Breath of Fire II : The Gathering
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Disclaimer :
Death's Head - I don't own Breath of Fire II and never will. I won a copy of the game, that's it.
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Chapter Five
In the town of Capitan
"Well, here we are boss," Sten turned to Ryu "The town of Capitan."
"So I see." Ryu looked around "Do you guys notice anything wrong?"
"Like what Ryu? Other than the locals looking rather unpleasent to strangers?" Katt ventured.
"Three different architects built three different houses?" Sten asked.
"No children." Nina stated.
"Exactly. Every town that I`ve been to, and me and Bow have been to quite a few over the past few years, has had children running around." Ryu walked through the town`s gate. "Even if for some reason the adults of this town can`t have children, it would be more livelier."
"Leave this to me boss." Sten walked up to one of the villagers.
"Excuse miss, could you please tell me if, there are any children in this town?"
The woman cried and ran away.
Sten had a confused look on his face as he joined the others.
"What did you do now sten? Scare the woman away now did we?" Katt taunted.
"Shut up Katt, or else I`m going to use your body as a sheath for my dagger." Sten threatened.
"Go for it wiseass!!" Katt retorted.
"Both of please be quiet!!" Nina ordered. Both of them shut up immediatly.
Nina turned and walked up to Ryu, who was peering into the dry well.
"Ryu, what's wrong?"
"This well should be full Nina. Even if there was a massive drought this well would be full because of it`s close proximity to a water basin." Ryu stated.
A nervous villager approached them. She looked at them, cautiously, and yet with hope in her eyes.
"Excuse me sir? Are you here to help Ray find our children and husband`s?"
"First of all miss, please tell me what happened here first."
The villager told Ryu, Nina, Katt and Sten the story.
"It all happened about four weeks ago. Our children," she motioned at the other females who had gathered next to her "Started to dissapear down this well. So our husband`s went down the well to try and find them, but they haven`t returned. My husband was the last to enter the well, before Ray, a priest of St. Eva, appeared, and that was five day`s ago."
Ryu looked back at the well a frown spreading over his face.
"Something`s down there. Something that reeks of evil." He walked over to the well and started to climb down, ignoring the gasps of the villagers and his companions looks at him "What are you three waiting for? We have to find any survivors and destroy the creature down here. Move it!!!!" Ryu ordered.
Nina shrugged and climbed after her lover. Sten looked at katt "After you my dear."
Katt glared at Sten viciously then she picked him up and throw him into the well. She lept in after him.
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In the well :
Katt landed on top of Sten with a thud.
"OOFFF!! Get the heck off of me, you flea-bitten mongrel!" Sten shouted at Katt.
Katt kicked Sten in the stomach. As Sten went down he tripped Katt off of her feet. Both of them landed with a thud on the damp ground.
"Get up you two." Ryu snapped.
"RYU!!! LOOK OUT!!!!" Nina cried out.
Ryu turned and was attacked by a crab-like creature. There was nothing Nina or the others could do to aid him until.......
"Creature of darkness!! Creature of death!! Now you shall see thy own fate!!!" A voice boomed out of the caverns.
The creature lept off of Ryu and was blasted by a beam of concentrated sunlight. It burst into flame.
"Excuse me, are you alright?"
"I`m fine. Who are you?" Ryu asked as Nina drew up to him, a spell ready.
"My name is Ray. I was sent here by the church of St. Eva to answer these people`s prayer`s for help."
"What was that thing?" Katt asked with disgust.
Ray walked over to what was left of it."That was a creature called the Creon. Very rare, and unusual to be here." He looked at Ryu "If a Creon is here then......"
"A Terrapin is here as well." Ryu finished.
Ray nodded.
"Ryu how do you know what he`s talking about?" Nina asked.
"My father used to tell me and my sister, Yua, stories about the Creon and Terrapin to scare us into doing our chores. I never thought that I would come accross a Creon, much less a Terrapin." Ryu looked further into the caverns. "I didn`t even think that I would have to fight a Terrapin before either."
"Fight a Terrapin! You must be crazy my friend, no one has ever lived in a fight against a Terrapin before. Come with me." Ray led them down the corridors and towards a jucntion, when he was attacked by a creon.
"Ryu!! You must enter the next cavern, that is where the Terrapin is!! I`ll keep this brute occupied!!" Ray called out.
Ryu nodded and ran into the cavern.
"Look, turtles. They remind me of Rand." Katt said.
"I`ll tell him you said that later Katt. Now just jump onto a turtle and let it carry you over to that child there!!" Ryu barked.
Soon, after a lot of persuasion, they managed to get over to the island the child stood on. The child hurried to them, tears in his eyes.
"Help me the monster will be back soon and I won`t be able to hide from it!"
"Little boy, climb onto this turtle and get back to the surface. Outside that cavern is a man who will lead you out of here. Now go!!" Ryu told the child.
The child did exactly that. Ryu told the others to prepare for battle as the water in front of them bubbled up and the Terrapin revealed itself.
Sten shied back.
"Whoa, ugly!"
"Ryu how do we fight something like that?" Katt asked.
Ryu didn`t answer as he lept at the Terrapin with both swords drawn, Nina at his side casting fire and ice spells, to make the Terrapin's armoured hide brittle enough for his swords to shatter it`s hide.
Sten unleashed his magical bomb spell four times then attacked the same spot where the bomb`s had hit the terrapin. Katt sighed then threw herself into the fight.
The Terrapin unleashed it`s ground shake at them. Katt was smashed into the wall, but just like a cat she sprang back at monster. Ryu dodged it whilst Sten found himself thrown into the water. Nina was hit with enough force to momentarily stun her. She fell down to the ground, feeling very groggy.
Then the monster cast it`s brainwave spell and Nina found herself no longer in control of her body as the Terrapin used her to attack Ryu from behind. Ryu heard the wind behind him suck into itself and then he was hit by a tornado spell. He fell to the ground with a thud and didn`t move.
Nina cried out "RYU!! NOOOOOO!!" She rushed up to him and knelt next to him.
Meanwhile Sten had climbed up onto a rocky outcrop where he started to push a large boulder to the edge. Katt was keeping the Terrapin distracted whilst Nina administered to Ryu the life-giving herb. After Nina had finished utilising the herb on Ryu, his eyes flew open.
"Ryu, you`re alright?" Nina gasped.
"Thanks to you I am Nina." He looked over to behind the Terrapin where Sten was pushing the boulder. Ryu then looked at where the boulder would fall : on the loose piece of armour where Nina`s spell`s and Sten`s bomb spell`s had done their magic. He stood up grabbed a fallen rusty sword and threw it with all his might.
"STEN!! CATCH!!"
Sten caught the sword and then, using it as a lever, was able to dislodge the boulder. As the boulder fell, Ryu, with Nina supporting him, fled from the dying creature. All of the previous attacks Ryu and his group had done were beyond the creature`s ability to self-heal. As the Terrapin crashed and thrashed it`s limbs about, the dam it had built burst open. The water came flooding down the corridor behind Ryu and his companions when......
Sliphasht!
A wall of light materialised, preventing the water from drowning them. Ray stood there, hands raised, in front of the wall.
"Ryu please, find and free all of the villagers trapped down here. And please hurry!!" Ray pleaded.
Ryu nodded as he led Nina, Sten and Katt into the caverns.
Sten groaned after they had freed the last villager.
"We get rid of the Terrapin, and then he expects us to get all the others out of here! We had better get good compensation from all this 'hero' stuff."
Katt glared at him.
"You only help people, if they'll pay you? What about helping people because it's the right thing to do?"
Sten shrugged.
"Hey, we all have to live don't we? We can't live on air now."
Katt gripped her staff and glared at Sten, as they followed Ryu and Nina back towards Ray. The priest, was sweating profusely, the energy needed to maintain the shield draining him. He gasped at Ryu.
"Did you free the villagers?"
"Yes Ray. We did."
"Good, I don`t know if I can hold this any more. Everyone when I cancel this spell please run to the exit." Ray turned to them "Are you ready? Then......run!!!"
The wall of light dissapeared and the water came thundering on top of them.
Outside of the well the villagers felt the ground rumble as the water shot out of the well drenching all of them. Ryu, Nina, Sten, Katt and Ray came flying out of the well and crash-landed into the ground. Sten landed on the roof of a house. Katt landed in a tree. Ray floated down to the ground in a ball of light. Nina glided down thanks to her wings. Ryu wasn`t anywhere to be seen until sten pointed up. Ryu was hovering in the air, his eyes glowing, then he glided down to touch the ground lightly. The glow in his eyes slowly faded. Ryu fell forward as Nina managed to catch him.
"Nina, take me to the inn, I must rest." Ryu murmured.
Nina nodded.
Later in the inn when Ryu had recovered.
"So Ray, you would like to come back to our gathering place?"
"Yes, I would like to meet the other people who are now starting to heal the wounds of this land." Ray said.
Ryu nodded "Okay then, let`s leave now."
Sten spoke quietly to Katt.
"Why does his holiness want to meet the others?"
Katt groaned.
"Do I look like a mind reader?"
Sten smiled.
"To be a mind reader, you need to have a mind first. And that leaves you out."
He ignored the deathglare Katt gave him as he continued.
"I just find it a little suspicious that a man of the cloth, wants to meet a bunch of ragtag mercs like us. He's up to something."
Katt sighed.
"Well then, little monkey. I guess that means you're just gonna have to watch him carefully and keep an eye on him. Can you do that?"
Sten shrugged.
"I'd much rather watch you, but I guess I can do this."
Katt growled to herself.
As the group left Capitan, everyone in the village thanked them and wished them well on their journey.
"Well Ryu, I guess you are going to tell me how you were hovering in mid-air back there when we get back to your hideout, right?" Nina asked.
"You bet Nina. Also I was given a chest by your principal back in hometown. I'll give it to you when we get there." Ryu told her a smile played on his lips.
Nina smiled also.
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Death's Head - Hoo boy, this is an old story of mine. Only found this chapter by mistake when I was clearing out my hard drive, and seeing as I reread it from the beginning, I've now decided to continue this one, whilst still writing my other stories (also on this site, under different categories.). Also, you may've already noticed some differences between this story and how things happened in the game. I'm just adding my own personal feelings and insight in here, so let me know what you all think, yes? R&R please.