Standard disclaimers apply.
================================================================
Chaos of Seven
Chapter eleven
By; Kissa-chan
===============================================================
Somewhere in the midst of the conversation carried out by the six blond girls he was with, Shuyin caught the tell-tale whif of a Tonberry. They smelled oddly of fish and musky scales, that combined with the ancient feeling of extreme age and... weight, to their cold yellow gazes, gave them away.
He recalled, once, back in Zanarkand, that there had been a study on the odd attack habits of Tonberries... There had been something in that study that had really struck him as odd; however, he was finding it impossible to remember what detail had sparked that curiosity in him. Of course, at the time that the paper had been released, he had been occupied with Lenne and Vegnagun...
"What are you thinking about?" Rikku-chan asked softly.
Shuyin shook his head, clearing the odd thoughts from his head. "Nothing," he lied. He hesitated for a moment. "Rikku-chan, you don't smell anything odd, do you?" he inquired.
Rikku-chan glanced around, sniffing the air experimentally. "No, not really. Why?" She started tugging at the beads in her hair, pulling them out slowly and trying to straighten her braid crimped hair.
"I smell fish!" Rikku declared, her voice springing from Rikki and Rikk's heated argument to Rikku-chan and Shuyin's conversation.
"Now that you mention it, I smell it too," Rikk announced. "I wonder what it could be."
Rikki pouted her lips seductively; her version of a frown, "We were talking about our love-life - or lack-thereof-one!" she objected to the conversation change.
"Feh, the two of you are too frivolous!" Rikku-sama declared. "You should be discussing how to wake Ri up, not talking about all the times you wish you were almost kissed!"
"Unless I miss my guess," Shuyin began, "That's the smell of a Tonberry."
"Do Tonberries have a smell?" Rikku asked, wrinkling her nose. "I never really noticed."
"Everything smells - especially Rikki," Rikk pointed out dryly.
Evidently, Rikki missed the insult because she said, "For once, Rikk's right." She cocked her head to the side. "As for Ri, haven't we tried everything to wake her up already? My mind is boiling with the problem, and I can't find a solution."
"Bed rest," Rikku suggested promptly.
"Speaking of that... anyone have an idea how to get back to Kilika?" Rikku-chan inquired. "Rikku-san is probably in lots of trouble -"
Shuyin attempted to stand abruptly; however, his legs still didn't want to support him. He crumpled forward, unable to catch himself before his knees hit the rocky ground.
"What's the matter?" Rikku-sama asked.
"Not better yet? Pathetic," Rikk commented.
"Need a hand honey?" Rikki purred, extending one hand elegantly.
"I'm sorry... I should have caught you..." Rikku-chan whimpered and began to cry.
"Hey! You're injured! Take it easy!" Rikku declared.
All five comments came at nearly the exact same time. The Rikku-gumi had shifted their attention to Shuyin without a second's hesitation. None of them had caught the subtle increase in Tonberry scent.
The average Tonberry only came up to Rikku's knee level. Since they didn't jump of make sudden movements, it was typically assumed that they couldn't do that much damage. The popular belief wasn't shared by many veteran fighters. Tonberry's took advantage of their short and stout size, attacking either a person's knees or their lower abdomen (depending on where they could reach). From there, it was a simple matter of bringing their opponents down to their level.
That was the average Tonberry. Which wasn't to say that these ones were that common. The size of the attacking Tonberry's butcher's knife was roughly the same size as eighty average Tonberries.
Shuyin had time to shout a warning that none of the girls understood. Then the deadly blade cleaved through the midst of them, rendering most unconscious and on the verge of death with one little swing.
================================================================
"She's started bleeding pretty bad," Cid announced, to no one in particular. "She's got open slashes on her back, stomach, thighs..." his voice trailed off. "What the fsck is happening to my little girl?"
"Paine... get him out of here," Yuna ordered sternly. She cast Full-Life over her unconscious friend again, wiping a bit of sweat from her face. She was starting to wear thin around the edges and Rikku had only been bleeding for a few moments.
Paine nodded her head and caught Cid by his arms, depositing him outside the door without a single word. "I'll take over," she announced, sphere-changing into White Mage and casting Full-Life moments later.
Yuna nodded and leaned back wearily. A lot had happened in the last few hours. Between the arrival of 'Akira' and the complete destruction of Kilika Temple, she could barely understand what was causing Rikku to suddenly burst into injuries, much less fall asleep on a rope ladder.
"Yuna? Paine? One of you free?" Buddy asked softly, stepping into the room. He glanced at Rikku, but quickly averted his eyes from her bloody figure.
"What is it Buddy?" Yuna asked tiredly.
"There's someone on the comm with urgent news on a sphere located on the Forbidden Continent," Buddy explained.
"They want us to go there and find it for them?" Yuna asked. She didn't need to ask about the Forbidden Continent. It wasn't on any of the maps of Spira and the few people that had traveled there had either died or came back with horror tales. Since there was no man-made structures, there was little to no cause to suspect spheres being located there... and even if there was, they'd be impossible to locate.
"Can we do it?" Buddy asked, nodding his head in answer to her question.
Rikku-san's body jerked as a new cut slashed across her face. "What do you think!" Yuna snapped. "Rikku's in grave condition -"
"What should I tell them?" Buddy soothed, pulling a healing potion and tossing it over the unconscious, bleeding Al Bhed girl.
"Tell them I just had a baby and the Gullwings are taking some time off," Yuna said diplomatically. "And see if you can't get us some Ether."
"Right!" Buddy exclaimed. He turned and raced out of the room.
================================================================
The blade ripped across her face, sending a blinding stab of agony through Rikku's body. Her fingers fluttered against her sphere-grid, initiating a change to White Mage. Even with no Magic Power left in her body, she could still cast Vigor. The spell seemed to close of the worst of the bleeding, and restore a little of the blood lost. But it seemed rather useless, considering their were at least eight Tonberry's slashing at her from different angles....
Everyone else seemed to be dead... no, just unconscious. She wouldn't let herself believe that they were dead. She forced herself to her feet, casting Vigor again and then sphere-changing to Berserker. She wasn't going down without a fight....
================================================================
"So?" Agent 12 asked sarcastically. "Are they taking the bait?"
Lenne glanced at the man. "No. She just had a baby... or at least that's what they said. I think that there was something else... something that they weren't telling."
"Hah! A failure is a failure!" Agent 12 exclaimed.
"Don't be stupid. That wasn't my plan," Lenne responded. "They will go to the Forbidden Continent. I promise you that."
"Then what is your plan?" Agent 12 demanded.
"You'll see," Lenne promised.
================================================================
Ri woke up. Her right hand - the one that had touched the phoenix stone - was covered in a scolding heat. She drew it closer to her eyes, letting the angry, red marks fill her vision.
The air smelled odd, drawing her attention away from the wound. For a scant few moments, she feared that Akira had found them. Then her eyes fell on her fallen comrades and the Tonberries surrounding them. "G-get AWAY!" she screamed, voice faltering for a moment.
In response, the Tonberries... laughed.
They stopped their assault and laughed. The weren't going to be defeated, especially considering the area they were in increased their strength tenfold. Only one Tonberry continued to attack; it's blade cut towards Rikku, curving towards her face once more.
A deep burning rage swelled in Ri's chest. Of all her other selves, Rikku was her favorite. She never offered any cruel advice and never made her feel super shy and worthless. Sometimes it seemed like she was the only one that really cared what happened to the other girls...
"Stop!" she hissed, her voice heated with anger. The anger seemed to be overflowing the bounds of Ri's body, spilling flames into her palms and causing the cool green of her eyes to flame a passionate emerald.
The Tonberries stopped laughing a moved as one to kill her. It would have been frightening if she weren't so damn mad! Fury drove fear and even shyness far from her mind, but there was despair nibbling at her consciousness. What if the others were dead? What if she couldn't save them? She let out a scream; a mingled cry of fury and despair.
And somewhere within that scream, flames exploded around her in the pattern of a phoenix.
================================================================
Rikki felt as if she were being lulled back to consciousness. She could feel her heart begin beating in a steady flutter against her chest; she could feel air - tinged with Tonberry scent - slipping through her nose and mouth. Her injuries - numerous in number and deep in nature - began to close, the skin reknitting even as her mind realized what was happening.
She pulled herself to her feet, swirly green Al Bhed eyes taking in the scene. Her ears were ringing and her nose was rendered useless by the stink of Tonberries, but there was nothing wrong with her vision.
She spotted Ri.
"Oh!" she exclaimed softly, sphere-changing to Samurai and whipping her blade through the nearest Tonberry. There was something oddly different about the shy blond girl. She was surrounded by flames...
A phoenix - the one they had fought at Kilika - sprang from her body, shooting into the sky and gathering flames in it's mouth.
Rikki sphere-changed again, this time into thief. She spotted Rikk, dragging herself to her feet and raced over to her. "Ri's awake and the phoenix came from her body... I think she's vulnerable."
"Obviously!" Rikk snapped back. She was wearing the Thief dressphere too. Obviously she was hoping to cash in on greater agility... just like Rikki was.
"What do you think is happening?" Rikki inquired, as they were jerked to a halt by a regular sized Tonberry. It seemed the giant Tonberry was gathering energy in his gigantic butcher's knife. It was focusing all of it's attention of Ri's near-still form.
"No idea," Rikk responded, falling into a protective position in front of Ri, and sphere-changing back to Warrior.
"Ri? You okay?" Rikki shouted. When she didn't get a response, she glanced at Rikk. "I'm sphere-changing to White Mage."
"Why tell me?" Rikk shot towards her; however, there was less malice then usual in her voice. They were going to work together this time.
"Don't tell," Rikki whispered softly, winking.
"Promise," Rikk answered.
================================================================
"Shuyin! Can you move?" Rikku-chan demanded.
Dragging himself to his feet, Shuyin nodded. "I actually feel one hundred percent better, Rikku-chan." In time with his words, he drew a sword and flipped it almost carelessly. "Feel like dancing?" he commented.
"Huh?" Rikku-chan asked.
"I remember what I forgot about that report I read. These aren't regular Tonberries. They're mega-tonberries."
"Meaning?" Rikku-sama asked, dropping into a defensive position with them.
"Meaning they can't take dancing and singing... according to the report I read," Shuyin answered. "It drains their energy."
"Where'd you read the report at?" Rikku-sama asked as the teary girl started to perform Sleepy Shuffle.
Shuyin actually grinned. "At Lenne's house -"
Rikku-chan stumbled slightly, but kept dancing. Of course he was in love with Lenne, why was she acting shocked by him mentioning her?
"Steady," Shuyin murmured. He didn't reach out to comfort her, but his words did the job. He turned back to Rikku-sama who was busy Scanning a Mega-Tonberry.
"I read it in Songstress Weekly; Lenne was a determined subscriber. The magazine had battle tips for Songstresses and even offered musical tips..." Shuyin explained moments later.
"I want to read it!" Rikku-sama pouted.
"Business first!"
"Of course," Rikku-sama agreed with the blond haired man. "But still..." She sighed and shook her head. "My Scan shows that we're on their holy ground. I think if we leave, everything should be fine..."
Shuyin nodded. "I'll stay with Rikku-chan. You go and get Ri, Rikki, and Rikk." He paused for a moment. "And see if you can't find Rikku!"
================================================================
"Rikk! Grab Ri, we have to leave now!" Rikku-sama ordered, dropping in beside her counter-parts. "We're on Mega-Tonberry holy ground - they're not going to stop attacking until we're gone or dead!"
"Right," Rikk intoned softly. She hefted the other girl, forcing her to open her eyes.
"You okay?" Rikki called out, realizing that the other girl was seemingly just waking up.
"What hap-happened?" Ri whispered. The flames abruptly died, leaving her shivereing in Rikk's arms.
"Don't know yet," Rikku-sama announced. "Any of you seen Rikku? She's the only one missing."
"Present!" Rikku shouted, shooting one clawed hand into the air. "Only all these poopie Tonberries fell asleep on me and they weigh a ton!"
"I'll handle it. You get Ri cleared. Rikku-chan's doing a Sleepy Shuffle on them, so they should only be out until it ends," Rikku-sama ordered. To her surprise, no one argued with her assumed command position this time.
"I'll stay and help," Rikki announced. She started slashing at the Tonberries asleep on top of Rikku. Moments later, the Al Bhed girl sprang away from the still sleeping menaces.
"Thanks a lot you two!" she exclaimed brightly.
"Ease up on the cheer, hon," Rikki purred. "We almost all died." They started rapidly running through the sleeping Tonberries.
"Yeah..." Rikku breathed softly, but her word was lost in their retreat.
================================================================
"Time to go!" Shuyin announced, watching the others clear the line. He sweapt Rikku-chan up into his arms and started running.
Almost at the same time, the Tonberry's began to wake up. Rikku-chan stifled a sob and put her arms around Shuyin's neck, holding on lightly. She wasn't going to let go...
They shot past Rikku-sama, expecting to feel Tonberry blades digging into their knees and ankles... and maybe cleaving through them. It never happened.
"They can't cross this barrier," Rikku-sama explained. "We don't have to move any more."
"Can't we just do it anyway?" Rikku demanded. "I'm not to hot on staying around these guys, you know."
"I second the motion and declare all of us in need of a bath!" Rikk added.
"What? You bathe!" Rikki gasped.
"Of course," came the sharp response. "I just don't do it obsessively like you do." Rikk turned away from the others, crossing her arms across her stomach and adopting a smug expression. "Besides, what the hell were you doing, Ri?"
"I-I-I..." Stammered the shy girl.
"It doesn't matter," Rikku announced. She hugged the other girl lightly. "Good job. I think you managed to save the day."
"I... I g-guess... did I?" Ri whispered.
"It's good that you're awake again," Rikku commented. "I was really worried about you. Now all we have to do is try and figure out what happened to Rikku-san."
"Ahhhhhh!" Rikki screamed abruptly. Judging from the volume and tinge of fear in her voice, everyone went to arms.
"What's wrong?" Rikk demanded.
"Er..." Rikki managed blushing slightly. "I touched a slimy worm..."
================================================================
Author's notes; Ta-dah! Not much on over-all plot advancement, but still a fun chapter. I decided on Tonberries (anyone know how to correctly spell that plural?) to be the main problem faced in this chapter. The phoenix is kinda like an Aeon, and has merged with Ri, and like a phoenix rises from the ashes, it's power revived all of Ri's unconcious companions.
Now, lately I've been worried that this is too somber. Does anyone else think that this is getting a bit serious? Do you think I should lighten up with a bit more comedy or continue like I am?
Next Chapter; Shiroi White wasn't a fighter. A young noblewoman, she fell in love with Akira only to have her heart broken. She's out for revenge on the one that took her man away. She wants Midori dead and defeated... one problem, she targeting Rikku. And she's had a thousand plus years of hatered burning in her soul... She's spent all that time training to kill Midori. Will the girls manage to stop her? Find out in the next chapter of CHAOS OF SEVEN!
Thanks for reading,
Kissa-chan
================================================================
Chaos of Seven
Chapter eleven
By; Kissa-chan
===============================================================
Somewhere in the midst of the conversation carried out by the six blond girls he was with, Shuyin caught the tell-tale whif of a Tonberry. They smelled oddly of fish and musky scales, that combined with the ancient feeling of extreme age and... weight, to their cold yellow gazes, gave them away.
He recalled, once, back in Zanarkand, that there had been a study on the odd attack habits of Tonberries... There had been something in that study that had really struck him as odd; however, he was finding it impossible to remember what detail had sparked that curiosity in him. Of course, at the time that the paper had been released, he had been occupied with Lenne and Vegnagun...
"What are you thinking about?" Rikku-chan asked softly.
Shuyin shook his head, clearing the odd thoughts from his head. "Nothing," he lied. He hesitated for a moment. "Rikku-chan, you don't smell anything odd, do you?" he inquired.
Rikku-chan glanced around, sniffing the air experimentally. "No, not really. Why?" She started tugging at the beads in her hair, pulling them out slowly and trying to straighten her braid crimped hair.
"I smell fish!" Rikku declared, her voice springing from Rikki and Rikk's heated argument to Rikku-chan and Shuyin's conversation.
"Now that you mention it, I smell it too," Rikk announced. "I wonder what it could be."
Rikki pouted her lips seductively; her version of a frown, "We were talking about our love-life - or lack-thereof-one!" she objected to the conversation change.
"Feh, the two of you are too frivolous!" Rikku-sama declared. "You should be discussing how to wake Ri up, not talking about all the times you wish you were almost kissed!"
"Unless I miss my guess," Shuyin began, "That's the smell of a Tonberry."
"Do Tonberries have a smell?" Rikku asked, wrinkling her nose. "I never really noticed."
"Everything smells - especially Rikki," Rikk pointed out dryly.
Evidently, Rikki missed the insult because she said, "For once, Rikk's right." She cocked her head to the side. "As for Ri, haven't we tried everything to wake her up already? My mind is boiling with the problem, and I can't find a solution."
"Bed rest," Rikku suggested promptly.
"Speaking of that... anyone have an idea how to get back to Kilika?" Rikku-chan inquired. "Rikku-san is probably in lots of trouble -"
Shuyin attempted to stand abruptly; however, his legs still didn't want to support him. He crumpled forward, unable to catch himself before his knees hit the rocky ground.
"What's the matter?" Rikku-sama asked.
"Not better yet? Pathetic," Rikk commented.
"Need a hand honey?" Rikki purred, extending one hand elegantly.
"I'm sorry... I should have caught you..." Rikku-chan whimpered and began to cry.
"Hey! You're injured! Take it easy!" Rikku declared.
All five comments came at nearly the exact same time. The Rikku-gumi had shifted their attention to Shuyin without a second's hesitation. None of them had caught the subtle increase in Tonberry scent.
The average Tonberry only came up to Rikku's knee level. Since they didn't jump of make sudden movements, it was typically assumed that they couldn't do that much damage. The popular belief wasn't shared by many veteran fighters. Tonberry's took advantage of their short and stout size, attacking either a person's knees or their lower abdomen (depending on where they could reach). From there, it was a simple matter of bringing their opponents down to their level.
That was the average Tonberry. Which wasn't to say that these ones were that common. The size of the attacking Tonberry's butcher's knife was roughly the same size as eighty average Tonberries.
Shuyin had time to shout a warning that none of the girls understood. Then the deadly blade cleaved through the midst of them, rendering most unconscious and on the verge of death with one little swing.
================================================================
"She's started bleeding pretty bad," Cid announced, to no one in particular. "She's got open slashes on her back, stomach, thighs..." his voice trailed off. "What the fsck is happening to my little girl?"
"Paine... get him out of here," Yuna ordered sternly. She cast Full-Life over her unconscious friend again, wiping a bit of sweat from her face. She was starting to wear thin around the edges and Rikku had only been bleeding for a few moments.
Paine nodded her head and caught Cid by his arms, depositing him outside the door without a single word. "I'll take over," she announced, sphere-changing into White Mage and casting Full-Life moments later.
Yuna nodded and leaned back wearily. A lot had happened in the last few hours. Between the arrival of 'Akira' and the complete destruction of Kilika Temple, she could barely understand what was causing Rikku to suddenly burst into injuries, much less fall asleep on a rope ladder.
"Yuna? Paine? One of you free?" Buddy asked softly, stepping into the room. He glanced at Rikku, but quickly averted his eyes from her bloody figure.
"What is it Buddy?" Yuna asked tiredly.
"There's someone on the comm with urgent news on a sphere located on the Forbidden Continent," Buddy explained.
"They want us to go there and find it for them?" Yuna asked. She didn't need to ask about the Forbidden Continent. It wasn't on any of the maps of Spira and the few people that had traveled there had either died or came back with horror tales. Since there was no man-made structures, there was little to no cause to suspect spheres being located there... and even if there was, they'd be impossible to locate.
"Can we do it?" Buddy asked, nodding his head in answer to her question.
Rikku-san's body jerked as a new cut slashed across her face. "What do you think!" Yuna snapped. "Rikku's in grave condition -"
"What should I tell them?" Buddy soothed, pulling a healing potion and tossing it over the unconscious, bleeding Al Bhed girl.
"Tell them I just had a baby and the Gullwings are taking some time off," Yuna said diplomatically. "And see if you can't get us some Ether."
"Right!" Buddy exclaimed. He turned and raced out of the room.
================================================================
The blade ripped across her face, sending a blinding stab of agony through Rikku's body. Her fingers fluttered against her sphere-grid, initiating a change to White Mage. Even with no Magic Power left in her body, she could still cast Vigor. The spell seemed to close of the worst of the bleeding, and restore a little of the blood lost. But it seemed rather useless, considering their were at least eight Tonberry's slashing at her from different angles....
Everyone else seemed to be dead... no, just unconscious. She wouldn't let herself believe that they were dead. She forced herself to her feet, casting Vigor again and then sphere-changing to Berserker. She wasn't going down without a fight....
================================================================
"So?" Agent 12 asked sarcastically. "Are they taking the bait?"
Lenne glanced at the man. "No. She just had a baby... or at least that's what they said. I think that there was something else... something that they weren't telling."
"Hah! A failure is a failure!" Agent 12 exclaimed.
"Don't be stupid. That wasn't my plan," Lenne responded. "They will go to the Forbidden Continent. I promise you that."
"Then what is your plan?" Agent 12 demanded.
"You'll see," Lenne promised.
================================================================
Ri woke up. Her right hand - the one that had touched the phoenix stone - was covered in a scolding heat. She drew it closer to her eyes, letting the angry, red marks fill her vision.
The air smelled odd, drawing her attention away from the wound. For a scant few moments, she feared that Akira had found them. Then her eyes fell on her fallen comrades and the Tonberries surrounding them. "G-get AWAY!" she screamed, voice faltering for a moment.
In response, the Tonberries... laughed.
They stopped their assault and laughed. The weren't going to be defeated, especially considering the area they were in increased their strength tenfold. Only one Tonberry continued to attack; it's blade cut towards Rikku, curving towards her face once more.
A deep burning rage swelled in Ri's chest. Of all her other selves, Rikku was her favorite. She never offered any cruel advice and never made her feel super shy and worthless. Sometimes it seemed like she was the only one that really cared what happened to the other girls...
"Stop!" she hissed, her voice heated with anger. The anger seemed to be overflowing the bounds of Ri's body, spilling flames into her palms and causing the cool green of her eyes to flame a passionate emerald.
The Tonberries stopped laughing a moved as one to kill her. It would have been frightening if she weren't so damn mad! Fury drove fear and even shyness far from her mind, but there was despair nibbling at her consciousness. What if the others were dead? What if she couldn't save them? She let out a scream; a mingled cry of fury and despair.
And somewhere within that scream, flames exploded around her in the pattern of a phoenix.
================================================================
Rikki felt as if she were being lulled back to consciousness. She could feel her heart begin beating in a steady flutter against her chest; she could feel air - tinged with Tonberry scent - slipping through her nose and mouth. Her injuries - numerous in number and deep in nature - began to close, the skin reknitting even as her mind realized what was happening.
She pulled herself to her feet, swirly green Al Bhed eyes taking in the scene. Her ears were ringing and her nose was rendered useless by the stink of Tonberries, but there was nothing wrong with her vision.
She spotted Ri.
"Oh!" she exclaimed softly, sphere-changing to Samurai and whipping her blade through the nearest Tonberry. There was something oddly different about the shy blond girl. She was surrounded by flames...
A phoenix - the one they had fought at Kilika - sprang from her body, shooting into the sky and gathering flames in it's mouth.
Rikki sphere-changed again, this time into thief. She spotted Rikk, dragging herself to her feet and raced over to her. "Ri's awake and the phoenix came from her body... I think she's vulnerable."
"Obviously!" Rikk snapped back. She was wearing the Thief dressphere too. Obviously she was hoping to cash in on greater agility... just like Rikki was.
"What do you think is happening?" Rikki inquired, as they were jerked to a halt by a regular sized Tonberry. It seemed the giant Tonberry was gathering energy in his gigantic butcher's knife. It was focusing all of it's attention of Ri's near-still form.
"No idea," Rikk responded, falling into a protective position in front of Ri, and sphere-changing back to Warrior.
"Ri? You okay?" Rikki shouted. When she didn't get a response, she glanced at Rikk. "I'm sphere-changing to White Mage."
"Why tell me?" Rikk shot towards her; however, there was less malice then usual in her voice. They were going to work together this time.
"Don't tell," Rikki whispered softly, winking.
"Promise," Rikk answered.
================================================================
"Shuyin! Can you move?" Rikku-chan demanded.
Dragging himself to his feet, Shuyin nodded. "I actually feel one hundred percent better, Rikku-chan." In time with his words, he drew a sword and flipped it almost carelessly. "Feel like dancing?" he commented.
"Huh?" Rikku-chan asked.
"I remember what I forgot about that report I read. These aren't regular Tonberries. They're mega-tonberries."
"Meaning?" Rikku-sama asked, dropping into a defensive position with them.
"Meaning they can't take dancing and singing... according to the report I read," Shuyin answered. "It drains their energy."
"Where'd you read the report at?" Rikku-sama asked as the teary girl started to perform Sleepy Shuffle.
Shuyin actually grinned. "At Lenne's house -"
Rikku-chan stumbled slightly, but kept dancing. Of course he was in love with Lenne, why was she acting shocked by him mentioning her?
"Steady," Shuyin murmured. He didn't reach out to comfort her, but his words did the job. He turned back to Rikku-sama who was busy Scanning a Mega-Tonberry.
"I read it in Songstress Weekly; Lenne was a determined subscriber. The magazine had battle tips for Songstresses and even offered musical tips..." Shuyin explained moments later.
"I want to read it!" Rikku-sama pouted.
"Business first!"
"Of course," Rikku-sama agreed with the blond haired man. "But still..." She sighed and shook her head. "My Scan shows that we're on their holy ground. I think if we leave, everything should be fine..."
Shuyin nodded. "I'll stay with Rikku-chan. You go and get Ri, Rikki, and Rikk." He paused for a moment. "And see if you can't find Rikku!"
================================================================
"Rikk! Grab Ri, we have to leave now!" Rikku-sama ordered, dropping in beside her counter-parts. "We're on Mega-Tonberry holy ground - they're not going to stop attacking until we're gone or dead!"
"Right," Rikk intoned softly. She hefted the other girl, forcing her to open her eyes.
"You okay?" Rikki called out, realizing that the other girl was seemingly just waking up.
"What hap-happened?" Ri whispered. The flames abruptly died, leaving her shivereing in Rikk's arms.
"Don't know yet," Rikku-sama announced. "Any of you seen Rikku? She's the only one missing."
"Present!" Rikku shouted, shooting one clawed hand into the air. "Only all these poopie Tonberries fell asleep on me and they weigh a ton!"
"I'll handle it. You get Ri cleared. Rikku-chan's doing a Sleepy Shuffle on them, so they should only be out until it ends," Rikku-sama ordered. To her surprise, no one argued with her assumed command position this time.
"I'll stay and help," Rikki announced. She started slashing at the Tonberries asleep on top of Rikku. Moments later, the Al Bhed girl sprang away from the still sleeping menaces.
"Thanks a lot you two!" she exclaimed brightly.
"Ease up on the cheer, hon," Rikki purred. "We almost all died." They started rapidly running through the sleeping Tonberries.
"Yeah..." Rikku breathed softly, but her word was lost in their retreat.
================================================================
"Time to go!" Shuyin announced, watching the others clear the line. He sweapt Rikku-chan up into his arms and started running.
Almost at the same time, the Tonberry's began to wake up. Rikku-chan stifled a sob and put her arms around Shuyin's neck, holding on lightly. She wasn't going to let go...
They shot past Rikku-sama, expecting to feel Tonberry blades digging into their knees and ankles... and maybe cleaving through them. It never happened.
"They can't cross this barrier," Rikku-sama explained. "We don't have to move any more."
"Can't we just do it anyway?" Rikku demanded. "I'm not to hot on staying around these guys, you know."
"I second the motion and declare all of us in need of a bath!" Rikk added.
"What? You bathe!" Rikki gasped.
"Of course," came the sharp response. "I just don't do it obsessively like you do." Rikk turned away from the others, crossing her arms across her stomach and adopting a smug expression. "Besides, what the hell were you doing, Ri?"
"I-I-I..." Stammered the shy girl.
"It doesn't matter," Rikku announced. She hugged the other girl lightly. "Good job. I think you managed to save the day."
"I... I g-guess... did I?" Ri whispered.
"It's good that you're awake again," Rikku commented. "I was really worried about you. Now all we have to do is try and figure out what happened to Rikku-san."
"Ahhhhhh!" Rikki screamed abruptly. Judging from the volume and tinge of fear in her voice, everyone went to arms.
"What's wrong?" Rikk demanded.
"Er..." Rikki managed blushing slightly. "I touched a slimy worm..."
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Author's notes; Ta-dah! Not much on over-all plot advancement, but still a fun chapter. I decided on Tonberries (anyone know how to correctly spell that plural?) to be the main problem faced in this chapter. The phoenix is kinda like an Aeon, and has merged with Ri, and like a phoenix rises from the ashes, it's power revived all of Ri's unconcious companions.
Now, lately I've been worried that this is too somber. Does anyone else think that this is getting a bit serious? Do you think I should lighten up with a bit more comedy or continue like I am?
Next Chapter; Shiroi White wasn't a fighter. A young noblewoman, she fell in love with Akira only to have her heart broken. She's out for revenge on the one that took her man away. She wants Midori dead and defeated... one problem, she targeting Rikku. And she's had a thousand plus years of hatered burning in her soul... She's spent all that time training to kill Midori. Will the girls manage to stop her? Find out in the next chapter of CHAOS OF SEVEN!
Thanks for reading,
Kissa-chan