Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Final Fantasy IX characters but my
characters are my own creations and I do own the rights to them.
Chapter Thirteen: Fights, Magic, and Kidnapping
Phina rushed the man, sword raised. He ducked, lashing out with his foot and landing a blow to her stomach. Phina flew back with a gasp as the air left her body. She bent over trying to catch her breath when she heard a laugh over her head. She rolled to the side barely dodging the knife. Standing up she tried to calm herself down. This guy was good and she couldn't afford making any mistakes because she lost her temper. She attacked again trying to control her disposition. Phina's sword flew with the speed of a humming birds wings but the assassin was just as fast and blocked every blow that rained down on him. She put everything into her strikes trying to weaken his defenses but again he surprised her as nothing happened when her blade met the steel of his.
The man rushed her but she jumped aside. He came back with a quick side slash that connected with her back. Phina bit back a cry of pain and twirled on her toe bringing her sword around in an arc. She hoped to catch the man off guard but she was easily blocked. Stepping backwards she brought her sword under the man's knife using her speed to make a thrust at his lower leg trying to injure him so that he couldn't move. The assassin merely jumped back and started hounding her with attacks. She hurriedly threw up her defense just managing to block the blows. The man's own strength matched her earlier attacks and Phina started to worry. She was quickly running out of options. She hated relying on magic but now it was her only chance.
"Stop!" she cried casting a spell that would freeze her opponent in his tracks. He smiled wickedly then began to laugh.
"Do you really think that I have come unprepared, witch?" Phina noticed too late the red glow of a Reflect spell. Her own spell bounced off the laughing man and headed straight back at her. She tried to dodge the attack but her spell clipped her side, immobilizing her.
She struggled against the spell's grip but nothing helped. The cruel man started to circle Phina like a tiger, chuckling under his breath.
Phina had to move. Even her lips were frozen in place. If she could move her mouth and tongue she would be able to say the counter spell.
"He said you would be hard to kill but I think the old man was bluffing. You're obviously not that tough. Oh well, easy money for me," he ended his sentence with a snicker. Phina would have glared at him if she could. She was still working on moving her mouth, though.
While the man was boasting about his catch Phina went deep inside herself. There she found the core of her power, a glowing ball. She drew up a thick string of this power and brought it to her lips. Casting a net around her mouth she let the power rest against her tongue, keeping the Stop spell at bay.
"Dispel," she whispered. She could feel her joints relaxing as the magic lifted but she didn't move. The assassin was still circling her. Phina waited until he came around to the front before lashing out with her thin sword. The tip pierced his chest. She grinned at the surprised look on his face. Gasping, he stumbled backwards yanking himself free of the steel in his chest. Blood gushed around the fatal wound before dripping onto the pavement below. The man fell to the ground in pain. Phina quickly hurried over to him.
"Who sent you?!" she yelled in his ears. The assassin only looked at her, his eyes glazing over.
"Who sent you?!" she screamed again. It was too late. He was dead.
Standing up, Phina cleaned off her sword with a hankie from her pocket. She spat onto the man's carcass and turned around heading back to the marketplace. On the way she did her best to clean up the slash on her back. Searching the marketplace, she finally spotted Garnet watching Vivi and Eiko play jump rope with the two little girls.
"Where have you been?" Garnet questioned Phina as she approached them.
"Nowhere." Phina sat down next to Garnet wincing at the small stab of pain coming from her injured back. She gazed at the young children but her mind was elsewhere. Who wanted her dead and why? She hadn't really done anything that someone would want her dead for, had she? Something odd was going on and she wanted to know what.
Xavier was strolling down the streets of Alexandria. He couldn't surpass the grin on his face. Everything was perfect, no one suspected a thing. Stepping into a side alley, he started to mutter under his breath. The sky darkened with ominous clouds. To those who knew nothing of magic the clouds were just storm clouds bringing rain. But those trained in magic knew that the clouds were a sign of evil to come.
Just down the street from Xavier, Vivi and Eiko stopped playing. Phina and Garnet gazed at the sky, shivers running down their backs. Phina looked around for a possible source. She spotted a man muttering under his breath in an alley.
The man was tall and husky with thick gray-white hair. His long fingers were clasped together tightly, his thin lips hovering over them. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be concentrating hard. Phina stalked over to the older man, wrenched his clasped hands apart, and slapped him across the face.
"What the hell do you think your doing?" she cried in his ear. Xavier looked up in surprise at the red head in front of him. Her emerald eyes were snapping with anger. She looked oddly familiar but he wasn't sure why. Then he recognized the energy signal. This was the girl who was threatening his plans. He could not let it continue. An idea formed in his head and almost nodded to himself in satisfaction.
Xavier yelled a command in a forgotten language and Phina dropped to the ground unconscious. Garnet, Vivi and Eiko watched the proceedings with shock written on their faces. First because Phina had slapped an old man and second because he had caused her to fall. They all started running towards the two to see if Phina was okay.
Xavier gathered Phina in his arms and before the trio could reach them, the man and woman disappeared.
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
The plot thickens again! Don't you just love the suspense. Okay I really don't like the title to this chapter. Any ideas?
Chapter Thirteen: Fights, Magic, and Kidnapping
Phina rushed the man, sword raised. He ducked, lashing out with his foot and landing a blow to her stomach. Phina flew back with a gasp as the air left her body. She bent over trying to catch her breath when she heard a laugh over her head. She rolled to the side barely dodging the knife. Standing up she tried to calm herself down. This guy was good and she couldn't afford making any mistakes because she lost her temper. She attacked again trying to control her disposition. Phina's sword flew with the speed of a humming birds wings but the assassin was just as fast and blocked every blow that rained down on him. She put everything into her strikes trying to weaken his defenses but again he surprised her as nothing happened when her blade met the steel of his.
The man rushed her but she jumped aside. He came back with a quick side slash that connected with her back. Phina bit back a cry of pain and twirled on her toe bringing her sword around in an arc. She hoped to catch the man off guard but she was easily blocked. Stepping backwards she brought her sword under the man's knife using her speed to make a thrust at his lower leg trying to injure him so that he couldn't move. The assassin merely jumped back and started hounding her with attacks. She hurriedly threw up her defense just managing to block the blows. The man's own strength matched her earlier attacks and Phina started to worry. She was quickly running out of options. She hated relying on magic but now it was her only chance.
"Stop!" she cried casting a spell that would freeze her opponent in his tracks. He smiled wickedly then began to laugh.
"Do you really think that I have come unprepared, witch?" Phina noticed too late the red glow of a Reflect spell. Her own spell bounced off the laughing man and headed straight back at her. She tried to dodge the attack but her spell clipped her side, immobilizing her.
She struggled against the spell's grip but nothing helped. The cruel man started to circle Phina like a tiger, chuckling under his breath.
Phina had to move. Even her lips were frozen in place. If she could move her mouth and tongue she would be able to say the counter spell.
"He said you would be hard to kill but I think the old man was bluffing. You're obviously not that tough. Oh well, easy money for me," he ended his sentence with a snicker. Phina would have glared at him if she could. She was still working on moving her mouth, though.
While the man was boasting about his catch Phina went deep inside herself. There she found the core of her power, a glowing ball. She drew up a thick string of this power and brought it to her lips. Casting a net around her mouth she let the power rest against her tongue, keeping the Stop spell at bay.
"Dispel," she whispered. She could feel her joints relaxing as the magic lifted but she didn't move. The assassin was still circling her. Phina waited until he came around to the front before lashing out with her thin sword. The tip pierced his chest. She grinned at the surprised look on his face. Gasping, he stumbled backwards yanking himself free of the steel in his chest. Blood gushed around the fatal wound before dripping onto the pavement below. The man fell to the ground in pain. Phina quickly hurried over to him.
"Who sent you?!" she yelled in his ears. The assassin only looked at her, his eyes glazing over.
"Who sent you?!" she screamed again. It was too late. He was dead.
Standing up, Phina cleaned off her sword with a hankie from her pocket. She spat onto the man's carcass and turned around heading back to the marketplace. On the way she did her best to clean up the slash on her back. Searching the marketplace, she finally spotted Garnet watching Vivi and Eiko play jump rope with the two little girls.
"Where have you been?" Garnet questioned Phina as she approached them.
"Nowhere." Phina sat down next to Garnet wincing at the small stab of pain coming from her injured back. She gazed at the young children but her mind was elsewhere. Who wanted her dead and why? She hadn't really done anything that someone would want her dead for, had she? Something odd was going on and she wanted to know what.
Xavier was strolling down the streets of Alexandria. He couldn't surpass the grin on his face. Everything was perfect, no one suspected a thing. Stepping into a side alley, he started to mutter under his breath. The sky darkened with ominous clouds. To those who knew nothing of magic the clouds were just storm clouds bringing rain. But those trained in magic knew that the clouds were a sign of evil to come.
Just down the street from Xavier, Vivi and Eiko stopped playing. Phina and Garnet gazed at the sky, shivers running down their backs. Phina looked around for a possible source. She spotted a man muttering under his breath in an alley.
The man was tall and husky with thick gray-white hair. His long fingers were clasped together tightly, his thin lips hovering over them. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be concentrating hard. Phina stalked over to the older man, wrenched his clasped hands apart, and slapped him across the face.
"What the hell do you think your doing?" she cried in his ear. Xavier looked up in surprise at the red head in front of him. Her emerald eyes were snapping with anger. She looked oddly familiar but he wasn't sure why. Then he recognized the energy signal. This was the girl who was threatening his plans. He could not let it continue. An idea formed in his head and almost nodded to himself in satisfaction.
Xavier yelled a command in a forgotten language and Phina dropped to the ground unconscious. Garnet, Vivi and Eiko watched the proceedings with shock written on their faces. First because Phina had slapped an old man and second because he had caused her to fall. They all started running towards the two to see if Phina was okay.
Xavier gathered Phina in his arms and before the trio could reach them, the man and woman disappeared.
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
The plot thickens again! Don't you just love the suspense. Okay I really don't like the title to this chapter. Any ideas?
