Author's Note: Yeah, I know I'm making FAR to many of these. This is just a point to say: I know some of the stuff that happens in this chapter is ridiculous (especially some of the stuff the Raven does), but this is the fan fiction equal to pop corn movies, I'm allowed to get away with it.
PART XIX
Two of the mithra guards stood in silence at the door of the small hut. They quickly spun around as they heard a noise behind them. Vivli had tried to stand, and fallen. She kept herself supported against a wall, but couldn't move easily. Her back had been badly hurt (she had been thrown through a tree after all), and so her legs were barely working.
"Please Princess!" Cried a guard, rushing to her side and supporting her. "You shouldn't be standing up."
"Don't call me that!" Protested Vivli. "A-and I have to!" She stumbled over her words as they laid her back on the bed. "It's urgent I speak to someone! My mum! My dad! Dedji! Somebody!"
"Okay, just calm down Princess." Vivli managed to shoot the guard an angry look. "We'll just go find somebody." The guard ran out of the room.
Vivli grasped the black pearl in her hand. She could contact and warn the others, but then Lich would know as well. She had to keep it a secret. If she could warn the Light Warriors without Lich finding out, they would have the advantage. They could plan something. She attempted to sit up, and groaned in pain.
"Sis!" Dedji called. "Watch it!"
"Ow." Vivli muttered.
"What's so imporrrrrrrrrrrrrrtant you almost killed yourrrrrrrrrrself standing up?" Dedji quickly asked.
"I was fine!" Vivli cried. "I have to tell you! This is really important!"
"What is?" Dedji asked.
"Get rid of this first." Vivli whispered. Passing her the linkshell pearl. Dedji looked at it curiously, and threw it out the hut window.
"Done. Now what arrrrrrrrre you talking about?"
"The linkshells. Lich somehow has one. I could hear his thoughts when I grabbed it just now. He's listened to everything. He knows everything we know. He knows that Zinkata, Voldos and Bootus are heading to San D'Oria!" Vivli explained, sounding frantic.
"Whoa, calm down, sis." Dedji said as comfortingly as she could. "What do you want to do?"
"We need to warn them! Take one of the transport airships from Jeuno. Chase them and warn them before they arrive." Vivli quickly suggested.
"Look. Just rest, okay." Dedji told her. "You're not thinking straight. The Raven is the fastest thing to ever grace the air, remember?" Vivli weakly sighed.
"Then what can we do? They're walking into a trap!" Vivli was crying with fear.
"Use the linkshell. Lich will know but it's your only option!" Dedji explained.
"Yes. I'll-" Vivli tried to get up, but screamed in pain. "Ow!" She groaned, crying. She let out an angry scream, and with all her energy cast a spell. She felt the warm white light wash over her and rose to her feet. "That's more like it!" She cried triumphantly. She marched to the door, not noticing the lack of guards. She froze in her tracks when she got outside.
"Doesn't feel the same without one of us being sick." Voldos commented.
"No time for that now." Zinkata told him. "We're approaching San D'Oria." The Elvaan city hung in the distance.
"What's that?" Bootus asked. "On the horizon."
"Looks like-" Zinkata paused. "No, it is! It's dragons! Their…" Zinkata trailed off.
"Waiting for us." Voldos finished.
"How can they be waiting for us if they don't know we're coming?" Zinkata pondered. "Break off, Cid! Get us out of here!" He suddenly cried as the dragons closed in on the small black airship.
"We're in serious trouble!" Bootus cried.
"Voldos!" Zinkata cried. "Me and you are on the cannons! Bootus! You're reloading."
"Oh,
fun." Sighed the galka.
"Cid! I hope you know some evasive
manoeuvres." Zinkata cried.
"Oh, believe me." Cid smiled.
"This bay will make your eyes spin!" The Raven quickly
began to drop towards the ground as the hoards of skeletal dragons
closed in on the tiny ship. Leading the hoard was a mighty three
headed beast: Tiamat.
Vivli
gulped, hard.
"Hello, child." Kary said, focusing instead on
her six swords.
"Urm. Hi?" Vivli said very nervously.
"I'm just cutting through." The fiend forced her words out so they had that fake pleasant sound. The implied venom made Vivli shiver. Helped by the fact she ran her sword blades together as she said the word 'cutting'.
"I-I-I-I can't let you do this." Vivli stammered.
"What are you going to do?" Kary asked, lowering her weapons. "Go on. Take your shot. You're weak girl, you can't harm me."
"I can!" Dedji cried, drawing her scythe from her back. "And can all of our trrrrroops."
"Your troops? Do you remember what happened the last time you tried to fight us?" Kary asked. "You died. You lost. I tire of this. I shall burn this village to the ground!" She shot a fireball at the hut behind Vivli. Dedji pushed Vivli over, and the hut exploded behind them into flames. "See? You are no match for me."
"We have an army at ourrrr disposal." Spat Dedji, getting up with the flames burning behind her. "We won't give in easily!"
"You'd throw yourselves at me just to die?" Kary asked.
"If we have to. We'll do whatever we can to save this worrrrrld." Dedji bent down, whispering to Vivli who had just clambered to her feet. "Go. Get the linkshell. Warn the others." Vivli nodded, running behind the burning hut.
"I am the Fiend of the Fire!" Kary announced. "Do you not realise what that means?"
"I don't care what you are!" Dedji cried. The mithra around had drawn multiple weapons and were advancing on Kary. Kary let out a loud laugh.
Vivli ran around the back of the hut and felt a cold hand grab her, lifting her off the floor. She was staring into the helmet of Nameless.
"Fancy meeting you here." He remarked. Vivli squirmed. "I bet you regret giving that staff away now."
"Put me down!" Vivli cried in panic.
"No." Nameless said calmly.
"Please!" She begged. "Why hurt me? What can I do?"
"Well, you certainly are a courageous warrior aren't you?" Nameless laughed as tears ran down Vivli's face. The heat from the burning hut and the sounds as battle erupted behind them frightened her even more.
The Raven hurtled a few feet above the ground at high speeds. Tiamat followed it, with hoards of dragons not far behind.
"We can only fire from the sides!" Zinkata yelled. "We can't get a clean shot if all we do is run!"
"Why didn't you say you wanted to shoot?" Cried Cid. The airship suddenly shook violently, spinning in the air until it faced the other way, and powered through the dragons. Zinkata and Voldos fired, blasting two of the beasts from the sky as the Raven soared out of the monster hoards. The dragons spun around in the air.
"I think I know how Vivli feels." Muttered Voldos, looking green from the ship's tight spin. Fireballs slammed into the back of the ship as it flew.
"Cid!" Bootus cried. "The ship is on fire!"
"I'll fix that!" Cid replied with a laugh. The Raven was hurtling low over the dunes. The sea was speeding towards them.
"Oh no." The galka muttered.
One
of the small wooden huts exploded, hurtling a young mithra guard
through the air. The troops rushed Kary, who beat them away easily.
Dedji slashed with her scythe, but found it knocked from her hands by
the fiend. Goblins had poured from some unseen source, and were
helping the evil creature in her attack. The mithra were panicking,
trying desperately to fight them all off.
"So, this is all I get
from the warrior princess?" Kary asked in disappointment.
"You can strrrrrrrike me down," Dedji spat, "But somebody will always take my place."
"Not after this." Kary laughed. "Today will see the end of the Light Warriors, and tomorrow will see the end of Vana'diel."
"Leave her alone!" Another mithra cried. It was the Chieftainess, now fully healed and stood with a vicious looking double bladed spear.
"This should be entertaining." Kary remarked, approaching the brave mithra as battle raged all around.
"What
are you going to do to me?" Vivli sobbed as Nameless's grip
tightened.
"The masters do not want you dead." Nameless
reassured her. "But I may take that pleasure if you prove to be
forceful." Vivli pounding at his armoured arm, completely unable to
hurt him.
"Are you the last of the werewolves then?" Vivli asked, trying to distract herself.
"Yes. The last. All others are dead." He almost smirked as he spoke.
"So that's it. Olose is definitely gone." Vivli cried. "I'll kill you for that! I'll kill you, and your masters!"
"You
couldn't harm a hornet." Nameless laughed. "Besides, you should
get your facts right."
"What?" Vivli asked. Nameless removed
his helmet, throwing it into Vivli's arms. She fell from his grip
as she caught it, and was pulled to the ground by its weight. It
weighed far more than she could ever lift. A reminder of the strength
of her opponent.
"I am the last of the werewolves." The revealed figure said. "I have been for six hundred years. Six hundred years and only now do I realise my true potential!"
"No!" Vivli sobbed. "It can't be!" Olose Sampson stood before her.
"The rear engine is out!" Bootus yelled as the flaming Raven limped through the air.
"Which
one?" Cid cried.
"There are two?" The galka asked in
confusion. A skeleton rammed into the airship, causing it to spin.
Cid easily regained control and slammed it into the sea. The spray
kicked up, drowning the dragons and knocking some beneath the waves.
He pulled the airship into the air. The dragons continued to chase
the tiny ship as it rocketed along as fast as possible.
"Move
the cannons so they're facing forwards at the bow of the ship and
tie them down." Ordered Cid.
"What? Why?" Voldos cried.
"Just do it!" Cid commanded. The three warriors quickly got about doing this, leaving the cannons facing the only direction the dragons weren't: the direction they were fleeing.
"Tie them down!" Cid repeated. "Firmly!" The warriors did so as quickly as possible. "Now, hold on to the ropes, this is going to get rough!" They exchanged a nervous glance as they did so. The Raven pulled back into the air, flying into a loop the loop. The adventurers found themselves upside down, clinging to the ropes. Fragments of wood flew off the tiny airship as it came under immense stresses no ship was designed to cope with. It managed to pull up just above the water, kicking ocean spray everywhere. "Fire! Now!" Cid cried. The warriors staggered to their feet and unleashed the weapons the best they could in their dazed state. They blasted apart several dragons who were completely unprepared for such an act. More tumbled from the sky as they crashed into each other in their confusion. "YEEHAH!" The engineer yelled. Tiamat stopped in the air, and flew directly at the airship. Cid spun the wheel, and the Raven swung to the side as Tiamat shot underneath it, ripping into its hull. Voldos peered over the edge.
"That was too close!" He commented.
Kary advanced on the Chieftainess and attacked with all six arms. She managed to disarm the mithran warrior easily, and the Chieftainess was powerless to watch as her weapon bounced away. Kary was about to strike her down as Dedji ran in, slashing the fiend across the back. Kary spun around, and struck down, delivering a triple cut across Dedji's face. She fell back, with three diagonal lines running down her face (a scar that would mark her forever). The Chieftainess grabbed her spear and cut upwards, slicing off one of Kary's arms. The fiend reeling agony.
"YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!" She bellowed, blasting a monstrous fireball at the Chieftainess. She was blown back and into a hut. Kary promptly ignited it.
Meanwhile, all around, the mithra were locked in combat with the goblins. The brave and experienced mithran warriors were winning, but the cost was terrible, and Kary in the centre was ripping apart anybody who got near. And the current challenger to the fiend was Dedji alone.
Tears streamed down Vivli's face.
"How could you?" She screamed. "How? How could you betray us? I loved you!"
"You were a little girl with a crush." Olose spat. "And you actually think I cared for you? Ha. You might of ignited my interest for a moment. Something to give myself a little enjoyment in my spare time, perhaps. But believe me, to an immortal being you were nothing. You are nothing. You're pathetic."
"You don't mean that!" Vivli sobbed. "What's Lich done to you?"
"What's he done to me?" Olose asked in surprise. "Why, he's shown me my potential. My power. How strong I can truly be if I use my powers for what they were designed."
"They were designed for evil!" Vivli cried. "Evil! You've become a monster!"
"I am a monster!" Olose snarled. "I always was and always shall be!"
"No! Your body was, but not your soul! Your soul was good! You were good!" She had slumped to the floor, crying in disbelief and horror.
"Times change, Vivli." His voice almost sounded like it was cracking. "Times have changed. You have a choice. I am taking you to my masters, but you shall either come alive, or dead."
"No. You won't kill me." She rose to her feet, trying her best to stop her tears. "I don't believe you will. There must still be good in you somewhere. You can't extinguish that." Olose laughed, striking out, and knocking Vivli unconscious with one punch.
"Your persistence shall be your undoing." Olose told her now unconscious body. "If you continue to believe I shall return to the side of light, you shall be destroyed." Olose smiled. "Of course, what else can you think? You have too much faith, girl. And you will die for it."
The Raven dipped down as it skimmed back towards San D'Oria.
"We're losing engine power!" Cid groaned. "We can't take much more of this!"
"Guys!"
Bootus bellowed. The three heroes turned to see Tiamat climbing on
the back of the airship.
"Let us destroy them!" The first head
announced.
"Yes. Let's." The second said. Voldos unleashed arrows and Bootus charged. Tiamat blew Bootus back with a bolt of lightning. Zinkata was busy working on something.
"It is the end for you." The third head announced. There was a loud blast and Tiamat fell from the ship. Zinkata stood over the cannon he had managed to turn around.
"Some villains talk for far too long." There was a tearing sound, and the entire ship shuddered. Tiamat spiralled back, gripping one of the large propellers of the Raven.
"We're going down!" Cid announced. "Brace yourselves!"
Dedji lasted almost fifteen seconds before she was disarmed again and sliced in the leg. She turned tail to run.
"YOU SHALL BE CRUSHED!" Bellowed the now five-armed Kary in fury. The fiend focuses singly on the retreating mithra. Dedji ran as fast as she could and at the last moment dived into the sea. Kary couldn't stop herself, and plummeted into the ocean after her. The monster let out a sharp hiss. "CURSES!" She bellowed. "I'LL BE BACK! THIS ISN'T OVER!" Kary burst into flames as she teleported away. Dedji climbed out of the water as quickly as possible. A large airship flew overhead. The monsters were retreating, knowing that they couldn't win here.
"Vivli?" Cried Dedji. "VIVLI?"
On the deck of the gigantic airship, Olose held the body of Vivli.
"You know, you're pretty." He told the body. He ran his tongue over his teeth. "I wonder, if I bit you, what you would be like as a werewolf?" He went to do it, but stopped himself. "No, my master wouldn't allow that." He convinced himself.
"VIVLI?" Screamed Dedji in panic. A badly burnt mithra; the Chieftainess, limped to her side.
"Is she dead?" The Chieftainess was blunt.
"I can't find her!" Dedji wept. "Dead or alive! I think they've kidnapped her."
"Kidnapping the princess?" The Chieftainess sighed. "How original."
"We have to get her back!" Dedji screamed.
"They shall be taking her to San D'Oria." The Chieftainess told her. "We must put our faith in the Light Warriors."
The
Raven hurtled over the wall to San D'Oria, chipping it badly
and ripping up the bottom of the airship. It slammed into the ground,
ripping down a street and crashed into a building. The adventurers
were thrown into the brick. Zinkata got up, bleeding badly. Voldos
was unconscious. Bootus grabbed him.
"We have to move! Now!"
Zinkata announced. Cid ran out of the cockpit, looking badly hurt.
"My baby!" He cried.
"Come on!" Zinkata snapped, and the four ran from the airship. The Raven exploded spectacularly just as they escaped, throwing them to the ground.
"There goes the gunpowder." Sighed Bootus.
"Now Lich knows exactly where we are. Come on! We need to find cover!" The heroes disappeared down a dark street.
