Another chapter finished...and this is one of my favorites to date, even though it took me a while to start it. Onward and upward...er...just onward to the replies...darn cue cards misleading me...
Neassa: Thank you. I don't need any more OCs for Eternal Requiem, but I'll be sure to let you know if I happen to unexpectedly.
Iron Reaver: Bah. I can't add an extra letter every now and then? And Darius...don't count me out of the running yet, ya jerk.
Shadowkiller27: Not really, considering that guns haven't really stopped any of us from attacking BEFORE...hehe.
Daniel Wesley Rydell: Yeah. Drante knows he'd get rocked. He knows his place. (smirk)
XxCougarxX: (raises hand) It's not unheard of, ya know. And yes, old people have that annoying habit of forgetting things at critical times. But it's not their fault.
Alright, now that that's settled and done with...on to the chapter of great justice! ...(goes to find the person writing the cue cards)
Chapter 19—Clarity's Echo
"Have you found out anything else about the happenings at the temples?" I ask Buddy, who shakes his head.
"Not yet. No one really seems to know any more about this than we do," he replies. Nodding, I look over at Yuna, who sits quietly in one of the chairs on the bridge. Apparently, what Maechen said about 'reuniting with those who have gone' affected her quite a bit. I can't really say I'm surprised, though.
"Yuna, are you okay?" I ask, causing her to look up at me.
"Hm?" she says, before realizing what I had asked. "Oh...I'm fine," she replies.
"Sure?"
"I'm sure," she says, standing up as Paine walks over.
"So, where's our next destination?" Paine inquires, looking between the two of us.
"Um...how about Macalania?" Yuna asks, thinking for a moment. "It's the closest temple to where we are. We might be able to see what's happening there."
"Sounds like a plan," Paine states, stepping towards the door. Sighing, I step to follow Paine, yawning as I do so. Despite it being barely after noon, I'm unusually tired for some reason. Dismissing it as a result of all the fighting and action that's been happening lately, I walk out of the bridge with Yuna right behind me. As the two of us step onto the elevator, Yuna looks at me with a concerned glance.
"Ben, are you okay?" she asks, now on the other end of the conversation we just had.
"I'll be fine," I respond, as the elevator stops, Rikku's smiling face stepping on and allowing the door to close once again.
"If you say so..." Yuna says, apparently not wanting to bother me too much with it.
"Say so about what?" Rikku asks, confused.
"It's nothing. Yuna thinks there's something wrong with me, but I'm just tired," I tell Rikku, summing it up quickly. Of course, I'm simply trying to get out of the conversation so as not to make Rikku worry. Rikku just furrows a brow at me in response, as the elevator slows to a stop at the exit, opening to reveal Paine standing there.
"Ready?" she asks the three of us, and we all nod our agreement, before stepping out and beginning the trek towards the woods.
"What do you mean by that?" Rikku yells. It's actually more of a yell mixed with a whine, to tell the truth. For the last few minutes, Yuna and I have been joking with Rikku. Unfortunately for her, Rikku's been the target, for lack of better words.
"Nothing...nothing at all..." Yuna replies, an innocent grin on her face as we round the corner that leads to the travel agency. Suddenly, the four of us stop dead in our tracks, and stare at the building. Or rather, at the fiends attacking it.
"The agency!" Rikku exclaims, pointing at the building which has ice frozen over on parts of it, likely the result of Blizzard magic.
"Fiends? Here?" Yuna asks, a bit surprised. After all, fiends usually stay around territorial areas that they claim. The agency was away from where most fiends were, so that only leaves one way they could be here.
"Must be from Macalania Temple," Paine says, confirming all of our suspicions. "The fact that it's underwater doesn't seem to matter."
"We can worry about why later!" Rikku urges, spinning. "Yunie!"
"We have to help them!" Yuna says, nodding to Rikku.
"And our fee?" Paine asks, not taking her eyes from the fiends.
"I'll pay you myself! How's that?" Rikku says quickly, before Yuna nods and begins to run towards the attacking fiends. We all follow and split up, hoping to deal with the fiends as quickly as possible. Looking to my right, I see a Flan Blanco fiend cast a Blizzara spell on the agency, a large icicle embedding itself into the side of the building. A Barbuta fiend snarls, and moves to join the Flan, before I charge, raising my sword high and slashing down into the Flan.
The sword makes an unpleasant 'squish' as it enters the fiend's jelly-like body, and it looks at me before blasting me in the face with a Blizzard. Dazed, I stumble back, letting go of my sword in the process. The Barbuta fiend takes the opportunity to charge, slamming me hard in the chest and knocking me off my feet to land on my side. Stars dance around my vision as I try to stand back up, spherechanging to Black Mage in the process.
"Fira!"
My magical attack strikes the Flan, causing it to wail in agony as the fire spell eats away at it. I take that moment to grab a Hi-Potion, gulping it down quickly as the flames lick at the fiend. When the attack finishes, all that's left are pyreflies of the Flan fiend. The Barbuta turns to me, and I gulp, spherechanging back to Warrior and running towards the fiend. As it moves for another charge, I leap up and on top of the fiend, now riding the fiend's rocky back. As it tries to shake me off, I jump and land in a roll, springing up and reclaiming my sword. Smiling, I begin to focus energy into the sword as the fiend turns to face me again.
"You will hurt no one!" I cry, slamming my sword into the fiend's side with my Power Break attack. The fiend groans, before I viciously kick it in the face, causing it to flinch. Using that as an opening, I stab my sword into the fiend's soft underside, ripping the sword out and repeating the motion. The fiend shrieks and tries to slap me away with its large hands, but I duck and slice outwards, cutting a large gash into the creature. Jumping back, I again focus energy into the sword blade, enchanted fire beginning to surround the weapon.
"Burn! Flametongue!" I yell, slashing down across the fiend, which falls over onto its back and groans. Slumping, the fiend dissipates into pyreflies, and I move to check on Yuna and the others.
"You guys okay?" I ask, and the three of them walk over, pyreflies fluttering around everywhere from the fight.
"We're fine," Yuna replies. Rikku just stands there, pointing at something behind me.
"Um...what is that...?" she stammers, and I slowly turn to face whatever she's pointing at. As soon as I do, I pale, wishing I hadn't even looked. The thing in question is a powerful looking Chimera-type fiend, and it looks angry. Roaring a challenge, the Rhyos approaches quickly, bending over to allow its snake-like tail to hiss at the four of us. All of us step back, and I grip my sword tightly as lightning crackles around the fiend's tail. A Thundara attack suddenly fires, lancing into all four of us. Rikku gives a short cry, as does Yuna, before they kneel down on the ground, apparently still injured from the fight before.
Glancing between the fiend and the two girls, I quickly put my momentary fear of the fiend aside and drop into a fighting stance, charging the fiend as fast as I can. Paine joins me, but the fiend simply opens its mouth, spewing out a cloud of water which slams into us and pushes us back. Grimacing, I turn to Paine.
"We're gonna have to use our specials," I state, to which Paine nods. As the both of us begin to spherechange into our special dresspheres, the Rhyos fiend begins to gather a ball of fire in its left hand. Before it can throw it at us, however, a flurry of bullets smash into its hide, forcing it to cancel the attack. As the light around us dims, I smile back at Yuna, who is standing there with an angry look on her face. A cry from Paine turns my attention back to the fight.
"Wisenen!" she yells, cutting into the fiend with her sharp talons. The fiend bellows in pain, before calling up the ball of flame again. Quickly, it smashes the fiery attack into Paine, before turning to me. As Yuna and Rikku run up beside the two of us, I draw both my swords and level them at the fiends, setting my stance.
"Renzokuken!" As I yell my attack, I leap from my spot, going into a relentless assault on the fiend. Yuna fires rapidly behind me, and Rikku runs to join me, her daggers cutting into the soft legs of the Rhyos. It growls, before sweeping a powerful arm at us and throwing us away. Paine runs in again and slashes down at the fiend's neck, hoping to end the fight right now, but the fiend twists slightly and takes the attack in the chest. Even with that, the magical darkness from Paine's attack begins to cloud the fiend's vision. Yuna blasts a glowing bullet at the fiend, damaging it further with the Enchanted Ammo attack, as Rikku runs back in and slashes twice more.
"Fated Circle!" Quickly, I launch the energy wave from my blades, which impacts the fiend with a small explosion. Paine sees a chance to capitalize, and darts in with her talons extended. The fiend can't see to move, and Paine's slash lands right across the fiend's neck, sending it to the ground in a heap as pyreflies slowly begin to float from the body. Sighing in relief, Paine and I spherechange back to our Warrior dresspheres, before turning towards the agency.
The entire front of the agency is covered in a coat of frost and ice from the Blizzard magic used by the Flan fiends. Icicles hang from the roof, and a few small icicles are speared completely through the door, failed attempts by the fiends to get inside. A Blizzara-created icicle is stuck in the side of the building, but other than that, there's no structural damage to the agency.
"Let's make sure everyone's okay in there," I say, running towards the front door as everyone follows. Yanking the door open, I can see an Al Bhed inside, gasping for breath. He's bloody, and I can tell he had tried to save the agency before being forced to barricade himself inside. Other bodies are lying on the ground, as well. As we approach, the Al Bhed slumps to the floor, unable to support himself on the counter any longer.
"Fryd fyc ed? Dryd rika cryba, taab fedreh dra myga. E fiend...machina?" he mumbles. Quickly, we move over to him, Rikku already pulling out a Potion.
"Don't talk," she says. "Save your strength."
"Dyga drec," he says, reaching into his pocket and handing Rikku a sphere. "E vuiht ed rayn dra myga." With that, the Al Bhed lets out a final breath and slumps over, dead. Sadly, Yuna shakes her head, as footsteps are heard behind us.
"Ah!" the voice of O'aka the twenty-third says, as we all turn to see him standing inside the doorway, looking inside the shop with a clear expression of shock. "What's happened to me shop?" Quickly, he runs over to the now-deceased Al Bhed and shakes him. "Come on, lad, I've come to give back the money I owe ye! Ye can't die before I pay ye back! Think of me reputation! I'm begging ye!" O'aka stands up from the Al Bhed, looking somewhat angry now. "Now look what ye've done! Disgrace! Disgrace on the O'aka name!"
Silently, I step out the door of the shop with Yuna and the others right behind me, fully intent on leaving the horrid scene behind. Just as we move to leave, however, O'aka steps out the door.
"I think you'll get more fiends than customers," Paine tells O'aka, who stands there with his arms folded.
"Then I'll just have to start selling to fiends, won't I?" he retorts. "I owe it to those lads who died defending me shop, and I'll not be letting 'em down. Ye will come and stop in once in a while, won't ye?" Yuna simply gives a nod, and we step away, O'aka giving one final statement as we depart.
"Mark me words, I'll stand by this shop, whatever may come."
"Such a horrible sight..." I hear Yuna say silently, as we step back inside the Celsius.
"I know. And to think, the fiends came all the way from Macalania Temple...the entire place is underwater," I say, before freezing. "Wait. Macalania..."
"What is it?" Paine asks, and I turn to face the three of them.
"Macalania. They went from the temple back towards the woods...what if they went towards the Calm Lands, too?" I ask, watching their faces go from neutral to an expression of fear.
"Oh, no...all those people..." Yuna says, running towards the elevator. All four of us dash inside the elevator, the machina unable to move fast enough for our tastes. As the doors open, we rush inside the bridge, Yuna looking over at Buddy.
"Buddy, get us to the Calm Lands!" she yells, and Buddy nods, hearing the urgency in her voice. The Celsius shudders, lifting off and taking off for the Calm Lands, as Yuna crosses her fingers and looks out the window. Paine steps over, putting a hand on Yuna's shoulder.
"We'll get there in time. Don't worry," she says, and Yuna sighs.
"I sure hope so..."
Mere minutes later, the Celsius passes overhead the Calm Lands, looking for a place to land. From our vantage point in the bridge, we can see people running out from the gorge, and Yuna spins to Buddy.
"Take us down, there!" she says, pointing beside the gorge.
"Roger!" he replies, the Celsius beginning to land beside the massive chasm dividing the Calm Lands. Before the Celsius has even hit the ground, we're all running for the exit, hoping to get down there as quickly as possible. After what seems like a half hour, but is closer to a minute, the Celsius finally lands. The four of us run out of the exit, headed for the gorge as people shout around us in panic. Dashing down the strip of land leading down into the gorge, we come across people still running out of the cave.
"Fiends, from deep in the cave!" one man exclaims, gasping for breath.
"There are still some people trapped inside! There's nothing we can do to help them..." one man says, looking over at some of the other people around.
"Please, won't you help us rescue the people left behind?" an old lady asks Yuna, pleading eyes staring up into Yuna's different-colored ones.
"All right, we'll help," she tells the woman, who bows.
"You are most kind," the woman says, as the four of us run into the cave. As we enter, the first thing we see is small groups of pyreflies flittering around, the cave eerily lit by their mere presence.
"What is this place?" Paine asks Yuna, who stops and turns to face her friend.
"It's called the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth," she replies. "I heard Lulu and Wakka talking about it once...this is where the first summoner that Lulu guarded died. Her name was Lady Ginnem...I don't know much else about her. Lulu didn't like to speak of it much."
"I just want to get out of here...this place gives me the creeps..." Rikku mutters, and I look around, seeing no danger at the moment. A shriek from around the corner catches my attention, and we dash around the turn to see a lady and a man, backed up against the wall by a wolf-like fiend. Before the fiend knows what's happening, however, it finds a sword in its skull, courtesy of Paine. As the fiend bursts into pyreflies, Yuna turns to the couple.
"Get out of here, quickly!" she says, and the pair nods, dashing back for the entrance.
"We need to hurry...or else the fiends just might have a snack," I say, running ahead with my sword now in hand. The trio of girls follow me, and we soon come across another group of people, two men, a woman, and a small girl, huddling in a corner. Three bat-like fiends hover around them, intent on attacking, before one suddenly falls from the sky, Yuna holding her pistols out at arm's length. Quickly, I run and rebound off the stone wall, leaping higher into the air and impaling one of the fiends through the wing, dragging it down to the ground with me. Before it can pry itself loose, I raise the sword and stab it straight through the top of its head, killing it. Paine runs up and leaps into the air, cleaving into the final fiend hard, which falls lower to the ground. Rikku rips through this one with a series of slashes, and the woman breathes a sigh of relief.
"Thank you, all of you!" she exclaims, and I nod.
"Just get out of here," I reply, looking down the corridor ahead of us. The four people nod and begin to run out of the cave, as I walk towards the chamber I'm facing. A small pad lies on the ground in front of the back wall, and I kneel down to take a look.
"Another teleport pad," I say, turning back to the girls. A small light on it glows, facing towards the wall, and I look over at Yuna. "Should we go?"
"Yes," she says, stepping onto the pad. Rikku, Paine, and I also do the same, as we all disappear in a flash of light.
When we open our eyes, we find ourselves in another chamber, slightly larger than the one we were just in. Pyreflies float in front of a large hole in the back of the room, and before our eyes they begin to coalesce into a being of some sort. After a moment, we have a tall, reddish-orange garbed being in front of us, with a smaller dog-like creature at his side. A flat, wide brimmed hat of some sort covers his head, and a katana sheath is strapped to his side. The being stares at us for a moment with its green eyes, before slowly drawing its katana.
"Oh boy...Yojimbo..." I mutter, looking over at the aeon. "Sword-fighting with an aeon...this'll be good."
(Play FF8 theme Don't Be Afraid)
"Please, tell me! Why is this happening?" Yuna cries, the aeon ignoring her pleas. Before any of us can react, Yojimbo moves across the room with blinding speed, his katana coming down at Yuna.
"Move!" Paine yells, pushing her out of the way and raising her sword, the blade of Yojimbo's katana striking with a metallic clang. Paine struggles to hold the aeon's sword back, and Rikku and I run over quickly.
"Leave her alone!" I yell, bringing my sword upward towards the aeon's chest. Yojimbo slaps Paine's sword aside and blocks mine in one smooth motion, before his dog leaps at Rikku, forcing her to defend herself. Yuna steps away from the powerful samurai, leaving Paine and I to engage it in melee.
"Take this!" Paine yells, slashing upwards, the telltale glow of the Armor Break skill on her sword. Yojimbo takes the attack in the chest, and steps back a few steps, before his sword begins to glow with a white light. I'm almost enchanted by the beauty of the attack, but I snap back into reality as Yojimbo makes his move. Taking one step forward, the aeon suddenly moves into a full sprint and spins, his sword flashing down as fast as lightning. One moment, Paine is standing a few feet beside me, and the next she's lying easily 7 feet behind where she was with a ragged gash in her chest. Fear grips me, true, heart-stilling fear, as I realize what the attack was.
"Zanmato..."
The next thing I hear is a cry of rage, as bullets begin slamming into Yojimbo, causing the aeon to step backwards again and defend against the barrage. The source of the attack is none other than Yuna, who has a death glare on her face from seeing Paine stricken down. Rikku is still dealing with Yojimbo's dog, but looks to be getting the upper hand now. Quickly, I move to Paine's body, pulling out one of my few Phoenix Downs and pouring the magical elixir over her wound, before standing up, spherechanging into Black Mage.
"You'll regret that...Fira!" I yell, the magical attack missing as Yojimbo nimbly dodges. "Thundara!" My next spell strikes him in the shoulder, but is only a glancing blow, as he turns to me again. Before I can move, Yojimbo dashes up to me and strikes, sending me to the ground with a long cut across my abdomen. I'm momentarily stunned by the speed and force behind the attack, before slowly standing up, blood seeping from the cut. I can see Paine standing back up now as well, the wound on her body having healed. Yuna is peppering the powerful samurai with bullets from both of her pistols in an effort to keep Yojimbo from moving. Quickly, I focus, calling up another spell.
"Watera!" The water magic hits Yojimbo's dog this time, giving Rikku the opening to slash it in the face. The dog jumps back with a whimper of pain, and Yojimbo turns to Rikku. As he steps back, my eyes go wide as I realize what he's about to do.
"Rikku, move!" I cry urgently, running towards her in the hopes of blocking the attack. Just before I get there, however, Yojimbo appears in front of Rikku, the Zanmato attack blasting her off her feet and over to the wall. I freeze for a moment, staring at the path of dust left by my girlfriend's travel along the dirt, before turning an icy-cold gaze to the aeon.
"No one does that to her..." I growl, my eyes narrowing as I begin to spherechange into my special dressphere, fully intent on making Yojimbo regret ever stepping into our path. As the spherechange finishes, Yuna and Paine move to tend to Rikku, the former kneeling down beside her to administer a healing potion while the latter takes a defensive stance in front of the duo.
"You want a fight? I'll give you one!" I scream, dashing towards Yojimbo with my swords drawn. Leaping high into the air, I bring both of them down hard, clashing against his single katana and struggling to overpower him. Furious, I bash him in the chest with my right foot, before jumping and kicking off of him, landing a short distance away.
"Fated Circle!"
Spinning in place, the energy wave flies at Yojimbo, who slashes through it with his sword. By the time he cuts through the attack, however, I'm roughly 2 feet from him. With a roar of anger, I stab outwards, both katanas embedding themselves into the aeon's chest. Leaving the swords there for the moment, I jump and spin in the air, spin kicking the aeon in the face. My attack rocks the aeon's head back, and I grab my swords again, sheathing one of them for the moment before launching three kicks into the aeon's side and shoulder. Yojimbo moves to attack again, but I block and counter, my sword sweeping his out of the way and cutting into his face.
Yojimbo staggers back, and I advance a final time, leaping up and burying both of my feet into his chest, turning my momentum into a backflip and finally sending the aeon off its feet. As Yojimbo's form dissolves into pyreflies, I sprint towards Rikku's position, spherechanging back to Warrior in mid-stride.
(End FF8 theme Don't Be Afraid)
"Are you okay?" I ask quickly, kneeling down to Rikku. Thankfully, Yuna managed to tend to her, and she's now sitting up against the wall of the cavern.
"I'm okay..." she murmurs, still a little shaken from the powerful attack. Looking over at Yuna, I breath a sigh of relief.
"Thanks," I say simply, and Yuna nods in reply, standing up and looking around at the room. Suddenly, she stops and walks towards the back of the room, looking down a massive hole with pyreflies flittering around it. Gently, I help Rikku up, before Paine, Rikku, and I move over to join Yuna.
"Hello?" Yuna says, kneeling down and staring into the blackness of the pit.
"Careful. Someone might answer," Paine replies. Silently, I gaze into the depths of the hole, before a stabbing pain makes itself known again in my stomach. Carefully, I take out a Potion and pour it over the cut, watching the magical item seal the cut over.
"Let's get back to the Celsius...I don't want to be in here any longer," I say, Yuna giving a final look at the mysterious pit before moving to exit the cave, Paine behind her. Sighing, I look over at Rikku again, before the two of us follow Yuna and Paine towards the entrance.
Where will the Gullwings go next? What's the connection between the mysterious pits? You'll just have to keep reading! As always, please read and review!