Chapter 8: The Ice Cavern

We left our campsite and walked along a vast expanse of the land. We went south, heading for the Ice Cavern. I wasn't very anxious about going to this place. It was bound to be freezing cold. I do have an above average tolerance for low temperatures, but I can only take so much without proper protection. Well, at least I was more prepared for the cold then some of us.

Garnet had on an orange and white body suit that was good for walking, but doesn't offer much protection from the cold. I think the only people that looked ready for this cavern were Vivi and myself, or at least I would be if my clothes would ever dry. It has been an hour since we set out and my clothes were still a little damp from last night.

The group didn't talk much as we walked along the plains, and Steiner was watching Garnet like a hawk, so Zidane couldn't get a chance to talk with her. After a few hours of walking we finally reached our destination.


Zidane stopped the group in front of the cave "this must be the cavern…"

'What was your first clue?' I thought, feeling the cold air blowing out of the cave. I spoke up "This should take us above the mist to the plateau above, correct?"

Vivi responded to my question "Y-yeah it should. My grandpa said that the Ice Cavern could take travelers to the top of the mist" he said, a bit sheepishly.

Steiner beamed at him "bravo! Master Vivi's grandfather must be quite the scholar. We should thank him upon escaping the mist."

Vivi looked at him sadly. "My grandpa used to teach me lots of things, but he passed away…" Vivi trailed off after this.

Steiner looked a bit downcast at this revelation "oh…forgive my indiscretion."

Vivi looked up at him, looking slightly better "don't worry about it." he said. There was a bit of silence between the group.

Zidane broke that silence. "Well…why don't we go inside?" No one objected, and we all entered the Ice Cavern.


As soon as we entered I realized my theory was true. 'This place IS frickin cold' I thought, annoyed at how the wet spots on my cloths felt like they were going to freeze over. Some of us, though, were enjoying the environment.

"Oh…" Garnet exclaimed as she first entered the cave. Garnet continued "what a beautiful place! Seeing the actual cavern is so much better than reading about it!"

True to its name the cave was covered in ice, and I had to admit it was a beautiful sight to behold, despite the cold.

Garnet noticed an iced-over plant "oh how pretty…I wonder what kind of flower this is." she said as she reached out to touch it.

Before she could, however, Steiner walked in and went into overprotective guardian mode. "Princess! Please, don't touch anything!" he begged. Garnet, reluctantly, withdrew her hand.

Zidane walked into the room, shivering at the cold. "Can we get moving? I'm freezing here." he said.

I decided to speak. "I agree with Zidane. We have a long way to go. Let's get moving." I said, annoyed that the right sleeve of my shirt felt like it was frozen.


We continued on into the cave. Zidane was in the lead, followed by Steiner, who was beside Garnet, and Vivi, who was beside me. We continued walking until Zidane halted the group. He had a serious look on his face.

"What is it?" I asked, slowly unsheathing my normal sword.

"There's a Cave Imp, a Flan, and a Wyerd right around the corner" he said, drawing his daggers. Steiner drew his sword, and Vivi and Garnet had their staff's at the ready.

Zidane held out his hand "on three, ready?" we all nodded. He began to count "one…two…THREE!" he yelled. The five of us turned down the corner and charged. The creatures noticed us, and prepared to attack. 'It's battle time' I thought, grateful to have an excuse to move around quickly.


I ran towards the Flan and prepared to attack it with a "Do Ryu Sen" when, all of a sudden, flames erupted around the Flan; burning it to death. I turned to look at Vivi "Vivi, he was mine" I said. Unfortunately, due to my lack of attention, I didn't notice that the Wyerd had broken away from its fight with Zidane and moved to strike me.

As soon as I sensed its presence, it was too late. The Wyerd rammed into my back sending me falling to the ground. I hit the ground hard and began to slide along the ice. I managed to look up in time to see that I was heading for the cliff edge, and if the game had given any indication, it was bound to be bottomless.

My eyes opened wide as I saw how much trouble I was in. 'All because I LET my guard down' I thought, reprimanding myself for my temporary lack of concentration. Thinking quickly, I did the only thing I could do in this situation. I quickly plunged my sword into the ground to stop my slide. My sword scraped against the ice as it dug in, and slowed me down, but it didn't stop me. I went over the edge.

Suddenly, my sword got stuck on something at the edge of the cliff. I looked up but couldn't see what it was stuck to. Then, to my dismay, the ice surrounding my sword began to crack. I was in serious trouble. I couldn't move or it would likely cause the ice to break further. I could only hope that one of the others could get over here and help me.

The ice cracked further, and I felt my sword slipping. It wasn't going to hold much longer. I did the only thing I could do in this situation "HHHEEEELLLLLLP!" I yelled as my sword was losing its grip. Then the ice broke and my sword was free.

Time seemed to slow down as I started to fall. 'So the adventure ends here for me.' I thought, cursing my own weakness. Then, suddenly, I stopped falling. Someone had grabbed me. I looked up to see who it was…it was Steiner. Steiner pulled me up from the cliff and set me back down on my feet.


He looked at me, concern evident on his face. "Are you alright, Master Michael?" he said, worry in his voice.

I looked at him, still a bit shocked at what had happened, but grateful at what he had done. "I'm fine, thanks Steiner. I mean it…thanks." I said, with great gratitude. Steiner smiled at me as he turned away.

I turned to see the others; all of them had looks of concern on their faces. It was especially apparent in Vivi's eyes. "M-Michael I'm sorry I didn't mean to nearly get you killed. I-" I interrupted him.

"It's okay Vivi, it wasn't your fault… I let my guard down…that won't happen again." I put heavy emphasis on that last sentence.

Vivi looked better, but was still concerned "I'm just glad your okay, Michael." he said.

I nodded at him with a smile on my face. "So am I, Vivi. So am I."

Before any of us could say anymore we heard a loud crack above us. All of us looked up and saw fissures forming in the ice. 'My voice must have set off a chain reaction' I thought, cursing myself, yet again.

Zidane was the first to speak up. "let's move, quietly" he whispered. We nodded and began to move.

Things were going well, until Steiner sneezed. This caused the fissures to grow wider and the whole cave began to shake. 'As if things weren't bad enough' I thought.


The cave was collapsing around us, sending tons of ice and debris raining down on us. We were all running for our lives. Vivi was having trouble running on the ice, so I picked him up and carried him in my arms. We had to get out of this section of the cavern before it collapsed. None of us said any thing as we ran; we were too scared that it would make things worse.

Ice stalactites were falling from the ceiling. All of us began dodging the obstacles. Zidane had to pick Garnet up after she had narrowly avoided getting impaled by a stalactite. Unfortunately, Steiner was watching and had gone red in the face, but, fortunately, he held his temper for once.

I knew he would talk to Zidane about this after this was over. We finally saw the exit to this part of the cave, and all of us ran as fast as we could to reach the exit. It didn't take long and we just barely made it before that whole section collapsed.


We were exhausted; our adrenaline was leaving our bodies, zapping us of some of our energy. I set Vivi down and saw Zidane do the same with Garnet. Steiner immediately went up to Zidane, completely red in the face. Before he could say, anything I spoke up. "Steiner, Zidane just saved her life. Don't make a scene now. Just let it go. You haven't forgotten your promise, have you?"

Steiner looked like he was ready to explode but he calmed himself down, and his face turned back to its normal color. I was relieved. "Thank you, Steiner." I turned to Zidane "shall we go?" I asked.

He nodded "yeah, let's go" he said. We continued on our journey.


The rest of the trip was uneventful, that is, until we reached a certain area in the cavern. Our progress was impeded by a sudden blizzard. The winds were vicious, and the temperature dropped way below where I could tolerate it. 'I swear it's got to be negative thirty degrees below zero. I'm frickin freezing here.' I thought, as I trudged on.

I wasn't the only one feeling the cold. Vivi was in front of me and, despite his better protection against the cold the poor guy was still freezing. Garnet and Zidane were both rigid as they walked on. Zidane was at the front of the group followed by Garnet, and Steiner was behind her.

Steiner seemed to be the coldest one of all of us. Not only was his armor freezing cold to the touch by now; the wind was likely blowing into fractures in his armor freezing his insides. 'The disadvantages of wearing armor' I thought as we continued.


As we progressed the blizzard became worse. I already knew who was responsible, and I was so going to make him pay for this. The only good side was that my clothes had dried out before we entered this tunnel, but still that didn't make it any less cold.

Vivi began to slow down "Vivi, w-we c-can't s-s-slow d-down or w-w-we'll be l-left b-b-behind" I said, teeth chattering.

Vivi only nodded in reply. "O-o-okay" he said, teeth chattering as well.

Then he fell over onto the ice. "V-Vivi!" I yelled as I went to his side.

The others had stopped as well to look at me. Steiner approached us "Master Vivi, are you alright?" he asked. Then Steiner fell over as well, and didn't get back up. Zidane came over to Steiner.

"Hey Rusty you're…not alright are you?" He kicked Steiner. "Come on Rusty, move it or lose it" Steiner didn't move. Zidane kicked him harder "Get up!" he yelled. Steiner still gave no response. Zidane gave up. "It's no use" he said in a defeated tone.

I noticed Garnet fall over as well "Garnet!" I yelled.

Zidane turned around and looked at Garnet. "Oh no, Garnet…not you too." He started walking over to her.

I started to feel sleepy. I tried to hold it off as best as I could, but I didn't hold out very long. I slowly collapsed to the ground as sleep took hold of me.


"Miiiiiiiiiicccccchhhhhhhaaaaeeeeeeelllllll" It was that voice again. This time I had to find out who it was. I started to sing.

"AAAAAAAngeeeeel of Muuuuusic. Guuuuuuiiiide and guardiaaaaan. Cooooommme to me sssstrrrraaaange AAAAAngeeeeeel." Then I heard the voice again.

"IIIIII am your AAAAAngel of Musiiiic. Come to me, AAAAAngel of Musiiiic." I started to follow the voice in the direction that I heard it. Then, suddenly I heard a bell ring, and all went black.


I woke up with a start 'dammit, I was so close this time.' I thought, cursing that foul bell. I slowly got up to my feet and observed my surroundings. Everyone was still unconscious, that is, until I saw Zidane who was starting to get up.

I walked over to him "Zidane, you alright?" I asked.

He looked at me surprised. "Michael…you're awake…what about the others?"

I shook my head. "Still asleep, but did you hear a bell before you woke up?"

Zidane looked at me with a perplexed expression. "Yeah, I did. It came from over there." he said pointing to the other side of the cave.

I nodded. "Let's see what's going on" I said, determination in my voice. Zidane nodded and we both set off into the next room.


We walked into a large room with a frozen waterfall. Zidane and I looked around to find the source of that bell sound. Suddenly, "why didn't you two fall asleep?" Zidane and I looked up at the waterfall and noticed a big, hunchbacked creature. It had a bell in one hand and wore a steeple hat and had narrow red eyes. He also looked like a scarecrow and had two small black wings. It was Black Waltz No.1.

"You two should be dead by now." he said.

Zidane was the first to say something. "Are you the one causing the blizzard?" Zidane asked. The Black Waltz jumped from its perch, landed on the ground, and stood facing us.

He laughed evilly. "Hee-hee-hee…that's right" he said. I drew my normal sword and Zidane drew his daggers. It was time to fight.

The Black Waltz started things off. He waved his bell in the air and said "Ice Giant. Sealion…" Then, a pillar of ice shot out from the ground. It shattered and revealed a huge Sealion made out of ice. The Waltz pointed at us "go, Sealion!" he yelled.

Zidane and I glanced at each other. "You get the Sealion I'll get the mage." Zidane explained. I nodded my consent, and we charged into battle.


The Sealion reached out to attack me with its flipper. I dodged the attack and jumped onto the creature's flipper. I ran along the length of its flipper until I reached its neck. "Ryu Kan Sen Tsumuji" I shouted as I struck it in the neck. The creature roared in pain, and I jumped off in time before it threw me off. I hadn't decapitated it, but I had managed to damage it. Then I saw a large mass of ice surround the creature, and when it broke away I noticed the damage I had done had been undone.

I cursed, the Waltz had cast a blizzard spell and it healed the ice creature. I turned to see that the Waltz was using its wings to avoid Zidane. I knew I wasn't going to do any damage to the Sealion as long as the Waltz was alive. I decided to clip the Waltzes wings. I ran up along the wall and jumped up at the Waltz to attack it from behind. I executed a "Ryu Tsui Sen" and aimed for its left wing. My aim was true and I severed its wing from its body. The Waltz couldn't maintain its altitude, and crashed into the ground.

I landed on the ground and turned to Zidane. "finish it, Zidane. I'll go back to the Sealion." Zidane nodded and attacked the Waltz as it was getting back up to its feet. He got behind the Waltz, tilted the Waltzes head up, and slit the Waltzes throat. He let go of the Waltzes head and its body fell, lifelessly, to the floor.

I turned back to the Sealion and charged. I jumped into the air and executed a "Ryu Tsui Sen Zan" and targeted the creature's heart. My attack hit true. I hit the creature's heart and it shattered. It let out an anguished cry before it fell to the ground, shattered, and melted away. We had won the battle.


Zidane sheathed his daggers and ran up to me "Michael, you okay?" I sheathed my sword and nodded. Then we heard two voices talking at the same time.

"You may have defeated No.1…but No.2 and No.3 will reclaim the princess." the voices said.

Zidane looked around confused "huh…who's there? Is someone there?" he said. I looked up at the top of the cavern, and noticed two jesters. One had blue cloths and the other wore red; it was Zorn and Thorn.

'Think your cleaver do you' I thought. I pointed up there. "Zidane! Up there!" I shouted. He looked up and saw Zorn and Thorn.

"Hey, you two-" he stopped as the jesters, clearly startled at being discovered, ran away.

I moved to follow. "Come back here!" Zidane stopped me however.

"Forget about them we have to check on the others." I turned to him and nodded my agreement. We went back and checked on the others.


When we got there; Vivi, Steiner, and Garnet were all awake. Garnet spotted us first. "Zidane, Michael, what happened?"

Zidane looked at her innocently. "Nothing happened, right Michael?" Zidane lied, but I nodded my agreement.

Steiner looked at us both. "you two are hiding something." he said, mostly to Zidane.

Garnet stopped him from interrogating us further. "Steiner, they said nothing happened. Why are you being so rude?"

Steiner looked downcast at this. "I'm sorry, Princess."

I decided to speak. "Come on let's get out of here. The blizzard may be over, but it's still cold in here." They all agreed and we continued.

We reached the top of the cavern that Zidane and I had defeated the Waltz and ice Sealion in, and saw daylight at the end of the tunnel. We were finally out of the Ice Cavern.


Ryu Kan Sen Tsumuji
Another more powerful version of the Ryu Kan Sen with more speed required to land a more powerful hit. The attack has a low chance of hitting, though.