**Aah, I'm back! Here's another chapter for your perusal and general enjoyment (or so I hope!). Man, this story is going on and on, ne? I mean, 14 chapters and not even halfway done...ehehe... Anyway, I'm happy that some people are reading this, at least, and hope you really do enjoy it! Um...more notes after the chap--you'll see why.**
All four skidded to a halt in front of the temple, and looked up. Outside was a large (normal sized for its kind) Chocobo eater, stomping around and occasionally ripping the roofs off of huts as it went, searching for food.
The villagers and the local Crusaders were trying to stop it, but their daggers and slings were nothing but pinpricks and thrown sand to the humongous beast.
It flung the villagers back by tens of feet and into their own hut walls.
"Chocobo eater!" Niet shouted over the noise, holding open her book. "Ten thousand HP, weakness to fire spells!
He's Armored, so Power Break would be helpful--if we had it." She tossed the book on the steps of the temple with an
annoyed grunt. "Which, of course, we don't."
"Cast Haste and let's get this battle started!" Yueh screamed. Arashi nodded, grabbed her belt, and began swinging it around.
The young man stepped back and offered another bow.
"I can help." He picked up a fallen sword from the ground and brandished it.
"I heard about Power Break, and...after defeating several fiends around the area, I learned it."
Arashi cast the young man a glance and looked to her two guardians.
Yueh nodded with a small chuckle. "We need all the help we can get...c'mon!"
She darted forward, and suddenly felt a burst of speed.
"Casted Haste!" Arashi notified.
"I could tell already!" Niet shouted back. The Chocobo Eater turned to them when they were only twenty feet away from the beast.
It roared and nearly threw them all back.
"Pee yew!" Niet shouted, plugging her nose. "That thing needs a breath mint..."
"Beach boy! You're up first! Power Break!" Arashi yelled. The young man grimaced.
"I have a name!" he shouted indignantly. "Its Ben!"
"Fine, Ben, Power Break!" Niet screamed back.
Ben's face flushed and he ran forward, sword outstretched. "Hee-ya!"
Niet gave Yueh a small look. "'Hee-ya?'" Both shook their heads as Ben slashed one of the claws of the Chocobo Eater.
The fiend's body flashed bright white and it staggered back a step. Ben ran back and pumped a fist in the air.
"Yeah!" A small 500 floated up alongside a "CRITICAL" from the Chocobo Eater.
"Not bad, Ben," Arashi conceded with a small nod. She watched the Chocobo eater shake it off and stand, waiting for another attack.
"Thank goodness for turn based battle...Niet! Go!"
"Right! Ah..." She held up her rapier and thought for a moment. She stared at the fiend for a moment.
Running up almost hesitantly, she stabbed at the other claw, which did a rather dismal amount of damage.
She jogged back and sighed, shaking her head. "This is going to take a while..."
Yueh stepped up, clutching her flute. She went to cast Fira (a very recently learned spell) when she heard a voice, which was naggingly familiar.
"Yueh, use the flute given to you."
Yueh looked around and finally down at the small wooden flute. The female voice was coming from there? "Wha...?"
"Use the flute," the voice repeated.
Yueh hesitantly raised it to her lips and blew a few notes like before. Her final note held out much longer and fire shot from the bottom end of the flute out to the Chocobo Eater, engulfing it with flame.
"And we have a power-up!" Arashi shouted happily. The fire finally cleared to reveal a critical hit of 862.
Niet and Ben both attacked once more without incident.
Arashi tried her usual whip-style attack, however, the tail end of it got caught perfectly around the end of one of the fiend's claws.
She dangled around ten feet off the ground, hanging on tightly. Arashi's gray-blue eyes eyed the ground below her.
"Okay, here's what we do," Arashi managed to say calmly. The fiend raised its claw so Arashi was level with its mouth.
"Chop his claw off!"
"We can't! The whole turn based battle thing, remember?" Niet reminded her.
"It won't work that way anymore! The old fiends--never mind, we don't have time!"
Arashi began to hop up and down in a manner, tugging the belt-whip slightly farther down with each hop.
She spoke in between tugs. "Turn--based--battle--doesn't--work--" The Chocobo Eater raised her up above his head and she quickly climbed back up towards the claw.
"--in real life! At least not against--gyah!" The fiend started flinging his claw up and down and Arashi hung on for dear life.
"Not against bosses!"
Yueh shook her head. Arashi...she wasn't going to die because of some stupid thing she had done!
Not able to think of anything else, she put her flute to her lips and began playing the Hymn of the Fayth.
Niet was about to shout at her to do something else when the fiend suddenly halted its thrashing.
Arashi swung lightly from the claw and looked down, bewildered. Yueh paused for a moment.
"Keep playing! I think I can take care of this!" Yueh obliged and the fiend stayed in the same position, one claw upraised and Arashi dangling off of it.
Suddenly, her face turned red and she began squirming.
"What!? Is it moving!?!" Ben shouted. Arashi shook her head.
"I uh--well--turn around!" Arashi yelled back. Ben cocked his head to one side.
She continued explaining as she tried to climb on top of the claw. "You can see under my skirt!"
Ben blinked, and Yueh caught the feeling that he was saddened he hadn't thought of that earlier.
He turned around, mumbling something as Yueh began to reach the end of the song.
Her eyes flashed up at Arashi.
"I know!" she grunted, pulling herself up. Quickly unwrapping her whip, she started to twirl around on top of the claw.
"What the--" Niet's face reddened with anger. "This isn't any time for dancing!
Get down from there!"
"Can I turn around yet?" Ben asked impatiently. He wasn't answered, as something else was coming down from the sky.
The melody ended and the Chocobo Eater's paralysis began to fade away.
"Arashi!" both girls shouted. Ben turned around without permission and stared up at Arashi as she finished her dancing.
The Chocobo Eater tossed her up high above it's head and opened its mouth wide.
Yueh's eyes were wide open. "Arashi!"
A swooping white creature flew down from the sky and caught Arashi between it's blindingly white wings.
It's diamond hooves cut at the Chocobo Eater's head as it landed next to the other three fighters.
As Arashi jumped off, the others could clearly see that the creature was a white horse with feathered wings and a dusty tan mane and tail.
Along the right rear side of the horse was a small pattern of dark blue vines and light pink flowers.
The horse stood calmly next to Arashi, its differently hued eyes staring up at the Chocobo Eater.
"When did you...?" Niet trailed off. Yueh shook her head. A new summon?
"Tsuki," Arashi stated. She patted the horse lightly on the head and smiled.
"She's...a gift from the other temple...that I was to use only in great need."
Yueh stared at the horse intently. Something about it, its aura, the way it stood, it seemed familiar to her.
She couldn't shake the feeling.
"All right." Arashi stood tall, her belt now loose about her shoulders.
"Tsuki, I ask you: attack it, please!"
The mare gave a small snort and pranced forward. Only feet in front of the fiend, it managed to bow down and stayed in that position for a moment.
The Chocobo Eater bent a claw down to grab at it, which was when the mare ran forward and promptly began trampling the fiend in a mountain of shining dust.
All the fighters shielded their eyes as the dust rose high above the fiend and the flying horse.
The horse finally sped out of the cloud of dust and again landed next to Arashi.
It gave another bow to her and flew off into the sky once more. Arashi gave a Yevon bow as it did so.
"Arigatou," she whispered. Yueh only barely managed to hear it before she shouted, "All right!
Five thousand damage down thanks to Tsuki. Let's finish her up, everyone!"
She smiled, her eyes shutting as she did. "Ganbatte, min'na-san!"
The Chocobo Eater was sagging, its claws dragging on the ground. Its like Tsuki's attack did more than just damage
it, Yueh thought. But an Aeon that powerful, so early...who granted that Aeon to
her?
Ben ran forward, stumbling as he choked on some of the remaining dust. He tripped and his sword flew into the head of the fiend.
It roared wildly, thrashing its arms about. One of the flailing claws hit Ben and flung him backwards straight into Niet.
Both hit one of the huts, causing it to collapse on both of them.
"Niet! Ben!" Yueh clenched her teeth. She threw her flute to her lips and began a wild, upbeat melody.
From the openings of the flute, shards of flaming vines flew out and stabbed into the fiend, finishing off what was left of its health.
She fell to her knees, weakened, as the fiend dissolved into pyre flies.
Arashi ran to the fallen hut and began digging. Yueh simply stared at the pyre flies
floating up into the half-darkened sky. The setting sun created an odd silhouette against the other fallen huts and people trying to clean up and salvage what was left of the small village.
This...this is all my fault...I... She closed her eyes, tears welling up as she heard Arashi still frantically searching and screaming out for Niet and Ben.
"I did this..." Tears streamed down her tan cheek as her flute dropped to the dirt.
"I did this..."
**::is nervous:: Aheh...don't kill me, Saito! Gomen gomen!!! You gotta trust me--everything'll be all right! ^_^ Hope you enjoyed, and now for an announcement: I'm going to try to update once a week (at the least), due to school (whee...I hate precalc). So, pleeeeease be patient with me! ^_^ Ja ne, until next time! Ari...out!**