the meat in their mouths, nothing could stop them. The alpha male jumped up the platform. The other two wolves followed suit. Before them lay two prime morsels that couldn't fight back, an excellent meal. The closest was the dead one.
They moved in. Their teeth were exposed and glinted in the harsh moonlight. The alpha male darted forward. He opened his mouth to rip a piece of the arm's flesh.
"Nooooooo!" screamed Mikoto but her words were drowned out by something else.
"NO!"
a deep voice rang through the entire tree. The ground shook and something on the platform flashed. Mikoto couldn't see the platform well enough to make out the source of the light. The bright flashing light seemed to be coming from the far side. The entire chamber lit with a brilliant pinkish white color, and a shape was rising from the platform. Mikoto shielded her eyes with her hands and brought them down when she had grown accustomed to the light.
Zidane's body was floating above the platform like he was being held by a string attached to his chest. His head and legs were being pulled down by gravity but he was still rising. Suddenly his body was yanked straight up and down like a limp marionette and the light flashed yet again.
Zidane was flying above the platform, but still seemed to be unconscious. A ringing in her head began. The wolves that had been about to feast upon Kuja were obviously horrified at the pink and white being that had just risen above their heads. The leader backed slowly away from the threat, but didn't run from the awe inspiring sight. Zidane's arms slowly folded across his chest and his knees were drawn up to his torso. His body formed a luminescent ball that glowed with brilliant energy.
The wolves fearful yellow eyes reflected the pink light above them. Their fangs were sheathed within their mouths. Their gray ears lay flat against their heads. They knew it was time to leave. They turned to run. It was too late. Zidane's arms and legs exploded from his body. About twenty bright missile shaped objects seemed to escape a well of energy inside his chest and shoot straight down at the wolves.
They had no chance.
The three of them jumped from the platform and dashed towards the direction they had entered. The missiles were too fast for them. The missiles chased them. The wolves ran faster. The missiles closed in. The alpha male stumbled and fell. His yellow eyes turned towards the oncoming death. Nothing could prevent it.
The light from the explosion reached Mikoto first. Then the sound. The entire floor shook and the brown walls rumbled as if a quake had shaken all of Gaia. All Mikoto could make out, from the outside of the explosion, were three wolf shaped silhouettes slowly falling apart, piece by piece. The fire pulled back in to its origin almost as fast as the explosion had happened.
Nothing was left of the beasts save a pile of ash where each had been standing.
Zidane was prostrate with his ear to the ground. His right arm was facing the side of the platform and twisted in an odd direction, his left was still pointing at Kuja's body. He shifted his neck muscles up and down, with what looked like a huge strain on his energy and nodded as well as he possibly could. The sight was disturbing, to say the least; the strongest fighter in Gaia looked like a rag-doll that had been tossed through a brick wall.
"Do you think you can walk?" Zidane's neck twisted to indicate a no.
When his face turned towards Mikoto, she caught her first glimpse of his eyes. Their deep blue color reminded her of the dark waters she saw in the ocean near the Iifa tree. They were beautiful and calm on the exterior, but underneath, a torrent of things was happening. His drooped eyelids portrayed the pain and tiredness he felt, but the outer tips of the eyes were turned up just enough to indicate a sense of joy. The joy of triumph over death, the joy of thoughts of loved ones, the joy of forgiving Kuja. Probably every bone in his body was reduced to oatmeal, but his eyes told the story of a young man that knew he would return to civilization alive.
"I'm going to try and heal you as best I can, okay? but I don't have enough energy to cast many more spells and I don't have any healing potions. Where does it hurt the most? Can you point to it?" she looked intently as he lifted his hand to point to a part of his body. He stretched his finger out and pointed to his ribcage. Mikoto lifted his shirt and looked underneath at his chest.
It was the first time she had actually looked at her brother's wounds closely. A huge gash had been swiped diagonally through the flesh on his chest. Fortunately the gash had clotted and was preventing any more blood loss, but it was safe to say that Zidane had lost quite a bit of blood by the amounts that had encrusted on his shirt and stomach.
She lifted her hands to place overtop of the huge slash and concentrated deeply. A white light surrounded her hands and a line went from her open palms to the gash. The skin around the wound began to close and create a much smaller cut. There was still a sign that there had been a deep slash in his skin, though: her cure spell was not strong enough for this sort of injury. She knew that a much more powerful spell would need to be used soon or the cut would open again and cause much more blood loss than before.
She looked at the rest of his body, there were numerous cuts and bruises that lined his arms and legs, the bones were probably broken under the skin as well. Overall the largest injury was the one on his chest. She looked at his face. He stared blankly back at her with the same expression that Kuja had had. In fact the only way she could tell he was still alive was the fact that he was breathing, barely.
She stood up and pointed a palm down at him again and used the strongest cure spell she could muster. He seemed to breath a sigh of relief. She had healed some of his broken bones. Not enough for him to walk, but enough for him to be carried.
"So . . . you can't walk. I'll just have to carry you, I guess. Don't worry, there's bound to be somewhere close where we can make you all better." She said.
She wondered if she would be able to carry his weight, he didn't look too heavy but looks were deceiving. fortunately her looks were deceiving as well: for a fourteen year old girl she was quite strong.
"I'm going to pick you up now, okay? I'll try very hard not to hurt you, but I can't make any promises. We'll just hope that we're lucky and I can carry you all the way out of this tree without anything attacking us."
Almost as if to answer her, a howl rang out through the tree and six pairs of glowing eyes emerged into the moonlight that shone below the platform. A pack of dirty gray wolves had snuck through the side of the tree and were staring straight at Zidane and Kuja. They obviously thought both were prime choices for their next meal; the small girl standing by them would be no trouble at all for such a treat.
"What? Not now! I don't have the time or the energy for this!" she shouted down at the pack of very hungry looking wolves.
Unfortunately, none of them seemed to heed her words and began to pace back and forth around the platform. None of them could jump high enough to make it up the platform, could they? Once again, almost as if on cue, one of the wolves managed to jump and land its front paws on the top of the platform. It pulled itself up slowly and almost made it to the top but Mikoto planted a swift kick directly on its nose. The wolf fell to the floor among its pack members and lay still for a few moments then stood back up and began to yelp and snarl as if nothing had happened to it.
"Stay back I've still got a few spells left in me! Don't try anything!" yelled Mikoto.
The wolves still paid no attention to the small girl. She had to draw the animal's attentions away from her helpless brothers, but she had no weapon and only enough energy for about one or two spells. Mikoto looked for something sharp to use. She picked up a stick and jabbed it at one of the meaner looking wolves.
It came back half as long. That wouldn't work.
She picked up another stick and lobbed it into the distance, hoping that these wolves liked to play fetch. They didn't even look at the stick as it crashed to the floor twenty feet behind them.
A scratching noise behind her told that another wolf had jumped up. She kicked it square between the eyes with her heel and watched it fall back to its comrades. They seemed to be getting restless. The snarling and gnashing of teeth was growing louder. Her last choice was to draw their attention herself. It didn't sound like a great idea, but sitting up on a pedestal for a pack of wolves to eat didn't either.
Mikoto threw all caution to the wind, jumped to the ground, and did a roll which turned her around to face the pack of wolves. Three of them spun to face her and scampered to where she had landed.
"That's right! Come towards me!" she looked at the other three by the platform and shouted "Hey! Over here! I'm a good meal too! Come on!" the wolves by the platform did not turn.
Mikoto extended her hand and called the last bit of energy she had for a spell; the familiar warmth in her stomach moved up to her arm and flew from her fingertips towards the closest wolf. It's fur caught fire. It seemed to move in slow motion as the red and orange flames spread around its body. It fell to the ground, writhing in pain. The wolf gave out a loud yelp and died. One down: five to go.
The incineration of their comrade caught the other's attentions, all of the wolves moved towards the young girl now.
"Yeah, good." She said to herself, "keep them away from Zidane and Kuja. Okay! lets see how fast you guys are!" Mikoto shouted at the wolves and turned to run in the opposite direction.
Her thoughts were drowned out by the panting and howling of the creatures behind her, the only thing she could think was to draw them from her brothers. Both moons were still on the rise, the light that came into the tree lit her entire surroundings. She could see that she had quite a ways to run before she could come to the brown wall of the tree. The taste of dust suffocated her and nearly made her choke, but the race was not yet over.
Mikoto continued sprinting in the opposite direction of the platform where Kuja and Zidane lay. She looked left and right for something to use as a weapon. Mikoto looked behind and saw the dark silhouettes of the creatures closing on her.
She had to think fast. She looked left, nothing, not even a rock or two.
Right. A pile of thorny sticks.
That would do. She faked turning left for two steps then zigzagged back towards the wall of sticks to her right. The wolves bought this maneuver and turned to the left while she turned to the right. Mikoto had given herself a few more seconds with which to set up her trap. She reached the pile of sticks and turned around to face the wolves.
They flung themselves in a large arc, when they realized they had been tricked, and darted as fast as they could in her direction. They slavered at the sight of her, their gray ears folded back for maximum speed, and their yellow eyes pierced her body. They were closing fast. Their sharp breathing became close enough to smell.
Mikoto stood her ground.
Her mind told her that she needed to get out of their way. The first wolf came within an arms length. They were close enough. She front flipped into the center of the pack. The first wolf was caught totally by surprise and was unable to stop in time. He ran into the pile of sticks at full speed and was impaled by a sharp spike that protruded from the bramble.
The other wolves skidded to a halt and drew near their fallen comrade. His body sagged and his life slowly dripped away. The closest wolf moved to its brother's side and gently inhaled the dying animal's scent. She had killed two members of their pack. She was no longer a meal to them, she was an enemy. They bared their teeth and spun around sharply to the left.
Two down: four to go. Mikoto looked around for something else to use. Her lungs were beginning to burn and her legs stung from overuse, but stopping would mean death for more than just herself. The wolves behind her were no longer howling, their hunger was replaced with anger. A bead of sweat rolled down her nose, she knew she could not hold out for much longer.
Suddenly a black area where the moonlight did not hit the ground, caught her attention. A chasm lay about fifty feet ahead of her. She looked at the crack, it looked about thirty feet deep and fifteen across; small enough to jump over but just wide enough to lose a few of her pursuers.
She took the chance and ran towards the crack. What little strength she had was used in a surge of energy to speed her running. She reached the edge of the crack and jumped with all of her might.
Her feet let go of the ground and her body floated into the air. She could see into the chasm below, but the moonlight only went so far; it was deeper than she thought. Gravity pulled her body back to the ground but . . .
it was too long for her to jump.
The edge of the crack came back to greet her. She reached out with her hands to grab at anything that could keep her from falling into the darkness below. Her hands slapped the ground and began to slip on the dirt. There was nothing to grab. She was going to fall.
She had half a second to find a handhold. Her body was below the lip of the gap and still falling.
There was nothing.
She was going to die. . .
at the last second her hand caught something hard.
A rock jut away from the chasm and her hand slid into the space between ground and rock. Her body jerked and came to a halt. No time to celebrate. She pulled herself up.
The wolves saw her jump, but their minds were so clouded by anger that their attention was fixed on her and not on the huge black fissure that opened ahead of them. The first wolf in the pack saw the dark tear in the earth but only recognized that it was dangerous as it slipped down into the blackness below. The others slid to a stop and watched their companion fall to its death.
Three down: three to go. But . . . the gap was between her and the three other wolves.
"Damn! No! No! No!!" she wailed.
The wolves recognized that she was no longer a threat. The gap was too long to jump without a running start. Mikoto was trapped on the opposite side of the dark fissure. Her brothers would soon be the dinner of the wolves if she couldn't get across. She ran alongside of the gap looking for a smaller space she could jump across.
The wolves ran back to the platform. There were two helpless meals there ready to be eaten. They would feast like they had never feasted before. Their fallen comrades were completely washed from their minds. The only thing they thought about was the undying hunger that had led them to this place.
They grew closer to the platform. The smell of blood and flesh heightened their hunger. They could taste the meat in their mouths, nothing could stop them. The alpha male jumped up the platform. The other two wolves followed suit. Before them lay two prime morsels that couldn't fight back, an excellent meal. The closest was the dead one.
They moved in. Their teeth were exposed and glinted in the harsh moonlight. The alpha male darted forward. He opened his mouth to rip a piece of the arm's flesh.
"Nooooooo!" screamed Mikoto but her words were drowned out by something else.
"NO!"
a deep voice rang through the entire tree. The ground shook and something on the platform flashed. Mikoto couldn't see the platform well enough to make out the source of the light. The bright flashing light seemed to be coming from the far side. The entire chamber lit with a brilliant pinkish white color, and a shape was rising from the platform. Mikoto shielded her eyes with her hands and brought them down when she had grown accustomed to the light.
Zidane's body was floating above the platform like he was being held by a string attached to his chest. His head and legs were being pulled down by gravity but he was still rising. Suddenly his body was yanked straight up and down like a limp marionette and the light flashed yet again.
Zidane was flying above the platform, but still seemed to be unconscious. A ringing in her head began. The wolves that had been about to feast upon Kuja were obviously horrified at the pink and white being that had just risen above their heads. The leader backed slowly away from the threat, but didn't run from the awe inspiring sight. Zidane's arms slowly folded across his chest and his knees were drawn up to his torso. His body formed a luminescent ball that glowed with brilliant energy.
The wolves fearful yellow eyes reflected the pink light above them. Their fangs were sheathed within their mouths. Their gray ears lay flat against their heads. They knew it was time to leave. They turned to run. It was too late. Zidane's arms and legs exploded from his body. About twenty bright missile shaped objects seemed to escape a well of energy inside his chest and shoot straight down at the wolves.
They had no chance.
The three of them jumped from the platform and dashed towards the direction they had entered. The missiles were too fast for them. The missiles chased them. The wolves ran faster. The missiles closed in. The alpha male stumbled and fell. His yellow eyes turned towards the oncoming death. Nothing could prevent it.
The light from the explosion reached Mikoto first. Then the sound. The entire floor shook and the brown walls rumbled as if a quake had shaken all of Gaia. All Mikoto could make out, from the outside of the explosion, were three wolf shaped silhouettes slowly falling apart, piece by piece. The fire pulled back in to its origin almost as fast as the explosion had happened.
Nothing was left of the beasts save a pile of ash where each had been standing.