CHAPTER 6
STERONN CANYON
After the excitement of finding Cloud and Tifa and beating Gust faded out, the party sat down to a dinner of fried prairie dog on a stick. "It's my specialty," Orlandu chuckled as he handed a wad to each person. "I worked at the Zeltennia State Fair every summer in high school.
"Lovely," Ramza said as he bit into the meat.
"Errr... you could've at least taken the head off..." Alma winced as she stared at the deep-fried expression on the prairie dog's face.
"Mmmm! I love it!" Ovelia said as she gnawed away at the roasted rodent.
"It does have a unique flavor," Tifa agreed. "I like it."
"Welcome to Ramza's world, Tifa," Cloud said. "There are many new things to like and dislike."
"Well, then this is my first new 'like,'" Tifa said as she put the whole thing in her mouth and swallowed, much to everyone's amazement. "May I have another, please?" she asked sweetly as she thrust the stick into the dirt. Everyone sweatdropped.
"It is... pleasing," Everhart said as he nibbled on the prairie dog he had been given.
"Are you very hungry?" Alma asked.
"I don't need to eat much," Everhart said. "My body can last a long time without proper nourishment."
"Ah, I see," Ramza said, nodding his head.
The party talked with Cloud and Tifa for about half an hour longer, until Everhart suggested that they should get some sleep and prepare for tomorrow.
"OK," Tifa said as she yawned. "I think turning in sounds good..."
Tifa got up and began a stretch to accompany her yawning. "Uh, Tifa..." Cloud started to say.
"What, Cloud?" Tifa asked.
RRRRRRIP!!!
"Don't you remember what happens when you stretch like that?" Cloud asked as he put his hand over his eyes.
"...Oops," Tifa gulped, going red. Orlandu and Everhart shielded their eyes as well, while Ovelia, Alma and Worker No.8 stared.
"Oh, my," Ovelia gulped.
"Errrr...." Alma stammered.
"What? What's wrong?" Tifa asked. "C'mon! You two see 'em in the mirror every day, and I'm sure yours are a lot better than mine!"
"Nuh-uh," both girls said at the same time as they shook their heads.
"Oh... forget it," Tifa muttered. Worker No. 8 pulled out one of Ramza's spare shirts from his chassis. Tifa put it on, lay down next to Cloud and dozed off.
There was a loud explosion and shrapnel flew everywhere. Some of the pieces flew towards King Delita but bounced harmlessly off of his magical armor. He strolled through the streets of Berkana and the torrents of gunfire, magic spells and arrows without any damage, and with one slash of his Chaos Blade he cut down any Zeratulian soldier that stood in his way.
"(I... am invincible...)" he thought as his face twisted into an insane grin. "(Teta, if you could see me now...)"
Delita finally stood before the Presidential Residence. He took a moment to hold his sword up and laugh triumphantly. "Mwa ha ha ha!!!" he laughed, a hint of histeria present in the sound. "Nobody can stop me... not even Ramza! THE WORLD BELONGS TO ME!!!"
Delita flew up the Residence's 50-odd steps, slicing any Zeratulian soldier that he saw to ribbons with his Chaos Blade. He left only death in his wake.
"Hyral!"
The voice stopped Delita in his tracks. He stopped on the top step and looked around, his sword glistening in the moonlight. "Come on, show yourself!" he yelled. "I haven't even begun to break a sweat!"
The doors of the palace thrust open and President Maclus appeared. Armed secret service agents stood behind him on either side. He adjusted his tie as he stared down Ivalice's ruler.
"Ah, Mr. President," Delita chuckled as he bowed mockingly. "It is an honor to finally meet you."
"Hyral, cease this at once," Maclus ordered. "You've made an enemy of Zeratul."
"Never," Delita said coolly. "LIGHTNING STAB!!!"
Delita swung his sword and lightning flashed. The agents behind President Maclus were reduced to piles of carbon. Maclus instinctively took a step backwards. He pulled a gun out of his back pocket and aimed it at Delita's face. "I don't know how you got here so quickly, but soon the entire militia will appear and defeat you!" He snarled as he walked backwards, with Delita following him every step of the way.
"Pshhht," Delita said with a wave of his hand. "I've already dealt with them. No cavalry's coming to help you, Mr. President. All it took was a quick side trip."
In less time than it takes to write it, Delita swung his sword and knocked the gun out of Maclus's sweaty palms. It skittered to the corner of the room, coated in blood spilt on it from the sword. Maclus was so surprised he fell to the ground. Delita towered over him and pressed the edge of his sword to the President's neck.
"Surrender Zeratul, Maclus," Delita demaned.
"I can't do that," Maclus said, still managing to keep his cool demeanor. "Zeratul is a democracy. Only congress can surrender it."
Delita pulled his sword away and grabbed Maclus by the neck. He held him up over his head and let him dangle.
"I told you I can't do it!" Maclus insisted in a choking voice that made him sound like Yoda.
Delita smiled evilly. "I know that... I just wanted to hear it from you personally. But if you're not going to submit... well..."
Suddenly, a massive explosion rocked the Presidential Residence to its foundation. Delita dropped Maclus and whirled around to look out the door. Maclus rubbed his sore neck and stood up.
"That's the Zeratulian air force," Maclus explained. "Their airships are coming. You're finished."
Delita briefly hesitated, wondering if the Rabbit Stone's power would protect him from aircraft artillery. One of the airships flew in at close range. Delita took one look and resumed his previous mindset.
Delita turned back to Maclus and shrugged. "Looks like you're wrong again, Mr. President," he said. "That's MY flag flying from those ships."
Delita walked up the steel ramp of the largest airship, dragging Maclus behind him, who was too shocked and worn out to protest. Law stood at the top of the ramp, tapping his foot impatiently.
"Bravo, bravo," he said in a sarcastic tone as he made an overly-elaborate bow. "Looks like you didn't need our help after all."
Delita threw Maclus to the deck. "Show our guest to his quarters," he sneered.
"Silas," Law barked.
Silas appeared without a sound. Law gave Maclus a hard kick and knocked him towards the young Ninja. "Take him to the brig," Law instructed.
Silas nodded silently and helped President Maclus stand up. He then gently began pushing the ousted ruler towards the prison cells. The old man had been beaten so badly that Silas didn't want to risk killing him by acting ruthless; he might be useful later when they ran into Ramza.
Delita brushed past Law, purposefully knocking him off balance. "Where did you get all these airships?" he asked. "As I recall, you were only able to construct one before we decided to invade."
"The air force wasn't expecting an enemy airship to materialize in front of them like we did," Law explained. "We destroyed them and took their whole fleet."
Delita looked out at the twelve other ships that had Ivalice's flag flying over them, and then he looked down at the one he was on. They were wood; he was on metal. Just to prove this hypothesis, he kicked the side of the ship. It made a loud CLANG noise.
"Metal?" Delita asked.
Law nodded. "I had the smoking engineer from Ramza's team build our flagship with Mythril, so it'd be stronger. The rest of the ships used to be Zeratul's. It was like takin' candy from a baby!"
Delita laughed cruelly. "Wonderful. With a legion of airships for me to command, no one can stop me! I'm going back to Zeltennia to drink to my victory with Gideon and my lovely bride-to-be. You handle things here."
Delita held up the Rooster Stone and vanished. "That sleazeball's worse than me when it comes to women," Law muttered. "Oh, well. It's none of my business anyway."
"(YAWN) Good morning, everyone!" Tifa said as she stood up and stretched (though taking care not to tear Ramza's spare shirt).
"It is time to awaken," Everhart said, not speaking to anyone in particular. Ramza slowly awoke and got up. He rubbed the gunk out of his eyes and looked around as the others woke up as well.
"Where do we go now, Everhart?" Ramza asked. "You seem to know this country well."
"We go through there," Everhart said as he pointed ahead. A huge canyon stood before them, cutting an unsightly gash in the mountain range. "We will be closer to our goal when we reach the other side."
"Through the canyon?" Ovelia asked. "OK."
"Be cautious," Everhart said. "The canyon is a haven for zombies and undead creatures."
"Zombies?" Alma gulped. "Ugh... I've seen enough zombies in my life."
"Does that mean you won't be coming with us?" Cloud asked.
"What? No," Alma said as she shook her head. "I'll come, but I'll cover my rear... ah, I mean... THE rear."
"Right," Orlandu said. "Come along, all of you. Let's go through the canyon."
Led by Ramza, Orlandu and Everhart, the eight travelers walked towards the huge canyon's entrance.
"What a spectacular play," Freya Crescent said as Amarant Coral and she walked out of Alexandria Castle. "I was quite surprised when Zidane showed up on stage and Dagger ran to him."
"Hmmph," Amarant muttered. "Mushy stuff. Disgusting."
"Oh, don't be such a spoil sport," Eiko Carol said as she ran and caught up with the bounty hunter and the mouse lady. "I thought it was neat, too! Oh, but Zidane and Dagger are gonna get married... I'm so sad..."
"You'll find someone else to slobber over," Amarant muttered as they walked out of Alexandria. "Just give it time."
"Amarant, that's the first time I've heard you try to console someone," Freya noted.
"Hmmph," Amarant muttered.
Suddenly, a huge, pink-colored hole appeared on the grass in front of them. "What's that?!" Eiko asked as she raised her Tiger Racket in a defensive stance.
The pink hole slid along the grass and stopped under Amarant. He fell in and vanished. The hole closed up and vanished.
"Amarant!" Freya exclaimed. "He's gone!"
"I wonder where he went?..." Eiko asked.
The party had been traveling through the canyon for about two hours, and they'd had plenty of encounters with zombies. It seemed like Orlandu was casting Holy Explosion to destroy some attacking beasts every few moments. Ovelia surrounded the group with an MBarrier spell to make things easier, Tifa punched out any living dead that got too close and Worker No.8 shot missiles and lasers at enemies that attacked from the back.
"The canyon is a dangerous place," Everhart restated. "Never let your guard down, even for a second."
"What about at night?" Alma asked. "This place must be jumping with zombies after sundown."
"That's the strange part," Everhart said. "They only come out during the day. They vanish at night."
"That's almost a polar opposite of regular zombies," Cloud noted.
"Steronn is a mysterous place," Everhart said, and didn't talk any more.
"I'm starting to believe that," Ramza said as he split a devil dog in two with his sword.
"I will protect the master," Worker No.8 said as he punched out a zombie.
"Right, you do that," Alma said as she stayed in the middle of her friends.
Just then, Tifa noticed something up ahead. "Hey, Energizer," she said as she poked Everhart in the back.
"Everhart," Everhart answered.
"Sorry," Tifa said. "Anyway, do big, purple holes appear in rocks in this canyon?"
"What?..." Everhart asked as he looked up. A purple hole was embedded in the rocks.
"What IS it?" Ovelia asked as she walked up and touched it. It felt like solid rock, but it looked like a tunnel.
"Whoever painted this was really talented," Orlandu remarked.
"It isn't a painting," Ramza said. "See how it's sparkling inside? It's a real tunnel."
"So how come we can't get into it?" Tifa asked.
"It's a warp hole," Everhart said. "The entrance can only be opened through magic."
"Magic, huh?..." Cloud asked as he dug the Rooster Stone out of his pocket. "Well, this thing has a way of opening up doors... Let me try it."
Cloud walked up to the hole and touched the reddish-orange stone to it. The tunnel immediately began to glow pink and swirl around.
"Watch out!!!" Alma cried. "That's how Tifa and Cloud got here!"
"Get back," Everhart said. Everyone backed away to the other side of the canyon walls. "A demon could emerge," Everhart hissed as his pulled out his spear.
The hole spat out a man; he had strangely green skin. He wore a large, metal claw on his right hand. His scarlet beard and hair masked his eyes.
"What the hell?..." he asked as he landed on the ground and looked around.
"Woah!" Ramza gulped. "Another time traveler!"
"And another demon!!!" Ovelia cried as she pointed.
A horrible creature was emerging from the portal. Its flesh drooped and flaked in places, and many of its bones could be seen. It roared menacingly as its jaw hung loosely on the left side of its face.
"What is THAT?!" Cloud asked.
"UnDoom," Everhart said. "A horrible zombie demon. He's very powerful."
"GRAAAAHHHH!!!" UnDoom shrieked. "BREATH OF DECAY!!!"
UnDoom inhaled deeply and then blew outwards. A huge gust of horrible, moldy wind blew through the canyon. Everhart, Ovelia, Tifa and Worker No.8 were blown a ways away from the others.
"Oh, great!" Cloud said as he drew his Materia Blade.
"Hey, you!" Alma shouted. "Get away from there!"
What?..." Amarant asked. He turned around and saw UnDoom. With one swift motion, he leaped backwards and landed beside Alma. "He doesn't scare me," he said.
"Who are you?" Ramza asked.
"Call me Amarant," Amarant said. "Leave the formalities for later."
"Right," Orlandu said. "HOLY EXPLOSION!!!"
The sacred attack flew at UnDoom, but it dissolved it with a wave of its rotting hand. "What?!" Orlandu gasped. "Why didn't it work?!"
"Maybe since he's a demon, Holy attacks don't hurt it as much," Alma suggested as she stepped backwards.
"You're terrified, aren't you?" Ramza asked his sister.
"I won't let it control me," Alma said as she shook he head. "I wanna prove I'm as strong as the rest of you!"
"Spunky girl," Amarant said. "Fine, I'll help."
Amarant charged up and slashed at UnDoom with his claw. Bits of dead skin flew everywhere. The beast roared menacingly.
"Hey, that guy's pretty good!" Cloud exclaimed.
"He's not from your time?" Ramza asked.
"I've never seen him before," Cloud answered. "But let's help him! BLADE BEAM!!!"
"Yeah," Orlandu said. "SPLIT PUNCH!!!"
The two sword attacks hit UnDoom pretty hard and it stepped backwards a few times, but they didn't kill it.
"DEATH BREATH!!!" it roared as it raised its head and let its horrible, black tongue slide out of its broken-open mouth. A horrible cloud of putrid, green gas came out of the opening.
"Ur'ghaaaahhh!!!" Ramza cried as he covered his nose. "How awful!"
"That's not the half of it," Orlandu said as he looked up above his head. A large 3 was hovering over him. "We're on a deadline now."
"Have you any money?" Amarant asked Cloud.
"This really isn't the time to take out a loan," Cloud replied.
"Trust me," Amarant said as he snatched Cloud's wallet out of his pocket. "SPARE CHANGE!!!"
Before Cloud could object, Amarant grabbed fistfulls of coins out of the wallet and hurled them at UnDoom like ninja stars. They shot through the beast like bullets coming out of a gun. It roared horribly and its arms snapped off.
"Now!" Orlandu cried. "LIGHTNING STAB!!!"
"METEORAIN!!!" Cloud shouted.
"MBarrier!" Alma cried as she surrounded the group in holy light that removed their countdowns.
"Hyaaaaahhh!" Ramza shouted as he ran up and slashed UnDoom as the two other attacks flew in. The rotting beast shrieked horribly and melted away into nothing. The stench was unbearable.
"Oh, yuck!..." Alma whined as she covered her nose.
"It smells even worse now!" Cloud said as he made a face.
"Are you guys OK?" Tifa asked as the others and she ran up to the fighters.
"...What's that smell?" Ovelia said as she made a face.
"Ventilation mechanism activating," Worker No.8 said as he opened his chest to reveal a large fan. It began to whirl around and the bad smell slowly went away.
"Whew..." Ramza said as he took his hands away from his face. "Thanks, Worker No.8."
"You are welcome, master," Worker No.8 answered.
"Now then," Orlandu said, turning to Amarant. "Who're you?"
"They call me The Flaming Amarant," Amarant answered.
"Why'd you come here?" Ovelia asked.
"Search me," Amarant answered. "One minute I was mindin' my own business, the next minute a pink hole opens up and I'm here."
"A temporal distortion, no doubt," Everhart said.
"We're really sorry about this," Tifa said. "Some power-mad king's messin' up the space-time continuum and you must've been pulled here by accident."
"Let's send him back to his own world," Ramza said as Cloud handed him the Rooster Stone. He held it out in front of him, but nothing happened. "Huh?" Ramza asked. "What's wrong? Is it broken?" He shook the stone and tried it again. Nothing happened.
"It is as I feared," Everhart said. "Hyral has found the Chrono Stones."
"The what?" everyone asked.
"I will explain when we get out of the canyon," Everhart said. He then turned to Amarant. "You cannot return to your own time for now. If you come with us, we will find a way to send you back."
"All right," Amarant said. "Besides, the way you girlies fight you're gonna need someone like me along."
"Girlie?..." Orlandu asked.
"Let's just keep moving, OK?" Alma said as she stood between Orlandu and the bounty hunter. "You two can trade barbs when we're out of zombie land."
"Fine," Amarant said.
Joined by Amarant, the party continued to fight its way through the canyon.
