Lurking Tribulation
After explaining most of what had happened to an absent-minded Rain, Cid wandered over to the crates in the corner of the room and gently pulled out a book. He walked quickly back to Reid and handed him the book.
"This is it." Cid told him. "This is the HOLYMATERIA.exe. Use it on yourself and the program should be added your skill list."
Reid accepted the book and looked at the torn and faded cover. An old picture of a girl praying in front of a strange altar was almost peeling off.
"Thanks." Reid replied. He opened the book carefully, and suddenly a blinding beam of light shot out of it, illuminating the whole room with a holy light.
"Ack!" Rain jumped backwards. Cid stood where he was, barely flickering an eyelid.
The magnificent light enveloped Reid and it seemed that a strong breeze blew upward, nearly resulting in his hat flying off. Then as quickly as the light had appeared, it disappeared, along with the book, which slowly faded away. Reid opened his eyes. He hadn't realized that he had kept them closed the entire time. He looked at his hands. Everything looked and felt the same as before. But as he looked at his weapon, a small white orb hovered above the staff, emitting a grayish hue.
"That's the holy materia." Cid pointed to the orb. Rain examined it closely.
"Pretty." She commented.
"Pretty damn dangerous, you mean." Cid glared at Rain. "This is not something to play with. It is quite unstable, itself. Use it on the virus, and nothing else."
Rain didn't know what to say, except "Oh."
Cid stood up from his chair. "Well, as long as you have that materia, you should be safe from the virus. We'll start searching The World at once. I have to go and check out some things. You two are free to go search the dungeons." Cid paused momentarily. "But please, be careful. Webster and his goons are still looking for you."
Rain picked up her sword wiped some dust off with the back of her hand. "Hey, why did Webster need the two guys, anyway? Couldn't he of just fought us by himself? He is an admin."
To this, Cid smiled glanced up at the ceiling. "He would of, if he didn't suck at fighting. Anyway, I doubt he would want to get his hands dirty."
"Hmm." Rain yawned heavily. Cid frowned at her, then looked towards Reid.
"Anyway, like I said, I'm going to be gone for a while. If anything happens, come here. You'll be safe." Cid peeked outside the window. "Well, it appears that the servers are open again. I want you to stay in Delta, though. I can't have you guys wandering everywhere. It's much too dangerous."
Reid and Rain both nodded.
"Well, goodbye." Cid gave a little wave while he logged out.
* * * *
Outside in the streets, activity had picked up again. Mac Anu was a busy place. Reid and Rain wandered around the streets carefully. People chatted pleasantly throughout the streets. The sun was sinking from the sky, turning the horizon into a vibrant gold color. A female long arm running down the stairs shoved Rain into the wall.
"Out of my way, loser!" She muttered as she ran past.
A twin-blade chased her. "Wait, Cima! I want to trade! I've got a bunch of Yellow Candy! Please wait!" He yelled as he pursued her.
Reid helped Rain up from the ground.
"Where's Orca when you need him?" Rain pouted, dusting herself off.
Reid just shrugged. Rain sighed and looked in the direction of the Chaos Gate.
"Anyway, let's go check out a dungeon. We have to look for that thing, right?" Rain lightly punched Reid in the shoulder.
"Yeah, I guess." Reid answered.
They walked to the Chaos gate, bumping into the large groups of people pouring into the town.
"Geez, why's everyone in such a big hurry?" Rain complained as she got shoved again.
At last, they reached it. Reid stepped closer to the spinning portal.
"Passive Ancient Holy Ground? It's Battle level is twenty-four." Reid questioned Rain as he randomized a field name.
"Sure, whatever. We'll have to look everywhere, so why not?" Rain slung her sword over her shoulder.
"Okay, if you say so." Reid confirmed. They both disappeared into the air.
* * * *
They landed on the roof of an old abandoned house buried in the snow. Snow blew around them. In the distance, a large cathedral-esque building loomed over the landscape. Bare, dead trees and the half-buried cots sparsely scattered over the frozen landscape gave Reid the impression that it must have been snowing for ages in this field.
"Whew… It's pretty cold here." Rain shivered.
"Yeah." Reid agreed, watching his frozen breath waft into the sky.
"Well, let's go." Rain started for the large cathedral. Reid walked beside her, gripping his staff tightly. They continued marching until a large magic portal materialized in front of them.
"Whoa. Stay back." Rain warned.
"If you insist." Reid took a step backward. A large monster appeared from the sparkling dust.
Reid identified it as a Silver Wyrm. It looked like a western dragon with large, swooping wings.
"Be careful, Rain!" He cried out. "That thing's got HP through the roof!"
Rain nodded and charged at the monster with her sword drawn. She slashed at it with her sword and it snapped angrily at her. With its tail, the Wyrm smashed Rain into the air.
"Uff!" She landed a couple feet next to Reid, her sword nearly skewering Reid. The Wyrm started approaching them.
"Ugh." She groaned.
"La Repth!" Reid quickly healed her. She hopped back onto her feet.
"Thanks." She grabbed her sword and attacked it again.
Reid readied himself for a spell. "BiVak Rom!" A darkened tornado engulfed in flames surrounded the Wyrm. It released a deafening roar and bared its long teeth. Rain leaped into the blaze and prepared to strike.
"Calamity!" Rain shouted as she began slicing into the monster at an intense speed. This seemed to anger it, and the Wyrm smashed one of its claws into Rain's side. She cried out in pain and stumbled. The Wyrm snarled and swung with the other claw.
"Argh!" Rain cried out as she was struck again and again.
"La Repth!" Reid quickly ran closer to the battle and cured her again. With the snowstorm getting worse, it was becoming hard to see. Reid shielded his eyes with his arm.
Wham! The Wyrm's tail crashed into his chest. Reid flew a few feet backward and landed on his back. Again, pain clouded his senses.
"Repth." He coughed. The pain faded immediately. Reid climbed back onto his feet and saw Rain strike another blow to the Wyrm's head.
"GaiRai Kruz!" Reid attacked with another spell. A bright bolt of lightning struck the monster from overhead. The monster roared ferociously and glared at Reid with one of it's horrible, glassy black eyes. Reid tried to take a couple steps towards it, but his feet wouldn't move. With little warning, a giant swarm of floating ice shards flew into Reid and slashed at his body. Hot pain flashed inside him, making him gasp for air. Rain slashed again at the beast. The ice continued to attack him, and every gash felt as though the jagged shard was passing through his body.
At last, the attacks stopped and the deadly ice wisped away. From the sheer, mind-numbing pain, Reid collapsed face-first into the snow below him, his staff rolling a few feet away from his outstretched hand. It's over, he thought sadly. He closed his eyes and waited for the pain to stop.
Out of the corner of her eye, Rain saw Reid collapse into the snow. The Wyrm swung its razor-sharp claw at her again.
"Damn!" Rain blocked with her sword. The Wyrm didn't seem weakened in the least. She gritted her teeth. "Gan Drive!!" She shouted as she swung her blade powerfully into the dragon. As it made contact, the Wyrm was knocked into the air and landed a few feet away on it's back. Rain
charged at it. Unexpectedly, the fiend snapped up its tail and hit Rain in the side of the head, toppling her over sideways.
"Ow!" Gasped Rain as she fell on her back, hitting her head on the ice. As quick as a flash, the beast was up and standing over Rain. It placed its front claw over Rain's chest, pinning her down. She tried to reach her sword, but in the fall, it had slid down the frozen hill. Terrified, Rain looked up at the Wyrm. One of its giant black eyes was gazing hungrily at her. Its claw pushed down harder, making it more difficult to breathe. Gasping for breath, Rain closed her eyes and waited for her end to come.