Hey, Welcome back to chapter 7!!!
PLEASE REVIEW ONCE YOU'RE DONE READING!!!
Chapter 7: Gizamaluke's Grotto
The first day, they had walked for three hours before the sky began to darken. Freya, though against resting and desperately wanting to continue to Burmecia, agreed to stop then, know that the night belongs to beasts. They had set up a watch, two of the chocobo knights watched from 9 to 11, two others watched from 11 to 1, then the final two chocobo knights watched from 1 to 3, and then Blank, Felix, and Randall watched from 3 to 5, and, finally, Vivi, Steiner, and Freya watched from 5 to 7. With this arrangement, which was proposed by Randall, no one got too little sleep and still they could watch through the whole night.
During the first night, they came across two foes, both of which were weak and the team fighting them didn't manage to wake up the others. They continued traveling again at about 7:10 when everyone was ready to continue their travels. Thanks to the speed of the chocobos, they managed to reach the grotto at 8:00 however, they decided, again by Randall's influence, that they eat before they go inside, so that they wouldn't fight on an empty stomach.
The chocobo knights made an excellent breakfast, however no one ate much, even Steiner, who almost always seemed to eat a lot. The smell of blood even reached their party, and, from their distance, they could barely see the entrance of the grotto. Actually, they couldn't at all, but they could see a small cloud of smoke coming from what they assumed was Gizamaluke's grotto. They threw away the leftover food away, and there was quite a bit of the leftovers, as no one had the nerve to eat.
So, they then continued traveling for about ten minutes when they reached the grotto, and Freya jumped off her chocobo and bowed in front of the entrance. "Uhh, Freya," Blank began.
"I only pray Burmecia isn't this bad..." Freya said and Blank could has sworn he saw a tear fall from her face.
"Let's go," Felix commanded.
"Hey, hey, hey," Randall said, slowing him a little. "We have to plan!"
"Very well," Felix responded. "Blank, Freya, Vivi, the chocobo knights and myself will go in. You, Steiner, and Claire can stay out here. We'll call you in when it's cleared."
"Hey wait!" Claire announced. "I can fight!"
"Yes, but princess," Felix said, walking up to her, making her step back in a little fear. She trusted Felix, perhaps trusted him almost as much as she trusted Blank, but Felix scared her very much. She remembered when they meet him, and how he finished off the second black waltz and probably could have defeated the third black waltz by himself. And, what frightened Claire the most, was that it seemed that he was restraining his power, it seemed like he was holding back his true power. "The Alexandrian soldiers will be after you," Felix continued. "If they find you... well... who knows what'll happen."
"I... I guess..." Claire responded, too frightened to make a comeback.
"All right, good," Randall declared. "And also be sure to get rid of most of them, or at least all of the ones you can find."
"Of course," Blank nodded.
"Let's see here... Freya, would you like to lead the attack here?" Randall asked, and Freya then stood.
She supposed she would know the most about the grotto, having traveled through it and protected it as a dragon knight several times. She knew close to everything there is to know about the grotto, and that would lead to a great advantage. However, it seemed even Master Gizamaluke couldn't stand against these soldiers, and if he couldn't why would they be able to? She had seen Gizamaluke battle once or twice and one time he had been up against twenty soldiers from a rebel fraction from Treno. Freya and Fratley had been sent there to assist them, however Gizamaluke killed each one of them in a single swing of his long serpent body.
Freya still remembered how surprised she and Fratley had been, and she remembered the look on Fratley's face when they had witnessed it. Well, if they did manage to take down Master Gizamaluke, he surely took down several of the soldiers with him. So, hopefully, that would mean that there wouldn't be too many of these soldiers left, and Freya intended to kill them all, each and every one of these mage bastards.
"Well Freya?" Randall asked. "Will you lead your group into the grotto?"
"..." Freya thought for a moment, then finally answered, "If that is what you wish, it is the least I can do to repay the favor of your assistance."
"Thank you, Freya," Randall called. "Now, be careful! I don't want to lose any lives out here!"
"What about the chocobos?" Felix asked.
"What about them?" Randall asked, then, after a moment thought that Felix allowed, Randall uttered a silent chuckle at his own foolishness, however Blank was still slightly confused. "Ahh, yes, I understand now. The chocobos, unfortunately, will have to stay out here... I suppose they would know their way back to Lindblum, correct?"
"Yes sir," the chocobo knights saluted, and dismounted their chocobos, along with Blank and the rest. "Chocobo! Lindblum!"
Immediately, all the chocobos turned and rushed off towards Lindblum.
"Now, are we all ready?" Randall asked.
"Yeah," Blank nodded, then pulled out his new sword. His new sword seemed much lighter now since the previous night, when he was on guard duty, his was training a little with Randall and Felix. They trained with their sheaths on, so the clangs of the swords wouldn't wake the others, and they got some great training.
"Then go!" Randall exclaimed.
Their weapons drawn, Blank took a deep breath and they all went into the grotto. Instantly, the smell of blood intensified, they thought it was horrible before, but now it was at least ten times worse. Blank noticed Vivi cover his mouth and nose with his left hand while his staff was in the other. Freya and Felix, however, seemed to not even notice the smell, which almost frightened. Blank supposed there were two types of people, people like Vivi, who would weaken their defenses to be able to stand in a place, and people like Freya and Felix, who were strong enough to act like they didn't even notice it. Blank guessed he was in the middle for now, he noticed the smell, and he's certain others would have been able to see that, however he was strong enough to refrain himself from covering his nose and mouth.
They stepped in and the team walked up to a large door that was covered in blood with a bell in the center. "Everyone ready?" Blank asked, however he didn't bother getting a response, as he knew they should all be ready. Blank pounded on the door, however, he merely hurt his shoulder as the door didn't even seem to shake. "What the..." Blank muttered, then tried pushing up against it, again to no avail. "Hey Freya how do ya-" Blank then turned, but saw that Freya was not there.
"Where's Freya?!" Vivi cried.
"She's right back there," Felix said, pointing to a short hallway, and Blank and Vivi both then saw Freya. "You should be more alert."
Blank grumbled, his hatred for Felix growing. Felix was a great warrior indeed, but he didn't have to be such a jerk about everything. Blank walked over to Freya and saw he crouched over a dead soldier. "You... alright?" Blank asked.
"Yes..." Freya muttered, then stood. "You can not open the door by force, it's a security thing. It makes me wonder how the Alexandrians got in..."
"How are we supposed to get in?" Vivi asked.
"We'll get in the same way the Alexandrians did," Blank answered. "We just have to find out how they got in..."
"No need," Freya responded, then pulled a bell out of her pocket. "The soldier gave it to me. It's how you open the doors."
"Oh..." Blank muttered. Then, to his surprise, Freya handed him the bell.
"I... don't want to be the team leader anymore," Freya told him.
"But... why?" Blank asked.
"It... doesn't feel right," Freya slowly responded. "Fratley was always the team leader... He was such a good leader too... I don't think I'll be able to do it..."
"Alright but... why me?" Blank asked.
"You were the leader before you reached Lindblum, right?" Freya asked, looking up at him.
"Well..." Blank muttered, then realized that he was the team leader then. "I... guess..."
"So, you can do it..." Freya muttered. "Or Felix, or Vivi, I don't care, I just don't want to be the leader..."
"Alright," Blank nodded. "Do you... want to wait outside with the others?"
"No," Freya immediately answered. "The least I can do is fight the remaining soldiers."
"Alright, let's go." Blank then walked up to the strange door with the bell, and, still slightly confused what to do, rung the bell, and the bell on the door rung as well. The bell in Blank's hand then shattered, and the pieces all fell to the ground, and large door swung open.
Immediately, they heard screams, and Freya rushed in, jumping in front of the other warriors. However, she jumped in just in time to see mages blow up three Burmecian soldiers, and then they all leapt down on the small path in front of Freya. Freya pulled out her spear, and stabbed the first mage, making it utter a short scream, then Freya harshly swung her staff and the body flew off and hit one of his mage companions.
"What is she doing?!" a jester cried.
"Killing the mages she is!" another jester shouted.
"She is another Burmecian rat!"
"Another Burmecian rat she is!"
Then, they both cried, "Mages! Get her!"
Freya then slashed the last mage with her spear, and then two others leapt in front of her and three leapt behind her. Freya circled around looking at all the mages, then struck on in front of her, and, as she felt the heat of a fire spell forming behind her, she turned and saw Felix and Blank both strike a mage down each, and saw Vivi shoot a fire spell at the third mage that was behind her. Freya then felt a burst a heat hit her chest as she turned to face the remaining two, and she fell back, her spear falling out of her hand. Felix and Blank quickly jumped past her and killed the remaining two mages, and then Blank crouched over Freya.
"Are you alright?!" Blank shouted.
"I'm fine," Freya responded as she grabbed her spear and stood up once again. "I was just surprised."
"You fool," Felix said in his usual calm manner, making Blank turned angrily towards him.
"Hey! What the hell?!" Blank called back at him.
"You still had two more enemies," Felix explained, still not changing his tone of voice. "The two jesters." Blank was about to make a come back, but realized that Felix was right, so wasn't able to say anything. "And," Felix continued, "you must care for others, however you must appoint one person to heal the others while the rest of the team, unless desperate, must finish off the rest of the opponents. I'm surprised that Claire was even able to make it to Lindblum if you were twice as good of a leader as you are now."
"Alright," Blank said, trying to restrain from shouting. "I made a mistake! I admit it! But you don't have to call me an idiot or be mean about it!"
However, Felix's face stayed unchanged, as if he hadn't even heard it, however, he responded, "I'll take a note of that. For now, however, we should continue, and we'll talk about this once we're out of here, now we must focus on fighting."
"I know," Blank nodded.
Felix turned, and muttered something that Blank swore that was, "You'll learn, Blank. You may even become as good a fighter as me one day..."
"What was that?" Blank asked.
"Nothing," Felix immediately said. "Now let's go."
They continued through the small walkway and came upon what seemed to be the lobby of the grotto. The floors were blood stained and the scent of blood was even heavier here than it was before, and Blank heard Vivi gag, but he never vomited, however it did make him wonder how the princess would take this.
"Sir Blank," one of the chocobo, now chocoboless, knights inquired. "It seems we need another bell to continue."
"Check the bodies," Blank ordered, and the three knights immediately obeyed, going to the fallen Burmecian soldiers. "And be respectful to their bodies."
"Yes sir!" the chocoboless knights saluted.
As the six knights spread out, Freya walked up to the large door, for there was a smaller one next to it, however Blank suspected they should go into the large one. Freya crouched down and mumbled, "What is beyond their door?"
"What do you mean, Freya?" Blank asked.
"Beyond this door is a very small room, and beyond that is Master Gizamaluke's chamber..." Freya muttered.
"We should try and find two bells," Felix suggested. "So that we may kill all the Alexandrian soldiers."
"They both lead to the same room," Freya responded. "We'll go through the smaller door, so that we'll be able to see all the soldiers, if there are any..."
"What do you mean, 'if there are any'?" Blank asked.
"Master Gizamaluke is a great and legendary warrior. I saw him demonstrate his powers and his powers are far beyond any of ours, perhaps even stronger than all our powers combined, and I don't see why he couldn't defeat the mages."
"Let's hope he did," Blank responded.
"Hey!" one knight called and rose with a bell in his hand. "I found one! I found a bell!"
So, they went to the small door, the door Freya suggested they go through, and Blank rung the bell, and, like the door at the beginning, the bell on the door rung, the bell in Blank's hand shattered, and the door opened. They slowly crept in, and Blank found that they were on a balcony that surrounded a room that had a large bell, now shattered against the ground, and a chocobo crying in front of it. Blank looked around, to see if the moogle was some type of diversion and if mages would leap at them if they went anywhere near the chocobo, but he didn't see any. He did, however, see a couple dead mages, that slightly frightened him, wondering if the legends of Gizamaluke were true.
"Let's go help the moogle," Vivi whispered.
"It may be a trap," Felix told the little mage.
"I don't see any mages, do you?" Blank asked.
"No, but those dead mages may be trying to fool us," Felix responded.
"Then we'll make sure they're dead," Freya said, taking out her spear.
"Alright," Blank nodded. "Let's go."
The team snuck across the balcony in single file, and all with their weapons drawn, in case they were to be spotted by an enemy soldier. They never did see an enemy and they eventually reached the area with the bell and the weeping chocobo. As they reached the bell, Blank noticed a very large door with a bell in the center, which was more than likely the door that they could come in. There were also two other doors, each to one side of the giant fallen bell, one, to the right, seemed a little more... made up, and special, while the one to the left looked like a normal door.
"A-Are you alright?" Vivi asked the little moogle, still with his staff drawn.
"No... my... husband..." the moogle muttered, "k-kupo... is trapped..."
"I don't know if we can lift that bell..." Blank muttered as the chocobo knights searched around the bell for any soldiers, and stabbed the fallen mages, to ensure their death.
The moogle then sniffed the air, and rushed up to Vivi, sniffing his coat. "U-Um... y- yes...?"
"You have kupo nut?!" the little moogle asked.
"Yeah but-" Vivi began.
"Can I have it?!" the moogle asked.
"Um... ok," Vivi answered, taking the kupo nut out of his pocket and putting into the furry paws of the moogle.
The moogle then went up to the bell and said, "I have kupo nut!"
"Kupo nut?!" a muffled voice called from inside the bell. "I'm kupo for kupo nuts!"
The bell began to shake and everyone, except for the moogle wife, took a good step back, and the bell fell back, and a moogle ran from under the bell, grabbing the nut from his wife, and rushing off somewhere.
"Look a chest," Blank said, pointing to the chest that was under the bell. Blank walked up to it and opened it, not surprising him by seeing a bell within the chest. "Good, now let's go to Gizamaluke's Chamber."
"Good," Freya said. "I can not wait until we are out of here and closer to Burmecia."
"Neither can I," Blank responded. "I hope we are able to stop the queen there."
"As do I," Freya agreed. "No one else needs to die at the hand of Alexandrians."
"Then lets hurry," Felix said.
"Gizamaluke's chamber is on the right," Freya responded. The team then walked up to the door on the right, as, according to Freya, was the door to Gizamaluke's chamber. Blank rung the bell, and, as before, the bell on the door rung, the bell in Blank's hand shattered, and the door opened.
"Everyone ready?" Blank asked, they all said yes except for Freya, who seemed frightened. "Are... you alright, Freya?"
"I sense... something terrible in there..." Freya muttered.
"I understand, everyone be at their top guard," Blank commanded. "Now let's go!"
They all went in, and immediately the chocobo knights began inspecting the room. There was a straight path that went to the exit, Blank was only able to conclude this by the light beaming in from the outcrop. There was water on both sides of the fairly thin path, which made Blank think that this would be an easy place to be attacked by surprise, and they would easily be defeated.
There were a few dead black mages, and about twice as many fallen Burmecian soldiers, however there was one that was taking very deep breaths. Freya immediately rushed over to the fallen soldier and crouched next to him, Freya ripped off the soldier's chest armor to try and find a wound that she may be able to heal, however she a gigantic gaping hole in his stomach, and they all thought it was incurable.
"F-Frey...a..." the soldier mumbled. "Y... you... c-came..."
"Yes, of course," Freya said, finding tears beginning to slip down her check. "I had to come back..."
"M-Mast... er.... Giz... ama... luke.... is... p-poss... esed..." the soldier managed to breath, however, his breathing quickly became much heavier. "Two... cl-clow... ns..."
"Two clowns?" Freya asked. "Could it be the two clowns we saw at the entrance?"
Blank shrugged and then noticed that the soldier's breathing stopped, very calmly and not in a horrified manner, as if he had been at peace. And perhaps he had been at peace, passing on the little bit of information he had, maybe then he could rest in peace.
"We should hurry out of here," Freya told the others. "Before Master Gizamaluke finds us."
"What about the others?" Blank asked. "We should fight Gizamaluke now, and finish this, then we'll get the others."
"I... suppose..." Freya muttered.
"Now Blank, this Gizamaluke is supposed to be very powerful," Felix said. "Remember what I said earlier, about assigning a healer?" Blank nodded. "This would be the time to do it."
"Alright..." Blank mumbled thinking, then turned to the chocobo guards, "how about three of the strongest of you help us fight, while the other three heal. If one of the healers one of the fighters take his place, understood?"
"Yes sir!" the soldiers saluted then huddled up, discussing who should heal and who should fight, and, after a moment, they had spread apart, and split into two groups. "We are ready, sir!"
"Good, now, everyone get ready to fight," Blank commanded. "And, Vivi, you begin powering up your strongest spell, and as soon as he comes, hit him with it, that'll be our cue to attack! It'll be so fast that he couldn't possibly see it coming!"
"Let's hope," Freya commented. "This may be our only chance to defeat Master Gizamaluke..."
"Actually, maybe we should get the others first," Vivi struggled to say. It made Blank slightly smile, since that struggling meant he was focusing a lot on his magic. "Then we can be sure we'll defeat him. And we can be certain that we have a healer, Claire."
"Maybe..." Blank muttered, then turned to Freya. "You know the most about Gizamaluke, what do you think?"
"I think Vivi's right," Freya responded. "Unless this spell Gizamaluke is under weakens him, I don't think we'll have the power to defeat him. Even with the chocobo knights."
"What do you think?" Blank asked Felix.
"I don't care," Felix answered. "But I would agree with Freya. She probably knows the best on this."
"Alright, what about you?" Blank asked the knights.
"We agree full heartedly," they all answered.
"Alright then, chocobo knights," Blank ordered. "Two warriors and two healers go to retrieve the others, and bring them here as quickly as you can. Then we may even be able to escape from here without even fighting Gizamaluke!"
"Yes sir!" the knights saluted, and rushed out.
"Alright, now everyone needs to be on their top guard," Blank explained. "If he comes we have to defend, try not to strike until the others arrive and we can hit him at full force, and, Vivi, I'll be sure he doesn't hit you, so you can save your attack until the others come."
Vivi looked like he was about to speak, but instead just nodded, and Blank wondered if he even had the power to speak anymore. The team, with their swords drawn were completely silent, listening for anything that may be in the room, or even in the grotto, if it was loud enough.
Suddenly, they all heard a very frightening screech that seemed to be emanating from a hole in the wall, above the exit. Everyone was on their top guard, and Freya and the two remaining chocobo knights hide behind rocks. Blank would have as well, if Vivi was able too, and Blank thought that Felix wasn't behind a rock for the same reason Blank wasn't. Another screech came to their ears, however this time it wasn't from the hole, it came from behind them, behind the door they recently passed.
"What the?!" Blank heard a chocobo knight scream.
"NNNNOOOOOOO!" another screamed.
Then there was utter silence, either two weren't attacked, Blank prayed for this option, or, the more likely option, they were killed before they even knew what was happening. They then, this frightened everyone but Felix, or at least that's what it appeared to be, they heard a gobbling sound.
Gizamaluke was eating the fallen knights.
"We have to strike now, while he's eating," Blank whispered. "We might catch him off guard."
"If that's what you think," Freya told him in the same hushed sound. "However I don't think Vivi will be able to move, and I think he's our best chance."
"What do you think, Felix?" Blank asked.
"..." Felix was silent for a moment. "I think we should lead him here. And then have Vivi strike and we strike. If he stays out there, he might go to the princess."
"Alright," Blank nodded. "But only I'll go out there, I'm the fastest, and has the best chance of getting back out here without him killing me..."
"Are you certain?" Felix asked, still in his fairly calm manner. "I am willing to go in your place."
"No, I'm the fastest, so I would be best to go..." Blank muttered, then turned to Vivi. "When I run back, hit him as soon as you see 'em, but make sure you don't hit me."
Vivi very slightly nodded, actually, had you not expected some sort of response from the mage, you probably wouldn't have noticed it at all. Blank snuck out of the room, trying to keep quiet to be able to try and tell if Gizamaluke had noticed him, fortunately, he had not, for now. Blank slowly went across the room and saw that the large door that the team had never opened, had a very thick hole in it, where the bell would have been.
He went through the door, Blank thought, he was right behind us and we never even noticed...
Blank slowly went up to the door and saw Master Gizamaluke, he was a humongous snake like creature with blue scales and large blue wings where a human's arms would be. Gizamaluke was gobbling up a chocobo knight, and from Blank view it seemed to be the only on remaining, and was faced, from Blank's point of view, to the left. He glanced around and, to his horror, on the opposite side of the room, he saw Steiner, Randall, and Claire creeping inside. He also noticed Claire had tears streaking down her face, they thought that it was Blank and the team that was being eaten.
I can't let them try and fight! Blank thought, then did the only thing he could think of. "Hey! Gizamaluke!" he called. Immediately, everyone in that room turned to Blank, Blank slightly turned to Claire and them, and saw Claire's eyes brighten with hope. Blank slightly grinned at her, but then was interrupted when he heard the screech from Gizamaluke.
Immediately, the reptile was in motion as it leapt from it's spot and begun to flap it's wings. Blank dropped to the floor under the hole as Gizamaluke exploded through the hole like a cannonball from a cannon. Blank looked up and saw a gigantic fireball hit Gizamaluke's head and then saw Felix and Freya leap at him. They both pierced his scales, and then Blank jumped up and joined them.
The beast roared once more, and shook it's body, making the team fly off. Then, a bolt of lightning struck the beast's head, which was now tinted black, and another bolt came from the hole in the door. Screeching again, the beast flew into the air, and broke a hole similar to the one in the door, except in the ceiling.
"Come on, let's go!" Blank shouted, as the place began to rumble.
"What about the others?!" Freya cried.
"I'll help them!" Blank shouted back. "Now go!"
The team rushed out, except for Felix who went over to Blank, who was now at the door helping Randall through the hole. "Go Blank, I'll help them!" Felix shouted over the rumbling.
"No, you go!" Blank told him.
But Felix stayed and instead of shouting back, was silent and merely helped him bring people through. Randall was through and then Steiner helped them get the princess free, who hurt her ankle getting through the hole.
"My ankle!" She cried.
"Blank help her out!" Felix shouted. "I'll get Steiner out!"
Blank merely nodded, and swooped a hand under the princess' feet and her neck, and rushed out of the outcropping. He rushed to the rest of the team who were a ways away from the outcropping, still with the princess in his arms. Blank turned back, expecting to see Felix and Steiner rush out, but instead he saw a large rock fall from on top of the mountain, and cover most of the exit.
"Steiner!" Claire screamed.
"Felix!" Blank shouted to the mostly covered outcropping. Blank didn't really like the guy, but it was... strange. Felix almost felt like a brother to Blank, like the guys at Tantalus except a little stricter. Felix was pointing out Blank's mistake, like the guys at Tantalus, except he was strict about it, while the guys were more jokingly about it. So, in a way, Felix was more like a father to Blank than a brother.
They heard more rumbling from inside the mountain, though saw nothing, except another rock, which finished covering the exit.
"No..." Randall muttered. "They... they're gone..."
Blank, gently and slowly, put Claire on the ground, who then began sobbing even more than before, and Blank wrapped his arms around her, and found that he, too, was crying. In this journey, he had lost three people. Zidane... Steiner... and Felix... All of whom were lost because Blank was too stupid to help them. Had Blank stayed behind Zidane, instead of running in front of him, Zidane may have still been here, standing next to Blank. Had Blank rushed the princess out and then ran back inside, Felix and Steiner may have been here and they may have continued walking, or help set up camp, whatever it was that the people behind him and Claire were doing.
But no, Blank had been too much of a fool to save them. Or even help them.
Claire buried her face into Blank's chest, and wept even more, though now her sobs were muffled by Blank's chest.
That night, the two remaining chocobo knights had made another delicious meal, and again most of it was thrown out. They then set up three small tents, Freya, Vivi, and Randall slept in one, the two knights slept in the other, and Blank and Claire slept in the third.
At first, Blank and Claire were both in their own sleeping bags, however Claire then moved over to Blank's sleeping bag, and they wrapped their arms around each other. Blank felt that he could have had sex with the princess at that time, but chose not to for one big reason. He wouldn't want to use the princess in any way. Over the course of their journey, he had grown to love her, and he realized at this moment, as they both slept in the same sleeping bag. There were other reasons, but did it matter? They never had sex that night, though they did sleep together and eventually fell asleep in each other's arms, but they were now something more than friends. Were they in love with each other? Blank felt so, but he wasn't sure if the princess did. But, they did trust each other at the very least.
There's chapter 7!
How did you like it?
PLEASE REVIEW!!!
